Kill boomers for damaging climate, jokes XR organiser
AN EXTINCTION Rebellion ( XR) organiser joked about “euthanising boomers” in revenge for climate change.
Jessica Townsend, co-founder of Writers Rebel, a group within XR, told a group of senior climate activists that “first to go” would be “rich boomers”.
The term “boomer”, is often used as a slur against those born in the baby boom following the Second World War.
She told the group: “How about ‘euthanising’ boomers as they caused problem and are such a big part of population? First to go rich boomers. If they start with rich they’ll never get to me.”
Ms Townsend said: “The satirical comment was posted in an internal WhatsApp chat for informal debate among XR friends and colleagues.
“It was in response to an article which suggested that the young should pay for climate mitigation as they are the ones who will benefit from that.
“As someone soon to be 60 I found that suggestion absolutely ridiculous, hence the joke.” Ms Townsend was found guilty of criminal damage after spraying graffiti on the office of a group once chaired by Nigel Lawson, the former chancellor, in September 2020.
She, along with two other activists who dubbed themselves the “Tufton Three”, received the minimum sentence of a six-month conditional discharge and a reduced fine of £100.
She has previously acted as an XR spokesman, after joining around five years ago following a career as a theatre and screenwriter, where she was writerin-residence at Hampstead Theatre.
On the website she claims that she decided to become a part of the group while researching a novel set in 2030.
In 2020, in her fifties, she took part in a topless protest on Waterloo Bridge.
Richard Holden, a Conservative MP, said: “This utterly shocking revelation shows the truly sinister and dangerous motives behind this group, and why we were right to crack down on extreme protestors in our Policing Bill and why [Sir Keir] Starmer’s Labour were so wrong to vote against it.”
XR have recently become involved in Just Stop Oil, which has been blockading critical fuel infrastructure across the country during fuel shortages and the cost of living crisis.