To think that Insulate Britain are an absolute menace…

[Flawedperfection]

Just that really. Currently listening to LBC radio.
And they should be held to account for the death of the woman last week who couldn’t reach an hospital for 6 hours, following what would normally have been a much shorter journey. An oncologist also couldn’t get to work, where she was surely urgently needed.
I understand they have a message, but what if they do more help than good?
What do you think?

Ridiculous. Chuck them all in prison, the same as they should with Extinction Rebellion.

@RedToothBrush

I have a friend who is a supporter. His posts on FB are getting more ridiculous.

This week he has posted about people having their freedoms removed for being unvaccinated. Then about these numpties.

Now I generally support the right not to be vaccinated, but his attitude made me think 'oh for god sake'. And I couldn't help but think about the insulate guys and how new build properties have issues with lack of ventilation and over heating because they are almost over insulated. And again its his attitude.

Basically he is an anti-establishmentarian rather than particularly having beliefs. He is a 40 something year old rebel. And his attitude is hostile and alienating and is liable to damage the causes he supports rather than encourage awareness.

I've known him years and he's really well meaning but totally clueless about how to encourage people to get on board with his causes.

Ironically I broadly support what he thinks, but he has this ability to make it annoying and want to say the opposite!!!

They would do better by learning how to better communicate with people. But then I suspect it wouldn't get them the attention or drama they seek as part of the lifestyle and being able to say they hate the state.

Cos thats what I really think its about - and if they weren't protesting about this, they'd simply be on a different bandwagon.

Nice guy, just looking for a purpose and cause in life.

Do you mean he’s complaining about people having their freedoms removed and doesn’t think that should happen?

It's disgusting. I actually think it's counterproductive too - people are more interested in the horrible things that they are doing rather than the message behind it which is sad. I don't want to hear a word that they have to say about insulation, climate change or whatever else, not because of the subject matter but because of the way that they are going about it. Why are they not protesting outside the Chinese or US embassies? That wouldn't have resulted in the the death of the poor women who couldn't reach the hospital in time, the four way pile up that resulted in at least one person having to be airlifted to hospital with serious injuries or the hardship for the countless hardworking people that they delayed. I'm presuming that the Co2 emissions are actually worse as a result of all the cars idling on the motorway too.

@2point7degrees

Umm what?!! Only older people commute on the M25? What on earth makes you say that?

I could pretend I thought this was an honest attempt to understand the point and give a response to elaborate, but given you've immediately resorted to changing the word "most" to "only" to create a strawman it is far too evident that you have no genuine interest in understand any point of view other than your own.

It's still ridiculous to say that "most" people on the M25 are older.

I didn't hear the interview Is the women who died the same one that had the stroke and couldn't get to hospital in time? They should be prosecuted for manslaughter. Bastards

I mean, they're all older than 16 but that's not what you meant I assume

Lots of schemes already exist for free or subsidised insulation & for installation of central heating

Better ways to protest than closing the M25 surely ?

Why aren't the police arresting them and heavily fining them? If these were lockdown protestors the police wouldn't be treating them with kid gloves. Why is there seemingly a two-tier policing system for the middle class wokesters vs working class protestors?

As the risk of sounding like I support IB (I don't - I don't pay them a huge amount of attention), it occurs to me that every effective (and some non-effective) activist group since the dawn of time has been

a) disruptive
b) described negatively for it

The suffragettes were accused using similar language to that used here. Called terrorists, accused of causing millions of pounds worth of damage and risking/taking lives with their bombs.

Sometimes the current generation is not best placed to judge what is reasonable and what isn't - plus, progress is only made by unreasonable men and all that. So my distaste for IB may be right or may just be a product of my generation.

None of these ‘activists’ can ever answer the question - what is the point in this virtue signalling when UK has less than 1% of global carbon emissions? Really what difference does it make?

1% is too high no? There are 195 countries in the world and the UK is a small one compared to some. Using a crude measure 1/195 of the carbon emissions would be 0.5% so 1% would appear to be more than 'our fair share' iyswim.

@2point7degrees

Fair point, my apologies. Most people are not old, they’re commuting people. I do care about the environment. I more care that I sat in my car polluting it further while these people glued themselves to rails, waiting precious police resources. I do a job driving to attend to people who are vulnerable. I wasn’t delighted that I was prevented from that.

Their founder says stopping people getting to work will get the attention they need

I am sure they will get attention but probably it will just be turning people off doing anything. I wonder how many vehicles didn’t turn their engine off whilst waiting for the blockage to be cleared.
Why do all these protests about climate change involve more pollution being added to the atmosphere.
These type of “protests” could have done so much if they had gone at it with the attitude to show people different ways they can help and get on board with changing the world.

People respond more to pleasantness.
Putting peoples backs up is going to get you no where.

I saw an article about a guy in the recent XR protests who had chained himself to a lorry wheel. He said he did it because he wanted people to think why had he chained himself to a lorry wheel and then ask him why.

I think most people just thought a**ehole and stepped over him.

It's difficult to insulate more houses when you can't get the materials delivered.

It's just ridiculously counterproductive and I don't know how they can't see it. Instead of garnering support from the general public with well informed campaigns actually spelling out what they want to achieve, they carry out these stupid stunts. Yes, it enables them to get a headline news appearance, but not in a good way. None of their actual cause objectives are being featured, just photos of them chucking paint, gluing themselves to roads and getting into fights with the public. Oh, and articles on the members personal life and how they don't actually practise what they preach!

They would do better by learning how to better communicate with people. But then I suspect it wouldn't get them the attention or drama they seek as part of the lifestyle and being able to say they hate the state

They don’t care about the environment I think it is just so people can get themselves on tv for their 15 minutes of fame.

If they actually cared about the environment they would be doing something practical and showing people ways to cut costs and save the planet rather than actions that result in death and more pollution.

But doing something practical wouldn’t get them on tv

@lonelyapple

Why aren't the police arresting them and heavily fining them? If these were lockdown protestors the police wouldn't be treating them with kid gloves. Why is there seemingly a two-tier policing system for the middle class wokesters vs working class protestors?

The lockdown protestors were violent. They deserved everything they got, and in fact weren’t treated harshly enough.

Insulate Britain need to be much, much smarter. They are doing absolutely nothing but turning people away from their 'cause'. Real change comes from raising positive awareness through ongoing campaigns & trying to push legislation through. Disrupting people's everyday lives is defo not the way forward imo.

None of these ‘activists’ can ever answer the question - what is the point in this virtue signalling when UK has less than 1% of global carbon emissions? Really what difference does it make?

It's answered every time it's asked, people just don't want to listen.

1. The UK may only account for

I think an interesting question would be: how many people have changed their behaviour specifically due to the influence of ER or IB?
I certainly haven’t.

I cried listening to Chris on LBC. I am proud to live in a democracy where people have the right to peaceful protest, but their actions in disrupting people's lives and the possible consequences are disgraceful.

It is shockingly bad what they are all doing, disrupting so many people as they try and get to work, not to mention lots of the police force, having to deal with the jobless numpties. Protesters are getting worse these days, with the damage they cause.I believe some have chucked paint all over the road somewhere.

I am surprised that a few lorry drivers haven't jumped in their vehicles, and batted along the motorway at a good speed, and flattened all the protesters into the road.!

@2point7degrees no it was a stupid point to make that most people who commute are old , it will be a mix and also many they held up may of lost time and money and they then cannot afford the schemes these people want etc and it doesn't helps their causes , half the time its just go cause chaos to others and if it caused a death then well they should be ashamed

@HarrietsChariot

They're scum, there's no other word. Well, there are lots of less polite ones I suppose.

When XR were on the rampage a few years back I made a committment not to recycle anything for a year and largely managed it for a long while, though I've gradually slipped back into doing it because of the convenience factor. I also used to leave the taps running as much as possible.

I don't really want to start that nonsense again but this road-blocking bullshit has angered me every bit as much as the XR twats disrupting public transport, so I think I will have to.

I know wasting water and not recycling aren't exactly what "Insulate Britain" are protesting about but it feels like the only action I can reasonably take. At least it's sticking two fingers up to the environmentalist thugs in a general sense.

Some things are easier, I try to buy things that have a lot of "food miles" and processed stuff because often they're cheaper than buying local/organic stuff.

Whatever you think about Insulate Britain (and I don't know enough about them yet to have an opinion, as I haven't yet listened to the interview) this is an absolutely insane response to anything - deliberatelydoing things to destroy the environment. If a friend did this then I would really worry about them.

YANBU. All they've done is make themselves look like total pricks.

I don’t even know what they stand for. I see the article headline think what twats and don’t even open it to read it because it’s just bloody morons being dicks and blocking a road.