“These activists seem sincere, and clearly they feel like less intrusive tactics aren’t getting the job done,” ........ what right do activists have to destroy things they don’t own and didn’t build to get their message across? Or to lay in the middle of the street because they can’t reverse the industrial revolution? These tactics are like a guy hitting on a girl, her saying no, and him deciding to hold her down and rape her to get his message across since his “less intrusive” words weren’t getting the job done of him getting his way.
At some point people need to accept that if they don’t make a convincing argument they don’t get to throw a fit like a toddler. Plus, all of these things are actual crimes. If law enforcement won’t enforce the law, sooner or later, everyday people tired of the 💩 will do it for them, and that’s when things get really ugly.
Destroying artwork, dumping milk out in grocery stores, and blocking highways doesn’t work to accomplish anything aside from showing the world these grown babies have parents that never required them to grow the hell up.
This sort of action only informs me that the people involved are misinformed morons that have not bothered to study the issue that claim to support. This sort of thing might be used to bring attention to real injustice such as the Civil Rights movement of the early 60’s, but in this case all they’re doing is alienating the very people they need to support their cause.
Matt has his left wing cred to maintain so I understand why he hedges, but an honest person would point out a few things:
1. These idiots blocking roads and trying to destroy art are not just idealistic teenagers, they are also aging retired radical hypocrites who are indirectly funded and bailed out of jail by rich patrons who often got their wealth by exploiting the fucking natural resources that these radicals now claim they are trying to preserve
2. How do these protestors get to the protests? They don’t walk or ride bikes - they fucking drive! Sometimes in vans that pick them up from meeting places that they carpool to in cars. If only we had the time to block those cars - the hypocrisy of these groups is off the charts.
3. So let me get this straight…they have no interest in protesting US involvement in a war in Ukraine that could obliterate the entire earth if it continues to escalate…but sitting in the road to keep a mom in labor from getting safely to the hospital…no problem. They pick the issues to protest that their patrons tell them to protest…it’s despicable hypocrisy
4. They decide to protest in the only country that has actually reduced carbon emissions but China and India the leading polluters in the world zero protests. Why? Because the cowards know they are safe in US jails. If they travelled to China to protest they would never be seen again. Despicable radical hypocrites who are cowardly and self serving.
If they had any self respect they would all beg for forgiveness from everyone they inconvenienced or put at risk.
We're on the verge of WWIII and they're throwing soup at paintings. Oh well, I guess the climate "emergency" is a nice diversion for the kids and their followers.
I used to be pretty invested in the climate movement and certainly am concerned about the consequences posed by the issue, however I feel that they are going to be crushed in the next five years as they are pushing countries to choose between green/poor and carbon fueled/prospering.
Their moral posturing, with obvious elitist hypocrisy (a feature ubiquitous among all leftist pursuits it seems), will find little sympathy as times get hard.
Their inability to understand the difference between baseline power production and sporadic power production offered by renewables means they were too slow to recognize the need for nuclear power. It’s such a shame, because as they get more desperate to bring attention to this issue they will only turn off more people in their ever more extreme demonstrations.
Less intrusive tactics aren't getting the job done as, after at least the 35 years that I have been hearing about it, far too many people do not give a crap about climate change. And, to add insult to injury, enough of us remember The Coming Ice Age that was just before this. And a few people will remember enough other climate scares to roll their eyes at all of this.
The bottom line is really that not all of us are Mathusians. Which is what this comes down to.
“Normal channels are not working,” says one activist.
Translation: the process of democratic discourse has not led to me getting the result I'd like. So we've decided to inflict our obsessions on strangers and seriously inconvenience people by throwing a public tantrum to get our way.
I don't know about anyone else, but when I'm confronted with emotional blackmail—do what I say and think as I do or the world will end!—I'm more inclined to disagree just on principle.
These people need to put down the MSM crackpipe—the planet aint dyin, the planet has lived thru ice ages and volcano ages, and humans are an incredibly adaptable species. Also, there's what like 8 billion of us? Time for a pruning anyway!
Instead of saving the world save yourself (and your fam & friends), instead of healing the planet heal yourself.
The planet will still be here long after we're all forgotten.
I wonder Matt if you would be as relaxed about these tactics if they were utilized by pro gun rights people or those who believed the 2020 election was stolen. Does the perceived sympathy of the cause determine whether the action is justified or not? This is nonsense. These tactics are wrong regardless of who perpetrates it or what cause they are trying to raise "awareness" for. This is a layup. How is this so hard for you to understand?
These people too closely resemble the campus hysterics demanding safe spaces from micro aggressions and demanding protection from halloween costumes that we're all too familiar with. Thus, they will be dismissed. That old saying about picking your battles comes to mind here. At the same time, that self-defeating behavior is probably dwarfed by the private jet flying and ocean front mansion buying of the truly powerful people who claim that we must give up our way of life because the planet is about to erupt into a ball of fire or be subsumed by melting icebergs or whatever.
IMHO, on the issue of climate change or the environment, it is never effective. The disconnect between blocking traffic and getting legislative action to spend money on a problem that will hardly affect a country as wealthy as the US. They want us to bankrupt ourselves to slow the rise of temps some miniscule fraction of C while China/India continue to not only burn coal for power, but are accelerating their burning of coal for power.
Not to mention, their preferred solutions are going to leave Europe cold and hungry this winter. People are in no mood for juvenile BS right now.
The man in the pink shirt is correct. Wars produce mega pollution. Instead of protesting climate changes by blocking traffic & irritating others try marching for global Peace & ending forever wars. Many instigated by america.
My question for these people is always, why not start at the top? I think most people - like me - really fucking hate it when they accidentally (or intentionally?) make ordinary working slobs lives more miserable than they already are.
So for example, in the case of blocking a Georgetown intersection, that to me seems like it's at least on the right track, but there's still going to be poor people in that area (serving the rich)
If they want to win hearts and minds, I think they need to be more careful about fucking up public property and disrupting the lives of people who actually work trying to get to work.
I think what they should do is disrupt the richest of the rich neighborhoods. Like get journo's to follow them as they vault over gates into the wealthiest of the wealthy neighborhoods. Fuck THOSE people's lives up. Make THOSE people's lives miserable. Make THOSE people afraid. Why are R Governors sending people on buses to Martha's Vineyard but these people aren't showing up there EVERY DAY? I saw the video where they disrupted a concert for rich assholes. I'm saying to protest on the streets in front of whichever homes they're currently living in.
I want someone from these organizations to answer that specific question. Why aren't they starting with the Wealthiest? I can't be the only one who wonders about this every time.
Maybe these traffic blockers and soup throwers can achieve what our political leaders could not… bringing the anti-abortion people and the anti-gun people together to reconsider making exceptions.
“These activists seem sincere, and clearly they feel like less intrusive tactics aren’t getting the job done,” ........ what right do activists have to destroy things they don’t own and didn’t build to get their message across? Or to lay in the middle of the street because they can’t reverse the industrial revolution? These tactics are like a guy hitting on a girl, her saying no, and him deciding to hold her down and rape her to get his message across since his “less intrusive” words weren’t getting the job done of him getting his way.
At some point people need to accept that if they don’t make a convincing argument they don’t get to throw a fit like a toddler. Plus, all of these things are actual crimes. If law enforcement won’t enforce the law, sooner or later, everyday people tired of the 💩 will do it for them, and that’s when things get really ugly.
Destroying artwork, dumping milk out in grocery stores, and blocking highways doesn’t work to accomplish anything aside from showing the world these grown babies have parents that never required them to grow the hell up.
This sort of action only informs me that the people involved are misinformed morons that have not bothered to study the issue that claim to support. This sort of thing might be used to bring attention to real injustice such as the Civil Rights movement of the early 60’s, but in this case all they’re doing is alienating the very people they need to support their cause.
Matt has his left wing cred to maintain so I understand why he hedges, but an honest person would point out a few things:
1. These idiots blocking roads and trying to destroy art are not just idealistic teenagers, they are also aging retired radical hypocrites who are indirectly funded and bailed out of jail by rich patrons who often got their wealth by exploiting the fucking natural resources that these radicals now claim they are trying to preserve
2. How do these protestors get to the protests? They don’t walk or ride bikes - they fucking drive! Sometimes in vans that pick them up from meeting places that they carpool to in cars. If only we had the time to block those cars - the hypocrisy of these groups is off the charts.
3. So let me get this straight…they have no interest in protesting US involvement in a war in Ukraine that could obliterate the entire earth if it continues to escalate…but sitting in the road to keep a mom in labor from getting safely to the hospital…no problem. They pick the issues to protest that their patrons tell them to protest…it’s despicable hypocrisy
4. They decide to protest in the only country that has actually reduced carbon emissions but China and India the leading polluters in the world zero protests. Why? Because the cowards know they are safe in US jails. If they travelled to China to protest they would never be seen again. Despicable radical hypocrites who are cowardly and self serving.
If they had any self respect they would all beg for forgiveness from everyone they inconvenienced or put at risk.
We're on the verge of WWIII and they're throwing soup at paintings. Oh well, I guess the climate "emergency" is a nice diversion for the kids and their followers.
I used to be pretty invested in the climate movement and certainly am concerned about the consequences posed by the issue, however I feel that they are going to be crushed in the next five years as they are pushing countries to choose between green/poor and carbon fueled/prospering.
Their moral posturing, with obvious elitist hypocrisy (a feature ubiquitous among all leftist pursuits it seems), will find little sympathy as times get hard.
Their inability to understand the difference between baseline power production and sporadic power production offered by renewables means they were too slow to recognize the need for nuclear power. It’s such a shame, because as they get more desperate to bring attention to this issue they will only turn off more people in their ever more extreme demonstrations.
Nothing works as great for a cause as making normal working people hate you because you cost them money or got them written up at work!
Less intrusive tactics aren't getting the job done as, after at least the 35 years that I have been hearing about it, far too many people do not give a crap about climate change. And, to add insult to injury, enough of us remember The Coming Ice Age that was just before this. And a few people will remember enough other climate scares to roll their eyes at all of this.
The bottom line is really that not all of us are Mathusians. Which is what this comes down to.
“Normal channels are not working,” says one activist.
Translation: the process of democratic discourse has not led to me getting the result I'd like. So we've decided to inflict our obsessions on strangers and seriously inconvenience people by throwing a public tantrum to get our way.
I don't know about anyone else, but when I'm confronted with emotional blackmail—do what I say and think as I do or the world will end!—I'm more inclined to disagree just on principle.
These people need to put down the MSM crackpipe—the planet aint dyin, the planet has lived thru ice ages and volcano ages, and humans are an incredibly adaptable species. Also, there's what like 8 billion of us? Time for a pruning anyway!
Instead of saving the world save yourself (and your fam & friends), instead of healing the planet heal yourself.
The planet will still be here long after we're all forgotten.
I wonder Matt if you would be as relaxed about these tactics if they were utilized by pro gun rights people or those who believed the 2020 election was stolen. Does the perceived sympathy of the cause determine whether the action is justified or not? This is nonsense. These tactics are wrong regardless of who perpetrates it or what cause they are trying to raise "awareness" for. This is a layup. How is this so hard for you to understand?
well if climate change was actually an emergency these protests would be better received.
Idiotic assholes. Run them over and make the world better
These people too closely resemble the campus hysterics demanding safe spaces from micro aggressions and demanding protection from halloween costumes that we're all too familiar with. Thus, they will be dismissed. That old saying about picking your battles comes to mind here. At the same time, that self-defeating behavior is probably dwarfed by the private jet flying and ocean front mansion buying of the truly powerful people who claim that we must give up our way of life because the planet is about to erupt into a ball of fire or be subsumed by melting icebergs or whatever.
IMHO, on the issue of climate change or the environment, it is never effective. The disconnect between blocking traffic and getting legislative action to spend money on a problem that will hardly affect a country as wealthy as the US. They want us to bankrupt ourselves to slow the rise of temps some miniscule fraction of C while China/India continue to not only burn coal for power, but are accelerating their burning of coal for power.
Not to mention, their preferred solutions are going to leave Europe cold and hungry this winter. People are in no mood for juvenile BS right now.
The man in the pink shirt is correct. Wars produce mega pollution. Instead of protesting climate changes by blocking traffic & irritating others try marching for global Peace & ending forever wars. Many instigated by america.
My question for these people is always, why not start at the top? I think most people - like me - really fucking hate it when they accidentally (or intentionally?) make ordinary working slobs lives more miserable than they already are.
So for example, in the case of blocking a Georgetown intersection, that to me seems like it's at least on the right track, but there's still going to be poor people in that area (serving the rich)
If they want to win hearts and minds, I think they need to be more careful about fucking up public property and disrupting the lives of people who actually work trying to get to work.
I think what they should do is disrupt the richest of the rich neighborhoods. Like get journo's to follow them as they vault over gates into the wealthiest of the wealthy neighborhoods. Fuck THOSE people's lives up. Make THOSE people's lives miserable. Make THOSE people afraid. Why are R Governors sending people on buses to Martha's Vineyard but these people aren't showing up there EVERY DAY? I saw the video where they disrupted a concert for rich assholes. I'm saying to protest on the streets in front of whichever homes they're currently living in.
I want someone from these organizations to answer that specific question. Why aren't they starting with the Wealthiest? I can't be the only one who wonders about this every time.
Maybe these traffic blockers and soup throwers can achieve what our political leaders could not… bringing the anti-abortion people and the anti-gun people together to reconsider making exceptions.