Three reasons:
1. The principle
2. The permanence
3. I like tattoos.
From the least important to the most important, these three reasons explained…
Reason 3 – “I like tattoos”
Tattoos are showy, extraverted and individualistic, all of which match my personality well. I have to admit that these traits have brought criticism in some activist circles, but hey, I grew up on the performance stage, dancing, in a circus, and public speaking. I enjoy attention and the chance that it gives for me to express my ideas and principles. Hence this blog-post too, I suppose. 
My mother worries that this tattoo is somewhat strange and psychologically unhealthy, but I feel that it is totally sane to wear my principles not only ‘on my sleeve’ but on my actual body. It is a non-violent action, a sign of my commitment to the Climate Justice movement.
After all, the cultural history of tattoos goes along with them being a sign of membership of some ‘club’, or a sign of rebellion. Therefore, I think that it is perfectly appropriate to use a tattoo to signify my membership of this rebellious, reforming, and beautiful movement!
Does anyone else have any activist or climate-activist tattoos? Post in the comments with links to your pictures!
Reason 2 – “The permanence”
A tattoo is for life, clearly. You can’t just put it on and take it off like a uniform or a style – it is part of you, forever. I enjoy thinking that one day a grandchild of mine might ask me what “climate justice”, written on my wrinkly old neck, means.
The permanence of it means a recognition that the struggle for Climate Justice will be a lifelong one – not ending in Copenhagen this December, or at some other arbitrary date – and I will work to achieve it throughout my whole life.
By the time we hit 2050, when I turn 65 (How old will YOU be?), I expect that the last 40 years of work by our movement(s) will have contributed to some incredible changes – the phasing out of fossil fuels, a rediscovery of our human values and the demise of GDP-growth-at-all-costs thinking.
The thought of that sustainable future is so tasty, so delicious, that I have no problem committing myself to decades of work to achieve it.
Reason 1 – “The principle”
Climate Justice means so many things to so many people, and to me it has two components parts – international justice, and intergenerational justice.
Internationally, the rich and over-consuming world has largely been blinded (or has chosen to turn a blind eye…) to the distant effects of its own overconsumption. The ecological, economic, cultural, security, and atmospheric effects of overconsumption have tied those in the developing world – those who have contributed least to the problem, and with the least resources to address the issues – to a harsh reality of resource shortage, poverty, colonialism, violence and now, ever-increasing climate disasters. This is unjust, and needs to be made right. An admission of fault, an acceptance of responsibility, and true global collaboration, trust and goodwill will be required to achieve justice – and hopefully we can get the World Bank out of the way too! Climate finance is key to achieving justice – see the post here.
The other part of ‘international’ climate justice comes not at the large-scale financial level, but at a much more local and personal level – achieving equity in our personal levels of consumption, across the world – the reduction and rejection of overconsumption, wherever it exists, is crucial to achieving justice. We only have one planet, so what gives any individual the right to live with an ecological footprint that exceeds their fair share?
When we deeply interrogate our values, when we give up the notion that we have the ‘right’ to over-consume (to fly, to drive, to constantly update our wardrobes, to build huge mansions, to eat meat or imported fruit shipped across the world – to do any of these things to excess), and when we start to actively reduce our overconsumption while permitting those who need it to increase their consumption to adequate, safe levels, then we start to achieve climate justice.
The final part of the principle for me is ‘intergenerational justice’. What sort of world do we want to hand to today’s youth and to future generations? To allow our greed, lust, gluttony, and sloth (From the ‘seven deadly sins’, which now seem to be the ‘seven key marketing principles’) to cause future generations suffering is far from ‘just’.
So, that is why I had “climate justice” tattooed on my neck!
As part of my commitment to this principle, I have also committed myself to Climate Justice Fast! – A hunger strike in the Gandhian tradition, in the lead-up to and at Copenhagen itself. Today, October 2, is actually Gandhi’s birthday, and so it seems appropriate to close this post with a quote of his:
“Under certain circumstances, fasting is the one weapon God has given us for use in times of utter helplessness”"
www.climatejusticefast.com
Anna: I especially liked the allusion you made to wearing of belief on your arm and made me wonder where that expression came from. You have metaphorically and physically stuck your neck out and I want to offer my encouragement and support. Besides I think it looks good. Speaking with body art is a revered custom for many reasons. all the best.
Definitely inspiring – thanks for the awesome post and your unyielding commitment Anna!
Onwards
This is an important exploration of this new term. Thank you for sharing this personal take. I especially love that you brought up “inter-generational justice”. That’s the one that gets me. Great post!
YOU GO ANNA!!! I am going downtown today to ask about getting mine done. Hopefully, they will say it’s actually possible (unlike in Berlin). Wooop!
cool
looks nice
Thank you, Anna. You are beautiful and inspiring in all that you do, and thanks for sharing it.
In solidarity and love.
Awesome looking tattoo! I also love your reasoning behind it, that’s amazing!
Luvit-Inspiring in many ways-I might get one that says ‘Justice’
Anna..! What a great honour to be indirectly involved in such an important issue.
To think mostly I had so much fun; monky doing tricks, monky can tattoo…There was a lot more to the tattoo, I knew that.
So thank you!
Hello,
I am sorry, but I do not think you should have published this on IGHIH. It seems like more appropriate material for a personal blog or Facebook note.
Respectfully,
Maia
Thanks Maia,
In retrospect, you are correct in many ways.
I posted this to IGHIH in the hope that people would enjoy a piece written from a personal rather than journalistic perspective (In reading blogs, I often appreciate this perspective), and also to offer my thoughts on a definition of ‘Climate Justice’ – a term that is too often thrown about without being discussed in dept. I hope that this post sparked some discussion and or thinking about the term by those who read it.
Admittedly, I could have offered an exploration of the term without the personal aspect of the tattoo, but I daresay fewer people would have read the blog, had it been purely analytical.
You will see from my other blogs that I have offered more ‘current news’ and movement-focused pieces in my past contributions to IGHIH as well.
I find it interesting on the “How’s the blog doing?” post (http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2009/10/27/hows-the-blog-doing/) that long-time readers of IGHIH lament the trend away from philosophical discussion and debate on the blog, and I wonder what the ‘ideal’ goal of blogs on this community should be – trending more towards news reports or towards discussion, or a combination of both?
Respectfully,
Anna K
(Reply posted in the comments at http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2009/10/02/climate-justice-tattoo/)
Thanks Maia,
In retrospect, you are correct in many ways.
I posted this to IGHIH in the hope that people would enjoy a piece written from a personal rather than journalistic perspective (In reading blogs, I often appreciate this perspective), and also to offer my thoughts on a definition of ‘Climate Justice’ – a term that is too often thrown about without being discussed in dept. I hope that this post sparked some discussion and or thinking about the term by those who read it.
Admittedly, I could have offered an exploration of the term without the personal aspect of the tattoo, but I daresay fewer people would have read the blog, had it been purely analytical.
You will see from my other blogs that I have offered more ‘current news’ and movement-focused pieces in my past contributions to IGHIH as well.
I find it interesting on the “How’s the blog doing?” post ( http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2009/10/27/hows-the-blog-doing/) that long-time readers of IGHIH lament the trend away from philosophical discussion and debate on the blog, and I wonder what the ‘ideal’ goal of blogs on this community should be – trending more towards news reports or towards discussion, or a combination of both?
Respectfully, Anna K
I suggest that it says so much more about your psychology and that of the movement you represent than anything indelibly punctured into the dermis of your fanatical neck.
If James Hansen’s militantly held theories are disproved, you’ll have an unwanted additional indelible epithet.
Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity was thought a truth and was thereafter known as the Law of Gravity until Einstein’s arrival. He it was, incidentally, who said: “A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be” (perhaps especially in a computer model with numerous variables?) and also: “The only source of knowledge is experience”.
Einstein knew that his theories were just that….. theoretical. Data since supports Einstein General Theory but has disproven Newton’s theory of gravity.
I’m confident that were he alive, Newton would be pleased. I doubt Hansen will he when and if he is facing similar irrefutable evidence that his theory is wrong.
Nothing certain in science except false theories proven so and that so many were fanatically held!
Thank you James,
I’m guessing that you found my blog via the personal attack against me that appeared in the Daily Telegraph blogs recently. I’m flattered that a blogger would go to such efforts to research my background. He even mentioned my hobby of 1940′s swing-dancing!
I would be *extremely* glad to have the theory of global warming disproved. If it wasn’t a problem, or not caused by anything within our control, I would be extremely grateful. I just feel that the vast weight of evidence points in the other direction, and don’t want to take that risk with the future of my global generation. The effects of climate change are already visible all over the world – including in my home country Australia, but also in the poorest and most vulnerable nations of the world – Kenya and Zambia are currently in crippling drought, whole island nations are preparing to move as sea-levels rise, and in India and Bangladesh the Ganges river is flooding more frequently as glaciers melt more rapidly. If that process completes itself, the lifeline of those nations will dry up. Water shortages could cause some of the greatest international security issues as nations fight over resources.
As a side-note, Newton’s theory of gravity is an excellent and practical approximation of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, at a human scale. As a physics graduate myself (as I assume you are with your comment), I am very glad that one can reliably apply Newton’s gravitational theory at slower and human scales – the mathematics behind General Relativity certainly aren’t practical in most daily-life situations.
Overall, now that it has healed, I’m extremely pleased with my tattoo, have recieved many compliments regarding it, and wear it proudly. If climate change theories are proved wrong at some stage in the future, so be it. Though I do sincerely doubt that this will happen.
With love, and hope for a safe future,
Anna K
Thank you James,
I’m guessing that you found my blog via the personal attack against me that appeared in the Daily Telegraph blogs recently. I’m flattered that a blogger would go to such efforts to research my background. He even mentioned my hobby of 1940′s swing-dancing!
I would be *extremely* glad to have the theory of global warming disproved. If it wasn’t a problem, or not caused by anything within our control, I would be extremely grateful. I just feel that the vast weight of evidence points in the other direction, and don’t want to take that risk with the future of my global generation. The effects of climate change are already visible all over the world – including in my home country Australia, but also in the poorest and most vulnerable nations of the world – Kenya and Zambia are currently in crippling drought, whole island nations are preparing to move as sea-levels rise, and in India and Bangladesh the Ganges river is flooding more frequently as glaciers melt more rapidly. If that process completes itself, the lifeline of those nations will dry up. Water shortages could cause some of the greatest international security issues as nations fight over resources.
As a side-note, Newton’s theory of gravity is an excellent and practical approximation of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity, at a human scale. As a physics graduate myself (as I assume you are with your comment), I am very glad that one can reliably apply Newton’s gravitational theory at slower and human scales – the mathematics behind General Relativity certainly aren’t practical in most daily-life situations.
Overall, now that it has healed, I’m extremely pleased with my tattoo, have recieved many compliments regarding it, and wear it proudly. If climate change theories are proved wrong at some stage in the future, so be it. Though I do sincerely doubt that this will happen.
With love, and hope for a safe future, Anna K