Methods “like in a sect”: This is how climate adhesives of the “last generation” are drilled

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They stick to streets, stages and all other places where they are guaranteed attention: The climate activists of the ‘last generation’ go far in their fight against climate change.

For these actions to succeed, willing activists are needed. The formation of these climate glues follows a cult-like pattern. Together with a cult expert, the newspaper ‘Bild’ analyzed the training documents of the German activists. They found a surprising number of similarities to training in an apocalyptic cult.

The Climate activists become clear early on what they are fighting for: nothing less than saving the world through ‘system change, the revolution’. The trainers’ guidelines state: “We want to put power in the hands of the people.” This purpose is bigger than the individual or the group.

German activists also have little appreciation for the political system: “The party political system is powerless.” Therefore, civil disobedience is necessary to wake up the state and force it to take action. They are intended to “cause a disruption of public order that cannot be ignored (major outrage – media attention – material costs) and that will not stop.”

The activists’ hostile images are clearly defined by the trainers. The “police, church, universities, parties, media” are responsible for the crisis. Like other revolutionaries, they also want the ‘revolutionary spark to spread to other countries’. The goal should be to bring about ‘global change’.

This ‘revolutionary change’ must begin in the struggle against ‘a national government’. In return, the young activists are made clear that this world will not last much longer. But you can become the saviors of this dark dystopia. They are the awakened ones.

Psychologist Maria-Christina Nimmerfroh reviewed the training documents. She says there are certainly certain similarities with cults, namely “inducing fear and catastrophizing.”

The climate rescuers are managed strictly hierarchically. At the top is the core group, which makes strategic decisions and coordinates disruptive actions. The local “germ cells” follow later. There, a ‘queen bee’ leads a group of ‘worker bees’, who then stick to the street, regardless of the weather.

The “worker bees” are isolated, as an instruction during a protest should show: “!!!Don’t take your cell phone with you!! The queen bee will have a protest cell phone.”

To keep its members happy despite the strict hierarchy, the organization likes to compare itself to major historical events such as the American civil rights movement. Icons like Gandhi or Martin Luther King are also used for propaganda to show that every activist, no matter how small, is part of something very big.

Guided meditations in which trainers and activists share their fears also contribute to this, with formulations such as: “We now open ourselves to all our brothers and sisters… in this time of great need. We are walking through a dark time now, but we are not walking alone. And we do not walk without our own timeless knowledge of darkness…”

Psychologist Nimmerfroh sees a connection with sects: “You have to do something to stop the catastrophe. These actions entail a high degree of self-efficacy, which is important for the identity and cohesion of the group.” Finally, she dares to diagnose the group in ‘Bild’: ‘They are practically blind to everything that could endanger their view of the world.’ (jl)

Source: Blick