Discussing activism with Wave Wahines founder and Surfers Against Sewage EDI Manager Yvette Curtis, and Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries (and POW UK founder) Sandy Trust.
Really great to contribute to this discussion and safety in activism is definitely at the forefront of my mind right now and how important allyship can become in these periods of uncertainty.
As usual I really enjoyed this eloquent dissection of a topic that I’ve also been mulling for a number of years and have been confronted with on a sometimes daily basis. I think you have a very elegant way of folding together complex issues into a succinct and coherent thesis.
Reply Guy bell-end (that’s going to be a new go-to ha ha), Head-in-the-sand Ding-Dongs, Ghost-Supporters (hey i’m right behind you just not in any way at all) - there’s seemingly as many methods of avoiding critical thinking or engaging with a topic as there are people dodging it. On wetsuits my favourite was the industry ‘legend’ who said if he thought he had surfed in Neoprene from Cancer Alley it would ‘Rock the foundations of his world’ and while I spoke to him at length about it, I could see the information passing through him like a sieve and out the other side, unable to find purchase, leaving his world safely ‘un-rocked’.
However I do think - in the case of Neoprene and its social and environmental impacts - there is a difference between ‘industry’ and ’the real surfing world’ and many of those unable to countenance a change of worldview fall within an ‘industry’ where there has been a lack of critical thinking for decades. Group think is ingrained. Very few want to put their hands up and speak in class - except that guy Matt Barr, Surfers Against Sewage and few other brave souls.
Out in the real surfing world there are still many who don’t want issues of social responsibility and ecocide to muscle in on their purchasing decisions. In the aftermath of Brexit there was research that came out that said it was virtually impossible to change someone’s mind on an issue where they had put a cross on a ballot paper in favour of it. Hence the fact that nearly 30% of the population still back Brexit even though it has been proven to be such a complete and utter failure on every front. And I guess being a loyal customer to one specific surf brand is the economic equivalent of putting a cross in the box of that brand.
However I’m still super positive about this. For every blinkered diehard or fact dodger I’ve spoken to there have been a hundred people who really want to embrace change. They want to buy a wetsuit yes that performs well and is at a good price point - but ultimately they’re prepared to switch brands to get to a non-petrochemical product that’s not linked to environmental racism. But I think I’ve only managed to cut through the chatter by getting out on the road and hearing this face to face - because the voices you hear loudest are usually the Reply Guy Bell-ends of this world. But change is coming… at least in the wetsuit world.
Thanks Chris, kind words indeed. And of course I agree that surfland isn’t the same as industry land - as you said last time we spoke, what has been telling about TBS is the way the community understood and responded, while ze industry (even the more supposedly progressive end) hedged their bets or tried to stymie the message.
And re your point about brand loyalty - you could definitely expand that to include industry loyalty. That’s one of the things I found so revealing about Nick Carroll’s approach - not matter how much he dressed it up as ‘hey-I’m-just-asking-question’, what really came across was how parochial his response was (‘What they surf in the NE of England?’), and how affronted he was that these chippie Brits had dared to take his beloved surf industry to task.
Really great to contribute to this discussion and safety in activism is definitely at the forefront of my mind right now and how important allyship can become in these periods of uncertainty.
I can imagine. Thanks for participating Yvette, and for sharing your insights
Great piece, good to know the Summer hiatus didn’t slow down the old typewriter
Ha, that one never stops.
Hey Matt,
As usual I really enjoyed this eloquent dissection of a topic that I’ve also been mulling for a number of years and have been confronted with on a sometimes daily basis. I think you have a very elegant way of folding together complex issues into a succinct and coherent thesis.
Reply Guy bell-end (that’s going to be a new go-to ha ha), Head-in-the-sand Ding-Dongs, Ghost-Supporters (hey i’m right behind you just not in any way at all) - there’s seemingly as many methods of avoiding critical thinking or engaging with a topic as there are people dodging it. On wetsuits my favourite was the industry ‘legend’ who said if he thought he had surfed in Neoprene from Cancer Alley it would ‘Rock the foundations of his world’ and while I spoke to him at length about it, I could see the information passing through him like a sieve and out the other side, unable to find purchase, leaving his world safely ‘un-rocked’.
However I do think - in the case of Neoprene and its social and environmental impacts - there is a difference between ‘industry’ and ’the real surfing world’ and many of those unable to countenance a change of worldview fall within an ‘industry’ where there has been a lack of critical thinking for decades. Group think is ingrained. Very few want to put their hands up and speak in class - except that guy Matt Barr, Surfers Against Sewage and few other brave souls.
Out in the real surfing world there are still many who don’t want issues of social responsibility and ecocide to muscle in on their purchasing decisions. In the aftermath of Brexit there was research that came out that said it was virtually impossible to change someone’s mind on an issue where they had put a cross on a ballot paper in favour of it. Hence the fact that nearly 30% of the population still back Brexit even though it has been proven to be such a complete and utter failure on every front. And I guess being a loyal customer to one specific surf brand is the economic equivalent of putting a cross in the box of that brand.
However I’m still super positive about this. For every blinkered diehard or fact dodger I’ve spoken to there have been a hundred people who really want to embrace change. They want to buy a wetsuit yes that performs well and is at a good price point - but ultimately they’re prepared to switch brands to get to a non-petrochemical product that’s not linked to environmental racism. But I think I’ve only managed to cut through the chatter by getting out on the road and hearing this face to face - because the voices you hear loudest are usually the Reply Guy Bell-ends of this world. But change is coming… at least in the wetsuit world.
Thanks Chris, kind words indeed. And of course I agree that surfland isn’t the same as industry land - as you said last time we spoke, what has been telling about TBS is the way the community understood and responded, while ze industry (even the more supposedly progressive end) hedged their bets or tried to stymie the message.
And re your point about brand loyalty - you could definitely expand that to include industry loyalty. That’s one of the things I found so revealing about Nick Carroll’s approach - not matter how much he dressed it up as ‘hey-I’m-just-asking-question’, what really came across was how parochial his response was (‘What they surf in the NE of England?’), and how affronted he was that these chippie Brits had dared to take his beloved surf industry to task.