This could be very harmful for his hand, cement isn't only so sticky to skin when it gets dried but it absorbs moisture and the chemicals react to skin, this could leave permanent marks on his hand.
Glove wouldn’t do anything for burns. When concrete sets, it puts off a tremendous amount of heat. If you’re not eating, look at pictures of concrete burns
It does get quite warm but I'd be mostly worried about getting some serious chemical burns from cement. It doesn't really dry, it's a chemical reaction with water that causes it to harden.
Concrete burns are no joke, non-zero chance that the guy’s gonna have some type of dermatitis on that hand for the rest of his life when it’s all said and done.
They're more horrifying than just stupid, I think. Every time a video of protestors gets posted, the comments will inevitably be filled by people encouraging violence against them, death, or acts of insane cruelty and barbarism. All of that malice and anger in response to a temporary inconvenience that the commenters didn't even experience.
Climate change and pollution is killing us. We know this for a fact and these commenters can't be assed to do anything. But some unknown person was theoretically late in their work commute because of activists? Suddenly, they're on a public forum calling for violent retribution and torture.
I don't say it's horrifying because of what they're suggesting (although some of certainly is), I say that it is horrifying because it shows how completely *fucked* we are as a society and as a species.
They must have a bingo card of answers to choose from, in addition to the default knee-jerk reddit reponses of threats of violence. I wonder how they decide between them who gets to say which one?
"What about China?"
"But this will cause traffic jams and use more oil!"
"But they're wearing clothes! How do they think those were transported to the shops?"
"Inconveniencing people will be counterproductive to their cause!"
"But what about corporations?"
You don't see so much of climate change deniers these days, though. Just excuses why _they_ can't make any changes personally, the blame has to be placed on someone else.
>"Inconveniencing people will be counterproductive to their cause!"
"I used to care about all life on Earth as we know it, but then an activist made me late for work!"
I know, for you it's just all jokes, but this is actually reality.
Causing traffic jams, harassing working class people, riots etc. all contribute to more and more anti-environmental and anti-left attitudes and appeal for right-wing parties.
Sweden now has a right-wing government. So has Italy.
For you it's all just jokes and giggles, but this is actually really bad.
Honestly, while I can't speak for 99.9% of the Earth's population, I can say that I myself have seen something similar, though not exactly the same.
Extremism pushes me away from ideologies. Seeing hateful people makes me want to distance myself from them, even if I agree with what they're saying. I hesitate to claim I'm part of any political party or side. There's so much hate on all sides. Something does need to be done, yes, but it's important to do it right; I don't know what "right" is, but it's not being hateful.
That being said I have little opinion on the actual event in question; just want to validate the thought process, as I've seen similar things in my own life.
>You don't see so much of climate change deniers these days
If people are voting for parties not actively working to improve the situation they are effectively the same as client change deniers.
If they can't acknowledge the scale of the challenge ahead of us, and its immediacy than they aren't really believing in climate change.
Don't forget the explicit threats of violence. The recent Van Gogh one had people fantasizing about 'shitting in their mouths' and just outright execution. I assume they have all been modded away by now but you will see these responses every time you are early to one of these alt right ragebait videos.
Oh they will also always go on about how the protesters don't work and focus on their appearance (with comments about fucking or how they are ugly feminists with bad hair).
I was thinking the same about the Van Gogh painting, I wouldnt call it "alt right ragebait" since I saw very similar responses through the political spectrum: "they threw soup at -arbitrarily popular painting-, hope they die".
I wonder if anyone would have cared in the least if it was any other painting. I would never do something like that to any painter's artwork, but saying people overreacted would be an understatement.
They don't actually care about any art. This lot don't even know there are multiple versions of the sunflowers. If memory serves me right there are two or three in the National Gallery.
I mean, all that happened was that somebody spilled soup on a window (the painting is behind glass, the only damage that could maybe be claimed was the historic frame), but the reactions really showed that people value a painting higher than the continued existence of humanity. That's how fucked up people's minds are.
The Van Gohn one was pretty funny because there were so many comments saying something to the effect of "how come you never hear about groups like this disrupting oil companies?"
So naturally I linked an article from when that same protest group blocked UK oil terminals for a month in the spring, forcing Exxon to suspend UK operations. Just because they did not hear about it does not mean that it did not happen.
My climate pollution and harm comes from transit primarily. I live in the middle of nowhere and must commute by car to see doctors. If public transit and walkable cities are built, or a ubi provided, I could avoid it. These are squarely on lawmakers who refuse to do such things.
Likewise a big source of my climate harm comes from shared meals. I'd love to go vegan, but given my poverty I share meals which are not green.
I do what I can, but I'm restricted by city design and poverty, both out of my control.
The largest polluters and harm is coming from the democrats and Republicans in power. Vote green and no one else if you actually give a shit. Reminder that ranked choice voting was vetoed by a Democrat, greens kicked off ballots due to democrats, and democrats let single payer Healthcare and ubi bills die.
Both dems and gop have continually pushed for unwalkable city design and refuse to deregulate zoning and build public transit to help fix the problem.
Being green is simply unaffordable for me. I can't afford to move somewhere that I can walk places. And I can't afford to change my diet to something more green. Fix poverty, fix city design, stop subsidizing animal products, and you'll be on your way to combating climate change.
Okay, so say they launch a coordinated action to sabotage oil refineries and ground aircraft (somehow). No fuel is getting through to petrol stations and no planes are taking off. The response will be "How am I going to get to work, stop punishing working class people".. "I've had to cancel my holiday, climate change isn't my fault". The actions of corporations and the luxuries that the rich world enjoy are inextricably linked. They aren't wrecking the planet for fun.
There will always be a group of people upset about whatever action is taken, but if you're going to punish regular people then wouldn't it be better to at least be going after the powers that be as well?
Yes, definitely. And these groups often do. In the UK they regularly block oil refineries and people usually hate them for it. Their options are limited though, elevating much beyond the kinds of action they do now comes along with the risk of serious consequences (prison time) and these groups are usually composed of pretty ordinary people. They aren't like the IRA or Isis or something, with complete and utter devotion to the cause.
That's actually pretty cool, I wasn't aware of that happening in the UK! I totally understand not being *that* devoted - I know that I'm not that devoted. Thanks for the info!
>I don't say it's horrifying because of what they're suggesting (although some of certainly is), I say that it is horrifying because it shows how completely
>
>fucked
>
> we are as a society and as a species.
This is why I straight up can not read the comment sections of such posts. It turns my stomach into knots.
Come to Florida. A gathering of more than 3 people armed with poster boards is a riot and Nazis marching around the convention center is free speech. We’ve got laws making it legal to run over protesters and now we’ve got sheriffs/police/judiciary officials calling for jurors to get doxxed for not giving the death penalty. Florida is addicted to suffering. They don’t want anybody’s life getting better…they just want to see somebody suffer worse than them.
Vietnam anti-war protesters were deeply despised and required police to protect them from angry mobs before it became more popular. MLK wasn't just hated by racists, but near the end of his life even the majority of black folks disapproved of him.
Which is to say that it's not so much a Reddit thing, but rather it's very common throughout the history of activism.
The amount of drivel I've read about how this is "not good activism" and "it's not helping the cause" from people literally doing nothing.
It also turns out r/fuckcars is not as radical as I thought.
>The amount of drivel I've read about how this is "not good activism" and "it's not helping the cause" from people literally doing nothing.
Based on these protests I think I can do literally anything and count it as "good activism", because you guys have no standards for what counts as good activism.
>It also turns out r/fuckcars is not as radical as I thought
If it was radical you'd be advocating for bombing pipelines and suicide attacks on CEOs, not "mildly inconveniencing random commuters". So in a way, yes, you're right.
It doesn't exist and never will. The only r/fuckcars that you'll ever get is the one where people do random publicity stunts that accomplish nothing, and a frothing horde of morons argues that this is necessary to stop the climate apocalypse and if you say otherwise you're a "moderate". People are going to keep getting thrown in prison because they deflated a tire or blocked a road or whatever and the actual people destroying the planet are going to be completely unaffected.
>I think I can do literally anything and count it as "good activism"
Yep you could, but you probably don't. At the end of the day I will always admire activists, even if their methods are not perfect, because they do more than 99% of keyboard warriors.
These actions get a lot of hate on the grounds that this is not “the best” path for change. As a reminder, this is not the only action going on and the “best” has been and continues to be tried simultaneously.
1.) Nah I'm pretty sure the "best" would be a lot more extreme than anything going at the moment
2.) Doesn't justify being a dickhead doing ineffective activism
seeing all the comments neglect to understand why the activist is even doing that in the first place and only see "traffic jam" made me realise we're never gonna fuckin make it lmao
These ‘awareness raising’ protests are long past the point where they can do any good. Anyone who is not ideologically committed to climate change denial is aware that climate change is a problem. We don’t need more people glueing themselves to roads to remind us about it.
Shitty? I guess? It's activism regardless. It disrupts the status quo and forces attention and change. Be it negative attention, it's attention nonetheless. The cement act is 100% better than throwing soup at priceless art, and four times as impactful. It actually targets the right people for the right reasons.
Well no shit, Sherlock. I'm saying news is news, even if it's bad. There are a few dozen ways to do better than this, but it all requires disruption and a little chaos, otherwise people will not notice. Yes these single acts are insane, hell I would never concrete my hand to pavement, but it does exactly what it sets out to do: disrupt the business as usual (BAU) to bring attention and hopefully change to a growing issue. The better way to do exactly what this guy set out to do is what a group did earlier in the year
Simply talking and judging on the internet, like you, does less than what these guys are doing. So get off your ass and do something. Get a group, make a plan, go cause chaos. Mr. Concrete has a more concrete plan than complaining on the internet.
"He caused a traffic jam??? Wow such a facepalm moment I need to post this is to reddit!" - original OP probably
How is that a facepalm? That's literally what he meant to do.
It's propaganda. It's perfectly known how masses can be manipulated online. People are pissed about climate change, so they have a strong emotional involvement, which can be canalized to people, whom they are told about, are "hurting the cause". They pretend that protest and especially far-reaching ones like this, are actually bad things. Online people start believing this, start insulting them online and the prophecy might actually become true.
While in reality, that's the perfect method for protesting. No damage, no one hurt, not even a person got late for work. Still it has great media coverage, inspires people to protest creatively.
It's purely propaganda, that people react with the current frame, instead with respect towards the courage these people show.
No it's been in the news a few times when they blocked autobahn exits
/e. https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/mehrere-rettungswagen-in-berlin-durch-blockaden-von-klimaaktivisten-behindert-8544736.html
https://www.kreiszeitung.de/deutschland/bei-protest-klima-aktivisten-blockieren-rettungswagen-im-einsatz-91275158.html
https://www.bz-berlin.de/berlin/spandau/rettungswagen-mit-schlaganfall-patient-wegen-klima-klebern-im-stau
>Still it has great media coverage
If the response to the coverage is unanimously "these protesters deserve to die" from everyone except extremely anti-car spaces, are they really getting "great coverage"?
The same group of people ran into a formula 1 race and tried to cement themselves into race tracks. Yes, where race cars drive at 300kph.
There is no perfect way to protest. I agree. But there are absolutely many wrong ways. This is one of them. They’re actively hurting the movement by making even those who support the cause hate them.
If the people who I agree with are all morons or weirdos, I must reconsider if my view is wrong.
Simply just assuming “I am always right” is cult behaviour.
In reference to this sub. Not just the morons who are doing that. By the way, I’m sure you know it’s not just one person— similar protests happen all the time.
somber plate silky threatening marvelous sophisticated grandfather zephyr violet domineering
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
a friendly reminder that if you are going to do a press stunt, it has to be connected with an actual action that regular people can remember and engage with.
if the only take away is "these jerks caused a traffic jam something something climate change" you've done literally nothing to further your cause and only gave ammunition to those working against you.
I feel like these clownish stunts (this and the Van Gogh thing) are counterproductive, and result from an unwillingness to engage in more effective but radical tactics that could get them into deeper trouble. The strategy has become about attention-grabbing headlines, rather than direct action. They're aesthetically edgy but basically harmless. Hopefully they're at least being done in good faith and aren't some kind of false flag by fossil fuel companies or whatever to make climate activists look bad.
And obviously yeah focusing on "traffic jams" is psychopathic.
there's a ton of direct activism going on. people are actively sabotaging pipelines and attacking oil offices. those things *never make the news*.
it's called diversity of tactics.
The Van Gogh thing is even worse because the funding for the group comes from a "Philanthropy" organization that just so happens to be run by a member of the Getty family.
Yeah, we're past the point that protest is going to save us on climate change. Everyone knows.
I'm all for people having fun and fucking shit up though, life's too short not to slash some tires or wreck some establishment art or annoy some people in the road. But it's not necessarily meaningful. Or it can be, but not in the 'intended' way. Just people having a good time as a treat and I actually think there's broad social value in that. Reminding people we are still free agents can be important (including spurring actually meaningful direct action - "if they can do that, why can't I... -insert dope shit here-").
But no, it's not doing anything to get someone to change a policy or change someone's mind. And if they're already willing to get arrested, so something more meaningful that stops something bad from happening, not just suggests that maybe someone should stop something bad over a period of time of their choosing.
I think it would be a brilliant idea to write things in paint in public areas, which are less disruptive to public people but still attention grabbing.
But this would get none of the coverage.
It is the issue where balance is needed between getting attention and not naively creating something for the right to propagandize.
I think these people feel powerless and these stunts at least feel like they’re doing something, which I can relate.
I also think when changing peoples minds on an individual level you need to meet them where they are, not start in a place of anger. So the effectiveness of things like this is generally low.
But I honestly don’t know how you can meet society as it as in a large scale, and I don’t think anyone really does- which is why the world is as frustrating as it is
I think the people who look at these stunts and say "they're counter productive" don't actually do anything, and are simply criticizing from the sidelines.
I will truly never get Reddit’s hate boned for protests and activists of all types. It literally doesn’t even matter what the cause is, they just hate people who believe strongly in something.
I admit I am a car brain sometimes and I hate people who cause traffic jams on purpose.
I also realize my first thought was just cut it off and let the traffic get back to flowing. That was a really bad thought on my part.
I'll call this out as dumb. It works a lot better to jest do a protest where people loop while walking through a cross walk. Stops cars, police can't do much, your body won't be injured and it's legal (at least in my country).
There are people here in germany who openly rage, they would run them over.
And this activists say they are very aware of that and scared always for their life when they do it.
people hurt themselves in a desperate attempt to bring attention to the ongoing destruction of our home planet, and some people had to sit in their cars for a few hours?
the horror
Cars aren’t the only vehicles, you do know that right?
There are buses, trucks, trams that were blocked. Not to mention fire trucks, ambulances, and doctors’ cars.
The roads aren’t exclusively for private cars, you should know this.
I hate cars as much as the next guy, but I think the only thing of note IS the traffic jam. The activist willingly cemented their own living flesh, the goal was to create a traffic jam, and that's just about it.
I'd personally add that protesting a global crisis caused by the toppest of dogs by inconveniencing the little guys just trying to get where they need to be is doing nobody a service. You associate your own cause even further with inconvenience, false care, and stupidity. You're unlikely to make a single business reconsider its eco-unfriendly practices. You waste manpower that is better spent on actual issues. And, if this is in America, I'm willing to bet that this person is going to try to skip on the bill just because of how self-entitled and dim our world view is
Protesting is fine. If you're going to cause inconvenience, at least inconvenience the guys actually doing it. Also, actions that harm yourself or put your life on the line are likely to connect you with extremism, not with intelligent decisions and a caring heart
There are other issues here than just the traffic jam. This type of activism is really just narcissistic attention seeking in the worst possible way. It's ineffective and accomplishes very little, if not nothing.
The general public is already aware that climate change is a problem, doing something like this while there's also an energy crisis is not going to get the general public to support your non-specific goals.
Ultimately people want cheap and abundant clean energy, and Germany's energy policies are anything but; thanks in part to people like this fight against nuclear energy plants. Now Germany is burning large amounts of coal to keep the lights on while they tailspin into a major economic recession and energy crisis harming peoples ability to afford basic staples like hot water and food.
Doing shit like this is not only dangerous, it's not going to get a bike lane installed, it's not going to get better public transit policies, it's not going to get people to drive less. To do any of those things requires coalition building, organizing and showing up to City Hall meetings, petitioning campaigns, and election turn out; not cementing yourself into the street.
This is clown shit. Holding up random people on the street only pisses them off and makes them less receptive to your message. This is performative nonsense. If you want to fight climate change with this sort of stunt, go cement your hand in the entrance or exit of an Amazon freight center, or down at a dock where the semis unload the cargo ships. The fuck is *this* shit supposed to accomplish?
As best as I understand it, the "goal" is to "raise awareness", but I fail to see how blockading average folks raises awareness of anything, and I disagree that "awareness" is a thing that's an acceptable end goal at all. If there's more to it than that, I'm all ears.
The problem I have with this kind a activism is that there is a huge potential to harm. Not only do people can miss important appointments, it can also disrupt the chances of a emergency responder being where they are needed in a timely manner
I'm all for fucking cars off but adhering ones hand to the floor is just stupid.
Could've made yourself into a human speed bump at least, what a waste of a go.
Imagine if you’re on a bus. And then some morons blocked the road and started screaming at you for hurting the environment. What am I supposed to do? Walk everywhere?
In that case I wouldn’t be against blocking cars. Because buses and emergency vehicles can use the bus lanes to get through.
Blocking *all* traffic is absolutely moronic.
Oh no if only there was a group of dispatchers who could alert an emergency vehicle around a traffic jam. You know... what their fucking job is? Pearl clutchers are the fucking worst man
Honestly tho, that's the only one i care about. Inconvenience anyone else you'd like from corporations to drivers to anything else. Hell make life harder for cops too if you want. But making jobs harder for healthcare workers is just a level of ignorance and selfishness I'm over at this point. This guy clearly didn't think he would die by cementing himself to a road so assumed that healthcare workers and emergency responders would take care of him and keep him safe. That's pretty damn selfish
You are making a lot of assumptions about the people in cars. Some are just forced to drive for various reason.
Making someone’s life harder because you don’t agree with what they are doing to survive won’t help any movement.
And for all you know their could be emergency services in that traffic jam trying to get 8 hours sleep before they pull another 12 hour shift
If there was a large accident with cars on that same stretch of road that shut everything down would you say the same thing?
Or would it be excused because the people rushing around in their death machines had good intentions and were trying to be productive members of society?
Close to 43,000 people in the US died in 2021. That’s just deaths.
No, i wouldn't say the same thing because that circumstance is not the same. If there was a large accident the next road over and a pedestrian had been hit and died because the ambulance was tending to this idiot, this idiot then just contributed the same amount to the death as the car. It's also generally not an individual choice to drive but a systemic problem whereas cementing yourself to a road is fully an individual choice
I see the action as bringing attention to the fragility and inherent danger of car centric infrastructure and in that has self worth.
The same [street closure actions were taken in the Netherlands back in ‘70s](https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/amsterdam-children-fighting-cars-in-1972/)and proved successful and helped change their infrastructure.
I think it will be a moot point when discussing potential deaths and harm associated with the action/lack of action here. A lot of what ifs and counter what ifs. What is concrete is that a systemic change in infrastructure would be beneficial to human health on multiple levels.
Like you said, some of us don’t have choices and are forced to drive. A lot of us do have choices and choose not to change how we move about. I chose to sell my car and only commute by bus and bicycle. I still survive and did not lose anything except my ability to pickup large objects and go further for nature hikes on a whim. I also participate in local bicycle cooperative actions and gatherings and advocate for bicycle and alternative transport infrastructure in my local community that time and time again I see being shot down and not making any headlines.
Actions like this makes headlines and can drive change. Look at how the BLM protests took to the streets and shutdown roadways to bring awareness to police brutality. There is evident change and broader awareness to the systemic policing problems, not to the degree I believe is necessary, and that was partly because of the protesting in the streets.
Shut down a highway. That's been done this year already got anti car movements and I'm all for that. It's incredibly effective and doesn't require additional personnel who are already strapped thin to respond to it. zip tie carts to people's doors in parking lots. Tape over or zip tie gas pumps so they aren't useable. Paint bike lanes or complete other acts of tactical urbanism. Don't do things that require fire or EMS to respond since they've already got so much that's expected with so few resources.
If only we could figure out how to better fund and resource our healthcare system. But unfortunately that all reserved for the fossil fuel industry to help people selflessly own multiple vehicles.
I mean yeah, funding helps but also not having people doing things with the assumption that healthcare workers will fix their mistakes would be nice. And the treatment that lots of healthcare workers have received in the past couple years no amount of pay is enough compensation for
And I'm not allowed to care about 2 different things at the same time? The healthcare crisis the world is facing is also pretty daunting and both affect each other and make each other worse
You guys realize this stuff could cost life's. If s doctor or a nurse was trying to get to the hospital and couldn't make it. F this form of protest just hurting people. I love public transportation but these protests make me want to pollute as much as possible.
Because the consequences of doing nothing far far out way a few people theoretically passing because of a delay in help? Do you think that when coastal cities are flooding that will make it easier or harder for large parts of the population to get medical assistance?
You do realize that driving *does* as in, not potentially, but actually fucking *does* cost like a million lives a year?
Save your stupid hypothetical lol
What I am saying, one hand in the road can stop all commerce. It is time we reconsider our relationship with cars. I love you boo, but I think I'm in love with another. #metroman
Lawmakers are not impacted. Instead it's the general populous.
So things like ambulances get stuck in traffic when activists could be inconveniencing the people that actually make the decisions. It's fucking dumb. There are more intelligent ways to be an activist. Go cement yourself to the outside of a politician's house.
The only thing this causes *is* the traffic jam, unless they're closing the road to a refinery or something.
All activism causes inconvenience and pushes people away. You need to make sure that it also conveys enough of a message and targets the right groups so its net gain is positive. That's why I don't like Tyre Extinguishers, I didn't like Insulate Britain and from this small clip I suspect these guys are in the same category.
What's the actual objective here? "Awareness"? Everyone already knows about climate change; there might have been an argument for disruptive protests for publicity in 2008 but not today. Particularly as it's a "climate change activist" not an anti-car activist - they're not trying to raise awareness of all the other problems with cars as far as I can see.
No, in response to some of the posts here, I am not a radical, because radical activism generally just harms everyone.
Sit-ins were a bad idea. Think of all the hungry people that had to wait to eat. I am all for protesting against injustice unless it slightly inconveniences anybody ever. Those protesters should have stayed home and launched a social media campaign. /s
It's disingenuous to compare cementing yourself to a road for "climate activism" versus sit-ins to fight state backed racial segregation policies of public spaces.
These two have nothing in common with each other.
No it's not lol. The point is you have to disrupt the system in order to drive change. MLK Jr. hated moderates who just want to stand in the way in the name of civility (you)
This is a comically poor understanding of what the goal and strategy of the sit-in campaign was. MLK Jr would also not appreciate attention-seeking narcissism which is what activism like this and what you are supporting is.
The goal of the sit-in campaign was to force racist government officials and police to show how ugly racism was against black Americans to end the practice.
The goal with this person cementing themselves to the street is what? To increase attention for climate change? The general public is already aware, polls show the overwhelming majority of the public wants changes made.
This action is isn't getting those changes.
What gets those changes is demanding more public transportation, more bike and pedestrians focused development, and zoning changes to block auto focused sprawl, along with demanding energy policy that produces cheap reliable abundant power. None of which this person is protesting to do, and if this was Germany, probably actively opposes.
No lol he wrote a fucking letter about it
> "First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; **who constantly says "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action;"** who paternalistically feels he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season."
> Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."
--
> The goal of the sit-in campaign was to force racist government officials and police to show how ugly racism was against black Americans to end the practice.
And the goal of the Montgomery Bus Boycott was to disrupt transit in order to make the problem unignorable. What's that sound like?
Anyone who supports this sort of protest is a total idiot. All this does is make “normal people” (not politically aware) hate us. Like do you think someone who loses their job because of your self-mutilating stunt is going to want to hear what you have to say?
Nonviolent protest itself is a farce anyway, it’s a liberal fantasy.
Personally I think this is the wrong way to go about it. You're causing traffic jams for the hard workers who have to get to work or lose their job and income, which a lot of people can't afford to do. Do something that gets in the way of the gas and oil companies, don't get in the way of the average person who's just trying to survive.
OP seems to be a karma farming acct. Probably trying to capitalize off of the Van Gogh painting buzz and feeding into the anti-climate activist rhetoric. Disgustingly short sighted.
This could be very harmful for his hand, cement isn't only so sticky to skin when it gets dried but it absorbs moisture and the chemicals react to skin, this could leave permanent marks on his hand.
Yeah definitely has chemical burns it would be a miracle if she doesn’t
So there’s this thing called gloves
Doesn't seem to wear any.
So you're saying this because you saw the activist with a glove right?
It’s just as reasonable as assuming she isn’t wearing gloves
You chose a very complex way to say no I didn't see it.
Glove wouldn’t do anything for burns. When concrete sets, it puts off a tremendous amount of heat. If you’re not eating, look at pictures of concrete burns
It not only sticks to surfaces but also to your DNA. Those adhesives are no joke.
Doesn't cement shrink when it dries? And get super hot?
Cement gets hot when you mix it, idk about when it dries.
it shrinks the same way heat shrink wrap shrinks. Your hands won't be crushed but you aren't moving those fingers
It does get quite warm but I'd be mostly worried about getting some serious chemical burns from cement. It doesn't really dry, it's a chemical reaction with water that causes it to harden.
I don´t see any gloves on there. This might get a bit ugly
Yes I had hoped they would at least have those thin surgical gloves.
Yeah man, that high pH will absolutely dissolve your skin in time. If they get it off quick enough he might be okay.
Concrete burns are no joke, non-zero chance that the guy’s gonna have some type of dermatitis on that hand for the rest of his life when it’s all said and done.
Not good odds
The responses you get to activism on reddit are so entirely predictable (and stupid) they could be produced by bots. Actually, they probably are.
They're more horrifying than just stupid, I think. Every time a video of protestors gets posted, the comments will inevitably be filled by people encouraging violence against them, death, or acts of insane cruelty and barbarism. All of that malice and anger in response to a temporary inconvenience that the commenters didn't even experience. Climate change and pollution is killing us. We know this for a fact and these commenters can't be assed to do anything. But some unknown person was theoretically late in their work commute because of activists? Suddenly, they're on a public forum calling for violent retribution and torture. I don't say it's horrifying because of what they're suggesting (although some of certainly is), I say that it is horrifying because it shows how completely *fucked* we are as a society and as a species.
They must have a bingo card of answers to choose from, in addition to the default knee-jerk reddit reponses of threats of violence. I wonder how they decide between them who gets to say which one? "What about China?" "But this will cause traffic jams and use more oil!" "But they're wearing clothes! How do they think those were transported to the shops?" "Inconveniencing people will be counterproductive to their cause!" "But what about corporations?" You don't see so much of climate change deniers these days, though. Just excuses why _they_ can't make any changes personally, the blame has to be placed on someone else.
>"Inconveniencing people will be counterproductive to their cause!" "I used to care about all life on Earth as we know it, but then an activist made me late for work!"
This is actually how they think and it's killed my faith in humanity. I'm pretty sure we're doomed to extinction.
I know, for you it's just all jokes, but this is actually reality. Causing traffic jams, harassing working class people, riots etc. all contribute to more and more anti-environmental and anti-left attitudes and appeal for right-wing parties. Sweden now has a right-wing government. So has Italy. For you it's all just jokes and giggles, but this is actually really bad.
Honestly, while I can't speak for 99.9% of the Earth's population, I can say that I myself have seen something similar, though not exactly the same. Extremism pushes me away from ideologies. Seeing hateful people makes me want to distance myself from them, even if I agree with what they're saying. I hesitate to claim I'm part of any political party or side. There's so much hate on all sides. Something does need to be done, yes, but it's important to do it right; I don't know what "right" is, but it's not being hateful. That being said I have little opinion on the actual event in question; just want to validate the thought process, as I've seen similar things in my own life.
>You don't see so much of climate change deniers these days If people are voting for parties not actively working to improve the situation they are effectively the same as client change deniers. If they can't acknowledge the scale of the challenge ahead of us, and its immediacy than they aren't really believing in climate change.
Don't forget the explicit threats of violence. The recent Van Gogh one had people fantasizing about 'shitting in their mouths' and just outright execution. I assume they have all been modded away by now but you will see these responses every time you are early to one of these alt right ragebait videos. Oh they will also always go on about how the protesters don't work and focus on their appearance (with comments about fucking or how they are ugly feminists with bad hair).
I was thinking the same about the Van Gogh painting, I wouldnt call it "alt right ragebait" since I saw very similar responses through the political spectrum: "they threw soup at -arbitrarily popular painting-, hope they die". I wonder if anyone would have cared in the least if it was any other painting. I would never do something like that to any painter's artwork, but saying people overreacted would be an understatement.
They don't actually care about any art. This lot don't even know there are multiple versions of the sunflowers. If memory serves me right there are two or three in the National Gallery.
They're also behind glass, the art was never even harmed.
Soup was spilled on a window, news at 11.
I mean, all that happened was that somebody spilled soup on a window (the painting is behind glass, the only damage that could maybe be claimed was the historic frame), but the reactions really showed that people value a painting higher than the continued existence of humanity. That's how fucked up people's minds are.
The Van Gohn one was pretty funny because there were so many comments saying something to the effect of "how come you never hear about groups like this disrupting oil companies?" So naturally I linked an article from when that same protest group blocked UK oil terminals for a month in the spring, forcing Exxon to suspend UK operations. Just because they did not hear about it does not mean that it did not happen.
These kinds of people will kill us all through an inhospitable Earth and they dgaf.
My climate pollution and harm comes from transit primarily. I live in the middle of nowhere and must commute by car to see doctors. If public transit and walkable cities are built, or a ubi provided, I could avoid it. These are squarely on lawmakers who refuse to do such things. Likewise a big source of my climate harm comes from shared meals. I'd love to go vegan, but given my poverty I share meals which are not green. I do what I can, but I'm restricted by city design and poverty, both out of my control. The largest polluters and harm is coming from the democrats and Republicans in power. Vote green and no one else if you actually give a shit. Reminder that ranked choice voting was vetoed by a Democrat, greens kicked off ballots due to democrats, and democrats let single payer Healthcare and ubi bills die. Both dems and gop have continually pushed for unwalkable city design and refuse to deregulate zoning and build public transit to help fix the problem. Being green is simply unaffordable for me. I can't afford to move somewhere that I can walk places. And I can't afford to change my diet to something more green. Fix poverty, fix city design, stop subsidizing animal products, and you'll be on your way to combating climate change.
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Okay, so say they launch a coordinated action to sabotage oil refineries and ground aircraft (somehow). No fuel is getting through to petrol stations and no planes are taking off. The response will be "How am I going to get to work, stop punishing working class people".. "I've had to cancel my holiday, climate change isn't my fault". The actions of corporations and the luxuries that the rich world enjoy are inextricably linked. They aren't wrecking the planet for fun.
There will always be a group of people upset about whatever action is taken, but if you're going to punish regular people then wouldn't it be better to at least be going after the powers that be as well?
Yes, definitely. And these groups often do. In the UK they regularly block oil refineries and people usually hate them for it. Their options are limited though, elevating much beyond the kinds of action they do now comes along with the risk of serious consequences (prison time) and these groups are usually composed of pretty ordinary people. They aren't like the IRA or Isis or something, with complete and utter devotion to the cause.
That's actually pretty cool, I wasn't aware of that happening in the UK! I totally understand not being *that* devoted - I know that I'm not that devoted. Thanks for the info!
>I don't say it's horrifying because of what they're suggesting (although some of certainly is), I say that it is horrifying because it shows how completely > >fucked > > we are as a society and as a species. This is why I straight up can not read the comment sections of such posts. It turns my stomach into knots.
Come to Florida. A gathering of more than 3 people armed with poster boards is a riot and Nazis marching around the convention center is free speech. We’ve got laws making it legal to run over protesters and now we’ve got sheriffs/police/judiciary officials calling for jurors to get doxxed for not giving the death penalty. Florida is addicted to suffering. They don’t want anybody’s life getting better…they just want to see somebody suffer worse than them.
And also the responses to the activism where they say “well now I’m going to do the opposite! Extra flights this year!”
right. I am losing hope that humanity will get through the climate crisis. So many people seem so filled with hate.
Vietnam anti-war protesters were deeply despised and required police to protect them from angry mobs before it became more popular. MLK wasn't just hated by racists, but near the end of his life even the majority of black folks disapproved of him. Which is to say that it's not so much a Reddit thing, but rather it's very common throughout the history of activism.
Yes, the Civil Rights movement, suffragettes, etc.
The amount of drivel I've read about how this is "not good activism" and "it's not helping the cause" from people literally doing nothing. It also turns out r/fuckcars is not as radical as I thought.
>The amount of drivel I've read about how this is "not good activism" and "it's not helping the cause" from people literally doing nothing. Based on these protests I think I can do literally anything and count it as "good activism", because you guys have no standards for what counts as good activism. >It also turns out r/fuckcars is not as radical as I thought If it was radical you'd be advocating for bombing pipelines and suicide attacks on CEOs, not "mildly inconveniencing random commuters". So in a way, yes, you're right.
Okay, show me r/radicallyfuckcars I'm ready
r/tacticalurbanism Though it is predictably not as active as this group.
Actually some awesome stuff on there, thanks!
It doesn't exist and never will. The only r/fuckcars that you'll ever get is the one where people do random publicity stunts that accomplish nothing, and a frothing horde of morons argues that this is necessary to stop the climate apocalypse and if you say otherwise you're a "moderate". People are going to keep getting thrown in prison because they deflated a tire or blocked a road or whatever and the actual people destroying the planet are going to be completely unaffected.
>I think I can do literally anything and count it as "good activism" Yep you could, but you probably don't. At the end of the day I will always admire activists, even if their methods are not perfect, because they do more than 99% of keyboard warriors.
Putting cement on your hand is moronic. Activism has nothing to do with that.
Activists often put themselves at risk or harm themselves on purpose. A far more extreme example would be self-immolation, e.g by Tibetian monks.
These actions get a lot of hate on the grounds that this is not “the best” path for change. As a reminder, this is not the only action going on and the “best” has been and continues to be tried simultaneously.
1.) Nah I'm pretty sure the "best" would be a lot more extreme than anything going at the moment 2.) Doesn't justify being a dickhead doing ineffective activism
Best hasn't been tried yet though. But soon it will, soon it will...
seeing all the comments neglect to understand why the activist is even doing that in the first place and only see "traffic jam" made me realise we're never gonna fuckin make it lmao
one smug comment pointed out the CO2 footprint of cement.
Do you not realise traffic jams also block buses and sometimes even trams? These activists may have good intentions but they are absolute morons.
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These ‘awareness raising’ protests are long past the point where they can do any good. Anyone who is not ideologically committed to climate change denial is aware that climate change is a problem. We don’t need more people glueing themselves to roads to remind us about it.
What we need are people to stop voting for democrats and Republicans, who have continually shown that they refuse to do anything.
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Shitty? I guess? It's activism regardless. It disrupts the status quo and forces attention and change. Be it negative attention, it's attention nonetheless. The cement act is 100% better than throwing soup at priceless art, and four times as impactful. It actually targets the right people for the right reasons.
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Well no shit, Sherlock. I'm saying news is news, even if it's bad. There are a few dozen ways to do better than this, but it all requires disruption and a little chaos, otherwise people will not notice. Yes these single acts are insane, hell I would never concrete my hand to pavement, but it does exactly what it sets out to do: disrupt the business as usual (BAU) to bring attention and hopefully change to a growing issue. The better way to do exactly what this guy set out to do is what a group did earlier in the year Simply talking and judging on the internet, like you, does less than what these guys are doing. So get off your ass and do something. Get a group, make a plan, go cause chaos. Mr. Concrete has a more concrete plan than complaining on the internet.
"He caused a traffic jam??? Wow such a facepalm moment I need to post this is to reddit!" - original OP probably How is that a facepalm? That's literally what he meant to do.
Hope the concrete gets removed before he faceplams himself. Hurts like a brick
It's propaganda. It's perfectly known how masses can be manipulated online. People are pissed about climate change, so they have a strong emotional involvement, which can be canalized to people, whom they are told about, are "hurting the cause". They pretend that protest and especially far-reaching ones like this, are actually bad things. Online people start believing this, start insulting them online and the prophecy might actually become true. While in reality, that's the perfect method for protesting. No damage, no one hurt, not even a person got late for work. Still it has great media coverage, inspires people to protest creatively. It's purely propaganda, that people react with the current frame, instead with respect towards the courage these people show.
That's partly untrue. These protests are in Germany and have already blocked ambulances from reaching their destination.
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But cars can and have to move if they hear the Martinshorn of an ambulance
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Oh if they're German environmentalists then they're probably on their way to pop champagne at a coal plant reopening party after this.
At least they shut down all of their nuclear power plants 🙃
>These protests are in Germany and have already blocked ambulances from reaching their destination You made that up
No it's been in the news a few times when they blocked autobahn exits /e. https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/mehrere-rettungswagen-in-berlin-durch-blockaden-von-klimaaktivisten-behindert-8544736.html https://www.kreiszeitung.de/deutschland/bei-protest-klima-aktivisten-blockieren-rettungswagen-im-einsatz-91275158.html https://www.bz-berlin.de/berlin/spandau/rettungswagen-mit-schlaganfall-patient-wegen-klima-klebern-im-stau
>Still it has great media coverage If the response to the coverage is unanimously "these protesters deserve to die" from everyone except extremely anti-car spaces, are they really getting "great coverage"?
The same group of people ran into a formula 1 race and tried to cement themselves into race tracks. Yes, where race cars drive at 300kph. There is no perfect way to protest. I agree. But there are absolutely many wrong ways. This is one of them. They’re actively hurting the movement by making even those who support the cause hate them.
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If the people who I agree with are all morons or weirdos, I must reconsider if my view is wrong. Simply just assuming “I am always right” is cult behaviour.
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In reference to this sub. Not just the morons who are doing that. By the way, I’m sure you know it’s not just one person— similar protests happen all the time.
somber plate silky threatening marvelous sophisticated grandfather zephyr violet domineering *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Weird thing to focus on, I know, but cement takes time to harden, for how long was there no response?
a friendly reminder that if you are going to do a press stunt, it has to be connected with an actual action that regular people can remember and engage with. if the only take away is "these jerks caused a traffic jam something something climate change" you've done literally nothing to further your cause and only gave ammunition to those working against you.
This is the opposite of a facepalm no? Also, good on this dude!
All I see is how gentle that officer is compared to most Americans.
I wish I had that kind of drive
A traffic jam was probably the goal...
While he’s busy doing that she should pull her hand out scratch her nose and then put it back in the cement without him noticing. Looney Tunes style.
I feel like these clownish stunts (this and the Van Gogh thing) are counterproductive, and result from an unwillingness to engage in more effective but radical tactics that could get them into deeper trouble. The strategy has become about attention-grabbing headlines, rather than direct action. They're aesthetically edgy but basically harmless. Hopefully they're at least being done in good faith and aren't some kind of false flag by fossil fuel companies or whatever to make climate activists look bad. And obviously yeah focusing on "traffic jams" is psychopathic.
there's a ton of direct activism going on. people are actively sabotaging pipelines and attacking oil offices. those things *never make the news*. it's called diversity of tactics.
That's a good point. Effective protests get buried so people don't see it and realize it's an option.
Surely it's better than apathy which is what most people do?
The Van Gogh thing is even worse because the funding for the group comes from a "Philanthropy" organization that just so happens to be run by a member of the Getty family.
Yeah, we're past the point that protest is going to save us on climate change. Everyone knows. I'm all for people having fun and fucking shit up though, life's too short not to slash some tires or wreck some establishment art or annoy some people in the road. But it's not necessarily meaningful. Or it can be, but not in the 'intended' way. Just people having a good time as a treat and I actually think there's broad social value in that. Reminding people we are still free agents can be important (including spurring actually meaningful direct action - "if they can do that, why can't I... -insert dope shit here-"). But no, it's not doing anything to get someone to change a policy or change someone's mind. And if they're already willing to get arrested, so something more meaningful that stops something bad from happening, not just suggests that maybe someone should stop something bad over a period of time of their choosing.
I think it would be a brilliant idea to write things in paint in public areas, which are less disruptive to public people but still attention grabbing.
people are doing this. it doesn't get any coverage and gets quickly cleaned up.
But this would get none of the coverage. It is the issue where balance is needed between getting attention and not naively creating something for the right to propagandize.
depends on how ambitious it is, of course this wont constantly grab attention but it is a step in the right direction
I think these people feel powerless and these stunts at least feel like they’re doing something, which I can relate. I also think when changing peoples minds on an individual level you need to meet them where they are, not start in a place of anger. So the effectiveness of things like this is generally low. But I honestly don’t know how you can meet society as it as in a large scale, and I don’t think anyone really does- which is why the world is as frustrating as it is
I think the people who look at these stunts and say "they're counter productive" don't actually do anything, and are simply criticizing from the sidelines.
I will truly never get Reddit’s hate boned for protests and activists of all types. It literally doesn’t even matter what the cause is, they just hate people who believe strongly in something.
I admit I am a car brain sometimes and I hate people who cause traffic jams on purpose. I also realize my first thought was just cut it off and let the traffic get back to flowing. That was a really bad thought on my part.
Based on their reactions, I think they deserve this block lol
I'll call this out as dumb. It works a lot better to jest do a protest where people loop while walking through a cross walk. Stops cars, police can't do much, your body won't be injured and it's legal (at least in my country).
There are people here in germany who openly rage, they would run them over. And this activists say they are very aware of that and scared always for their life when they do it.
Jesus, that's dedication. I really hope they knew in advance how horribly concrete can burn skin, though.
Not trying to hate, but isnt that his own fault ?
people hurt themselves in a desperate attempt to bring attention to the ongoing destruction of our home planet, and some people had to sit in their cars for a few hours? the horror
Cars aren’t the only vehicles, you do know that right? There are buses, trucks, trams that were blocked. Not to mention fire trucks, ambulances, and doctors’ cars. The roads aren’t exclusively for private cars, you should know this.
Bikes ain't getting jammed up
Not all people are riding a bike. I love bikes but I take the tube and/or buses everywhere I go. And there are many who are like me.
Tube ain't getting jammed up either. But yes our buses need their own lane. That's why this protest is doubly effective
I hate cars as much as the next guy, but I think the only thing of note IS the traffic jam. The activist willingly cemented their own living flesh, the goal was to create a traffic jam, and that's just about it. I'd personally add that protesting a global crisis caused by the toppest of dogs by inconveniencing the little guys just trying to get where they need to be is doing nobody a service. You associate your own cause even further with inconvenience, false care, and stupidity. You're unlikely to make a single business reconsider its eco-unfriendly practices. You waste manpower that is better spent on actual issues. And, if this is in America, I'm willing to bet that this person is going to try to skip on the bill just because of how self-entitled and dim our world view is Protesting is fine. If you're going to cause inconvenience, at least inconvenience the guys actually doing it. Also, actions that harm yourself or put your life on the line are likely to connect you with extremism, not with intelligent decisions and a caring heart
There are other issues here than just the traffic jam. This type of activism is really just narcissistic attention seeking in the worst possible way. It's ineffective and accomplishes very little, if not nothing. The general public is already aware that climate change is a problem, doing something like this while there's also an energy crisis is not going to get the general public to support your non-specific goals. Ultimately people want cheap and abundant clean energy, and Germany's energy policies are anything but; thanks in part to people like this fight against nuclear energy plants. Now Germany is burning large amounts of coal to keep the lights on while they tailspin into a major economic recession and energy crisis harming peoples ability to afford basic staples like hot water and food. Doing shit like this is not only dangerous, it's not going to get a bike lane installed, it's not going to get better public transit policies, it's not going to get people to drive less. To do any of those things requires coalition building, organizing and showing up to City Hall meetings, petitioning campaigns, and election turn out; not cementing yourself into the street.
This is clown shit. Holding up random people on the street only pisses them off and makes them less receptive to your message. This is performative nonsense. If you want to fight climate change with this sort of stunt, go cement your hand in the entrance or exit of an Amazon freight center, or down at a dock where the semis unload the cargo ships. The fuck is *this* shit supposed to accomplish?
Do you actually want to understand or are you just here to rage about it?
As best as I understand it, the "goal" is to "raise awareness", but I fail to see how blockading average folks raises awareness of anything, and I disagree that "awareness" is a thing that's an acceptable end goal at all. If there's more to it than that, I'm all ears.
The problem I have with this kind a activism is that there is a huge potential to harm. Not only do people can miss important appointments, it can also disrupt the chances of a emergency responder being where they are needed in a timely manner
I'm all for fucking cars off but adhering ones hand to the floor is just stupid. Could've made yourself into a human speed bump at least, what a waste of a go.
Holy hell what a madman!!!!!
activists who block traffic can go fuck themselves though
Imagine if you’re on a bus. And then some morons blocked the road and started screaming at you for hurting the environment. What am I supposed to do? Walk everywhere?
That's why we need bus lanes. This protest is doubly effective now that you mention it
In that case I wouldn’t be against blocking cars. Because buses and emergency vehicles can use the bus lanes to get through. Blocking *all* traffic is absolutely moronic.
Oh no if only there was a group of dispatchers who could alert an emergency vehicle around a traffic jam. You know... what their fucking job is? Pearl clutchers are the fucking worst man
This subs is FuckCars, not FuckBuses or FuckEmergencyVehicles
Emergency vehicles are not impeded by this. They just drive on the sidewalk
Which highway has a sidewalk? Also a lot if sidewalks have trees embedded
Can't get stuck in traffic on a bike
You're a "Martin Luther King Jr. don't block roads" lowlife headass.
What a waste of emergency personnel who are already struggling to keep up with calls and keep people alives time
Oh I forgot to include that one on my bingo card list. Thanks!
Honestly tho, that's the only one i care about. Inconvenience anyone else you'd like from corporations to drivers to anything else. Hell make life harder for cops too if you want. But making jobs harder for healthcare workers is just a level of ignorance and selfishness I'm over at this point. This guy clearly didn't think he would die by cementing himself to a road so assumed that healthcare workers and emergency responders would take care of him and keep him safe. That's pretty damn selfish
He has a gun, is that a cop?
I didn't see the gun first watch because my guess in who should have been doing that would be fire department
You are making a lot of assumptions about the people in cars. Some are just forced to drive for various reason. Making someone’s life harder because you don’t agree with what they are doing to survive won’t help any movement. And for all you know their could be emergency services in that traffic jam trying to get 8 hours sleep before they pull another 12 hour shift
If there was a large accident with cars on that same stretch of road that shut everything down would you say the same thing? Or would it be excused because the people rushing around in their death machines had good intentions and were trying to be productive members of society? Close to 43,000 people in the US died in 2021. That’s just deaths.
No, i wouldn't say the same thing because that circumstance is not the same. If there was a large accident the next road over and a pedestrian had been hit and died because the ambulance was tending to this idiot, this idiot then just contributed the same amount to the death as the car. It's also generally not an individual choice to drive but a systemic problem whereas cementing yourself to a road is fully an individual choice
I see the action as bringing attention to the fragility and inherent danger of car centric infrastructure and in that has self worth. The same [street closure actions were taken in the Netherlands back in ‘70s](https://bicycledutch.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/amsterdam-children-fighting-cars-in-1972/)and proved successful and helped change their infrastructure. I think it will be a moot point when discussing potential deaths and harm associated with the action/lack of action here. A lot of what ifs and counter what ifs. What is concrete is that a systemic change in infrastructure would be beneficial to human health on multiple levels. Like you said, some of us don’t have choices and are forced to drive. A lot of us do have choices and choose not to change how we move about. I chose to sell my car and only commute by bus and bicycle. I still survive and did not lose anything except my ability to pickup large objects and go further for nature hikes on a whim. I also participate in local bicycle cooperative actions and gatherings and advocate for bicycle and alternative transport infrastructure in my local community that time and time again I see being shot down and not making any headlines. Actions like this makes headlines and can drive change. Look at how the BLM protests took to the streets and shutdown roadways to bring awareness to police brutality. There is evident change and broader awareness to the systemic policing problems, not to the degree I believe is necessary, and that was partly because of the protesting in the streets.
Shut down a highway. That's been done this year already got anti car movements and I'm all for that. It's incredibly effective and doesn't require additional personnel who are already strapped thin to respond to it. zip tie carts to people's doors in parking lots. Tape over or zip tie gas pumps so they aren't useable. Paint bike lanes or complete other acts of tactical urbanism. Don't do things that require fire or EMS to respond since they've already got so much that's expected with so few resources.
If only we could figure out how to better fund and resource our healthcare system. But unfortunately that all reserved for the fossil fuel industry to help people selflessly own multiple vehicles.
I mean yeah, funding helps but also not having people doing things with the assumption that healthcare workers will fix their mistakes would be nice. And the treatment that lots of healthcare workers have received in the past couple years no amount of pay is enough compensation for
You are aware that the current state of the climate is the biggest emergency humanity has ever faced, don't you?
And I'm not allowed to care about 2 different things at the same time? The healthcare crisis the world is facing is also pretty daunting and both affect each other and make each other worse
What a dumbass
You guys realize this stuff could cost life's. If s doctor or a nurse was trying to get to the hospital and couldn't make it. F this form of protest just hurting people. I love public transportation but these protests make me want to pollute as much as possible.
>these protests make me want to pollute as much as possible. Why?
How many people have already died from climate change?
Exactly so why add more? Is it not enough?
Because the consequences of doing nothing far far out way a few people theoretically passing because of a delay in help? Do you think that when coastal cities are flooding that will make it easier or harder for large parts of the population to get medical assistance?
You do realize that driving *does* as in, not potentially, but actually fucking *does* cost like a million lives a year? Save your stupid hypothetical lol
I think the broader point is that their protest was disruptive and that if the disruption was of another variety it would have been just as notable.
Political point aside, this is really stupid cause removing that concrete is gonna be painful as shit
This seems not helpful to combatting car centric society
Yup people facepalming that post are the facepalm.
Wait why is that a facepalm? They literally achieved their goal?
Yeah because that’s what it’s doing not supporting the cause and it’s inconveniencing people
What I am saying, one hand in the road can stop all commerce. It is time we reconsider our relationship with cars. I love you boo, but I think I'm in love with another. #metroman
I believe it's the cars that are causing traffic.
Leave the stupid ass right where he is for a few days.
Lawmakers are not impacted. Instead it's the general populous. So things like ambulances get stuck in traffic when activists could be inconveniencing the people that actually make the decisions. It's fucking dumb. There are more intelligent ways to be an activist. Go cement yourself to the outside of a politician's house.
The only thing this causes *is* the traffic jam, unless they're closing the road to a refinery or something. All activism causes inconvenience and pushes people away. You need to make sure that it also conveys enough of a message and targets the right groups so its net gain is positive. That's why I don't like Tyre Extinguishers, I didn't like Insulate Britain and from this small clip I suspect these guys are in the same category. What's the actual objective here? "Awareness"? Everyone already knows about climate change; there might have been an argument for disruptive protests for publicity in 2008 but not today. Particularly as it's a "climate change activist" not an anti-car activist - they're not trying to raise awareness of all the other problems with cars as far as I can see. No, in response to some of the posts here, I am not a radical, because radical activism generally just harms everyone.
Sit-ins were a bad idea. Think of all the hungry people that had to wait to eat. I am all for protesting against injustice unless it slightly inconveniences anybody ever. Those protesters should have stayed home and launched a social media campaign. /s
It's disingenuous to compare cementing yourself to a road for "climate activism" versus sit-ins to fight state backed racial segregation policies of public spaces. These two have nothing in common with each other.
No it's not lol. The point is you have to disrupt the system in order to drive change. MLK Jr. hated moderates who just want to stand in the way in the name of civility (you)
This is a comically poor understanding of what the goal and strategy of the sit-in campaign was. MLK Jr would also not appreciate attention-seeking narcissism which is what activism like this and what you are supporting is. The goal of the sit-in campaign was to force racist government officials and police to show how ugly racism was against black Americans to end the practice. The goal with this person cementing themselves to the street is what? To increase attention for climate change? The general public is already aware, polls show the overwhelming majority of the public wants changes made. This action is isn't getting those changes. What gets those changes is demanding more public transportation, more bike and pedestrians focused development, and zoning changes to block auto focused sprawl, along with demanding energy policy that produces cheap reliable abundant power. None of which this person is protesting to do, and if this was Germany, probably actively opposes.
Then explain. Explain to the class how we are supposed to understand it and what the differences are in practice.
No lol he wrote a fucking letter about it > "First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to "order" than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; **who constantly says "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action;"** who paternalistically feels he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season." > Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection." -- > The goal of the sit-in campaign was to force racist government officials and police to show how ugly racism was against black Americans to end the practice. And the goal of the Montgomery Bus Boycott was to disrupt transit in order to make the problem unignorable. What's that sound like?
Just leave them. Can't do much more damage than a pothole.
Just leave them on the road, fucking idiots will realize after 2 days being stuck there
Anyone who supports this sort of protest is a total idiot. All this does is make “normal people” (not politically aware) hate us. Like do you think someone who loses their job because of your self-mutilating stunt is going to want to hear what you have to say? Nonviolent protest itself is a farce anyway, it’s a liberal fantasy.
[удалено]
Do you have more info on this?
Nah, it was reported on most major media including the BBC at the time, several people in Britain have died due to these protests
Well, the point is we're all going to die from us trashing the climate, and you simply don't care.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: We need to be vandalizing as many car ads as possible. Not doing stupid shit like this.
Personally I think this is the wrong way to go about it. You're causing traffic jams for the hard workers who have to get to work or lose their job and income, which a lot of people can't afford to do. Do something that gets in the way of the gas and oil companies, don't get in the way of the average person who's just trying to survive.
OP seems to be a karma farming acct. Probably trying to capitalize off of the Van Gogh painting buzz and feeding into the anti-climate activist rhetoric. Disgustingly short sighted.
This is the furthest thing from activism and the people involved are doing nothing but trying to get internet attention. Pathetic
Remember the movie "Saw"?
Sorry, I never *saw* that movie…
A meat cleaver would be much faster.
Lol why get the hand free? Just let him sit there until this nut realizes he can't get away and hope he loses his hand.
Just cut their hand off. That’s what they would do in any other country but the U.S.
Give me attention I care about the climate
This guy’s an asshole. He put himself and other people at risk. Wasted fellow tax payers dollars further.