Yeah some of it definitely is. It's difficult... I think there are some genuinely effective people in it that are doing good stuff, but then there's also a lot of utterly useless loser utopians.

I'm not willing to completely condemn their work though because from what I've seen of spin-off orgs they've been absolutely fantastic. I don't think the spin-off orgs would exist without XR, so maybe it's been useful in at least acting as an entry-level form of "direct action" that has brought people together who are willing to perform more radical direct action? Palestine Action in particular attack political offices, shut down factories and do a lot of extremely cool-zone stuff, and they're effective and supported by local populations around those factories who come out to help them when they're shutting the place down.

I think there might be a pipeline here. Get people in at the XR level for activities then harrass them into joining more radical orgs after cutting their teeth. Arguably the hardest thing about doing radical direct action is getting the courage to do the actions you know will lead to the first time you get arrested. Every arrest that happens after the first one is easier.