One of the strongest ways to offend
someone in the Italian language is to curse their ancestors by
saying 'Mortacci Tua' - your deplorable dead.
It is an insult that the Ultima Generazione (Last Generation)
group have been hearing a lot in recent weeks after launching a
campaign of climate protests in which they have been stopping
traffic on Rome's GRA motorway ring road in the morning rush
hour.
And the ensuring road rage hasn't been limited to insults.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, on several occasions motorists facing
delays have taken the law into their own hands, using force to
remove the protestors sitting on the highway.
The group have released a series of videos of their actions,
including one in which a male member of the group is dragged by
the hair of his ponytail to the side of the road by furious man.
"You're hurting me," said the protestor to which the motorist
replied: "who gives a shit?"
The determined protestor in question rapidly took back his place
in the middle of the fast lane while the motorists were dragging
away others.
The hostility has not been limited to the people directly
affected by the protests.
Many commentators on the group's Facebook page accuse them of
being the spoilt brats of wealthy parents ('figli di papà) and
blast them for "breaking the balls" of ordinary people getting
to work, rather than those of the rich and powerful.
One commentator said keeping people held up on the ring road
during the heat wave Italy is currently enduring is "an attack
on people's health".
Another went even further, comparing Ultima Generazione to the
terrorist groups of Italy's so-called 'Years of Lead' of
political violence in the 1970s.
Although there are also many messages of support, there is
little chance of Ultima Generazione winning any popularity
contests any time soon.
If the insults and rough treatment were not enough, there are
also the major safety risks they are running.
Another video shows a group of protestors walking out in a line
across the lanes of fast-moving traffic, with the man leading
the line comes terrifying close to getting hit by a van.
So what makes them do it?
Ultima Generazione, which is part of the A22 network of similar
groups in several countries such as Just Stop Oil in the UK,
Stop Old Growth in Canada, Derniere Renovation in France and
Declare Emergency in the United States, has repeatedly said it
does not like disrupting people's lives.
But the group of 'concerned citizens' feel they have no choice
given the gravity of the climate crisis.
"We know that we may alienate some," Beatrice Costantino, a
qualified vet who quit her career to dedicate herself full-time
to fighting the climate emergency with the group, told ANSA.
"Polarising, disruptive actions get a lot of media attention and
generate public debate, much more than any other kind direct
action.
"Most of the people actually agree with our demands, although
they disagree with the methods.
"For instance, about 60% of Italian people think that we should
produce more renewable energy and abandon fossil fuels.
"As a civil resistance movement, we care only about the cause
and the demands, and we are not looking for appreciation for
ourselves.
"That's why we're not afraid of alienating the majority.
"We're looking for the support of a little minority (1-2% of the
population) who would like to join us.
"We're confident that this is the number of people that we
really need for a non-violent revolution".
Italy is currently enduring its worse drought in decades,
provoking a massive emergency for agriculture with the prospect
of water rationing in parts of the country looming.
Ultima Generazione say this is just a taste of what the climate
crisis has in store and see hardcore civil disobedience as the
only way to stop humanity sleepwalking into climate breakdown.
They are demanding that the Italian government closes all of
Italy remaining coal plants, halts all new projects for gas
exploration and drilling and increases Italy's energy-generation
capacity from solar and wind power by 20GW a year.
They say they won't stop until these demands have been
satisfied, arguing that causing hassle for ordinary members of
the pubic is a necessary evil.
"By disrupting the public, we create a collective drama,"
Costantino said.
"People forced to act out of fear, anger and love for life,
people afraid to arrive late to work, to school, to the
hospital.
"Policemen forced to remove peaceful protesters from the streets
and charge them, even if they recognise that it's their right.
"We cannot get constant, deep discussion about the climate and
ecological emergency without touching people's emotions".
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