No. They’re there to support they own sense of moral virtue and righteousness. They’ve done far more harm for climate activism than good. Now climate activism is seen as some sort of annoying lefty pastime instead of the absolute urgent matter that it is.
Everyone knows protests are only effective if they don’t inconvenience anyone. Ideally, climate activism should be conducted from the inside of one’s closet. That’s how real change happens!
But why are they inconveniencing people who wanted to watch a tennis match and not idk… oil execs?
They get as much sympathy from me as I gave the truckers who protested outside my apartment building in Ottawa trying to convince me covid isnt real as if I had any decision making power
Tl,dr: pick your battles
- Visibility. Targeting widely broadcasted events increases exposure of the cause.
- Disruption: Ever heard of bread and circuses? Disrupting the circus rouses the general public, and a roused public is preferable to complacent one even if they are roused against the protestors themselves.
- Pressure: Eventually, 2. forces the ruling class to take action. Again, even if the action is to silence or persecute the protestors it still serves to highlight the issue.
- Symbolism: Shit is not fine. Most people want to pretend it is, and this kind of event is part of the illusion. Pulling aside the curtain is the right thing to do.
The same strategy worked pretty well for reddit and the blackout. 😉 👍
Staying silent and doing nothing is gonna help how?
This is generating conversation on the topic, which is good.
Protest disrupts, that’s the point.
This is the problem, people have been quietly talking about this issue and trying to convince people for decades. Barely anything has happened. Protest is supposed to be inconvenient. Not sure whether this type to protest works, but the quiet, passive way certainly doesn’t.
Yeah all the experts have been sounding every alarm for decades, the peaceful and “proper” way have been proven to not work, no one cares to listen.
Also worth pointing out the demand isn’t to dissolve the oil and gas industry over night - but to suspend all new licensing and expansion of the industry which in this case… is 1) something the UK should be doing anyway to meet their climate commitments and 2) not that radical or unreasonable
