This is your victory.
Do you want to know what winning tastes like? Sweet, sweet triumph? Of course you do. Just Google “Shell” and “Arctic” right now, and you’ll get a delicious taste. You’ll see phrases like ‘pulled the plug,’ ‘backs away,’ ‘cancels,’ and ‘abandoned’ all coming from the mouths of Shell executives.
That’s because you won, you did this. Shell announced last night that it is pulling out of the Alaskan Arctic, and won’t be drilling there again anytime soon.
So, while the work to keep fossil fuels in the ground isn’t over, let’s take a moment to drink long and deep from the cup of victory. Let’s savor it. Because you earned it. This victory is a result of the amazing work of millions of people around the world who stood up against Shell and said #ShellNo to Arctic drilling. People like you who signed petitions, shared the story with your family and friends, protested on kayaks, bicycles, and on foot, or did any of the hundreds of other small acts which combined together to force this oil giant into retreat. This is a collective victory, a triumph, which we all made happen together.
So it’s time to celebrate. And since we won this fight together, we should celebrate this victory together.
It’s time for your happy dance. Your ‘we did it’ dance.
Show Us Your #ArcticVictoryDance
- Grab your phone and film yourself, your friends, your family, your dog — whoever you can find — doing the most outrageous, over the top, excited victory dance.
- Post it to social media with the hashtag #ArcticVictoryDance.
- Tag your friends and ask them to do the same. Let’s celebrate!
What’s that? You say you’re too shy to be the first one out on the dance floor? Here’s some inspiration:
Shell quit the Arctic (!!) so at my house we're doing the #ArcticVictoryDance http://t.co/kLCnhAfm2l pic.twitter.com/QHuXvuU7bs
— Travis Nichols (@travisjnichols) September 28, 2015
Holy s%*#T! YOU did it! #Shell is heading out of the #Arctic! Show your #ArcticVictoryDance! http://t.co/fZlF4yaBWX pic.twitter.com/vfPl3ZhtlQ
— Greenpeace Africa (@Greenpeaceafric) September 28, 2015
We did this together, and we’ll do even more amazing and wonderful things together in the future. If dancing’s not your thing, you can still help us keep this movement going strong. Click here to tell President Obama to permanently protect the Arctic and keep all fossil fuels in the ground where they belong.
UPDATE September 29, 2015, 9:20am EST:
The competition is stiff, you guys.
One hell of a victory dance… Emma Thompson reacts to Shell abandoning its Alaska Arctic drilling @GreenpeaceUK pic.twitter.com/xCNdT18aJH
— 5News (@5_News) September 29, 2015
A version of this article was originally published by Greenpeace Canada.
