Question : The role of misinformation and fake vigilantes, who provide false explanations about recent wildfires?
Jem Bendell : In this essay I will show how not only all of those claims are nonsense, but that the fake video vigilantes for freedom are actually doing the work of the public relations agencies that serve the oil industry and undermine the potential for meaningful social change. They are pretending to their audiences that all we need to do is reveal some bad guys and we will all be safe again. Many people find that more appealing than facing the painful realities of either climate change or our own complicity in increasingly authoritarian societies…
Question : But what about that 15-minute smart city conference?
Jem Bendell : The conspiracy porn tells us that Hawaii is being burned to the ground because of the globalists’ plan to impose ‘15 minute’ smart cities on the island. The origin of the 15-minute city idea is that local government initiatives could try and ensure people have access to the services they desire within 15 minutes of walking, cycling or using public transport from their homes. If you can’t afford to run a car and are annoyed that your local shops are closing because of that huge out-of-town shopping centre with its big tax breaks and rubbish employment conditions, then hey, you might like some of your council’s new ideas, but doubt their ability to deliver. Instead, they’ll likely put in a pointless one-way system. Or, problematically, they’ll support further surveillance apparatus in their town in preparation for more traffic control initiatives. I am not in favour of more surveillance at all. But the idea that Hawaii is being burned to the ground for this agenda is extremely silly, as I will now explain.