Insulate Britain - a bunch of loonies or rightful cause?

[EerieSilence]

I'm watching the videos with Insulate Britain people blocking the motorists, people driving their children to school, hospitals or simply going to work.
I don't get the cause and the way they chose. I'm a leftist myself and participated at demonstrations but this, I really don't understand.
How is blocking normal people doing their normal business going to achieve anything?
If it happened to me, I would be pissed off and wouldn't care one iota about the cause. Why don't they protest in front of Boris's expensive nursery, blocking ways to Queen's residences and parliament but instead target people who didn't cause the problem?

@Cornettoninja

They are targetting the public because they hate ordinary people

Behave.

I've met these types. They are horrible individuals that are completely convinced of their own moral superiority and consider normal human beings as beneath them and scum.

They love pissing off the general public and couldn't give a shit about what cause it is that they are pretending to back that particular week.

I've met these types. They are horrible individuals that are completely convinced of their own moral superiority and consider normal human beings as beneath them and scum.

They love pissing off the general public and couldn't give a shit about what cause it is that they are pretending to back that particular week.

agreed

Run the stupid fuckers over

@MatildaIThink I largely don’t disagree with you, especially on the nuclear power points and agree that would be a much better use of money. Any option is going to have to have a large financial injection from the government because they’re the ones signing us up for all these targets on the global stage. It also makes sense that large infrastructure projects benefit from public funding because of the power of wholesale purchasing (in theory - we don’t have the greatest track record). Even if the government don’t want to make good on their previous commitments regarding insulation they have to do something notably significant to hit the targets they’ve signed up to which are largely supported by the public.

Fwiw, I’m on the fence with insulate Britain, I don’t actively support them but I can see their points and have to give them credit for actually doing something about what they believe in. I believe in the right of disruptive protest (once you’re at that point occupying a small corner in an un-obstructive way isn’t going to shake any trees) but that’s on its way out. I think that’ll be a huge loss because there aren’t many avenues for the average person to pursue when time is of the essence.

Run the stupid fuckers over.
This is the dangerous part, someone will lose their temper, they'll lash out and face serious consequences.
The footage of driver's dragging them shows the frustration it is causing.

I can’t say I fully agree with their approach, but if you’re a small band of ordinary people and you want to get a hitherto fairly niche cause into the media spotlight, then some form of direct action is basically your most effective route - I can’t blame them for taking it.

Remember what their founder said? That he wouldn’t move out of the way to allow an ambulance through with a dying patient. That could be your loved one. They are my loons, they are sinister, dangerous, risk to the public.

@ChaToilLeam

Their aims are laudable. Increasing energy efficiency and reducing energy waste benefits everyone.

Their tactics are ridiculous and off putting. They come across as agents-provocateurs. Wouldn’t surprise me if some were.

Absolutely agree, especially the last paragraph.

Loonies who only make people hate them and their cause.

@Dojacatpaws

It's pretty annoying but surely some people can change their mode of transport whilst the protests are on

That sounds suspiciously like “women should change their behaviour so men don’t assault them”.

Selfish lunatics who don’t practice what they preach

From BBC -
A spokesman, Liam Norton, said: "In 10 years' time when fuel crises are catastrophic, when the food has run out and when people are experiencing unsurvivable heatwaves, what would you be wishing you had done now?"

Not exactly sure Liam - except I do know I won't be wishing I'd made a utter twat of myself blocking roads carrying single-use plastic banners.

I've met these types. They are horrible individuals that are completely convinced of their own moral superiority and consider normal human beings as beneath them and scum

They're also - at least IME - incapable of engaging in rational conversation about what they're doing

When I've (perhaps foolishly) tried to engage, there's just been a blizzard of Twitter-inspired buzz phrases, and any incisive questions merely bring a 1000 yard stare and/or confusion

They're not trying to win support from the public, they're using us to hold the government to ransom.

Trouble is, the government can see that IB's disregard for ordinary people's livelihoods and lives and their arrogant, pompous, holier than thou attitude (and that of the people who support them) is making them so unpopular that they are destroying their cause. They have no chance of succeeding.

Cult. (Not a typo)

They remind me of that horrendous American church who protest at soldiers funerals. They have the same self obsessed stroppy attitude.

What I don't get is why its the government's fault people haven't insulated their homes? We had a government grant to get our house insulated, all I had to do was make a phone call and someone came and checked what we needed and did it all.

Anyway I think they are going about it all the wrong way, blocking motorways and stopping ambulances getting through is only going to get bad press.

They're fucking idiotic terrorists and i honestly wouldn't care if they got run over.

Another vote for both. 100% behind their cause, but just cannot fathom why they think their antics will work. People who are convinced by direct action already think climate change is something we have to do something about. I'd be amazed if we could find even one person who was a climate change sceptic before, but has now, thanks to Insulate Britain, decided that they need to make changes to their lifestyle.

It's a grift. Look on their website - it's all about getting the donations in. Where's that money going? The spokesman had admitted he's not insulated his own property and doesn't care about insulation.

www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/insulate-britain-protests-hypocrite-not-insulating-home-b959664.html

@mikedyson

From BBC - A spokesman, Liam Norton, said: "In 10 years' time when fuel crises are catastrophic, when the food has run out and when people are experiencing unsurvivable heatwaves, what would you be wishing you had done now?"

Not exactly sure Liam - except I do know I won't be wishing I'd made a utter twat of myself blocking roads carrying single-use plastic banners.

This. Biggest bunch of hypocrites out. A bunch pulled up to park near to my friends house, one climbing out of a gigantic 4x4....

orinocosfavoritecake

Well, from their perspective (and David Attenborough’s) we need to shift how we get energy and quickly, or we’re piling on misery for hundreds of millions of people and making the Earth a worse place for humanity for the rest of time. So the stakes are pretty high.

And it’s how protest movements work - the suffragettes and the US civil rights movement were widely regarded as a pain in the neck too - they got results because they were annoying. Trade unions strike because strikes make life harder and pile on pressure on employers.

This ^

Their protest is working though - they're upsetting the usually apathetic layperson so they are irritated enough to amplify IB's message. Protest isn't supposed to be convenient. Slavery didn't end because slaves asked their masters nicely.

[quote Cubitalfossa]It's a grift. Look on their website - it's all about getting the donations in. Where's that money going? The spokesman had admitted he's not insulated his own property and doesn't care about insulation.

www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/insulate-britain-protests-hypocrite-not-insulating-home-b959664.html[/quote]
Also interested to know where the 30 grand in donations they have at the moment will be going

They are all probably hypocrites but so is a doctor that tells you to give smoking because you are at risk of lung cancer but smokes themselves. It’s still fact that you need to give up smoking.

Urgent and drastic action is needed. Our governments are not doing enough and have been kicking the can for decades. Being hypocritical pains in the asses is the only thing left. For decades peaceful protest, scientific reviews from 95% of the worlds relevant experts, petitions and marches have been tried. What else is left? This is an emergency and people are already dying.

They may scum, pain in the ass, hypocrites and whatever other names you want to use but at least they are doing something in the face of the wider public sleepwalking into disaster.

VladmirsPoutine

Their protest is working though - they're upsetting the usually apathetic layperson so they are irritated enough to amplify IB's message. Protest isn't supposed to be convenient. Slavery didn't end because slaves asked their masters nicely.

Yup