AIBU or should this lot go and live in a cave?

[mumda]

If you don't want to join in society's rampant use of fuel, energy, food and everything else selfish that humans (by their very nature) do, then should you just go and live in a cave and let the rest of us get on with it?

"Climate activists " disrupt fuel supplies.
twitter.com/guardianeco/status/1513160258666991617

During a cost of living crisis, is their behaviour helpful?
Not one of them is in a hair shirt and ashes.

YABU

No one ever changed the world by asking nicely.

Humans are not willing to do what is needed to get to the point that some humans are saying it needs to be (me included)

If people are happy with the consequences then we will just continue.

There is nothing special about humankind that needs to be saved, the problem is that the destruction of our species is likely to take a load of other species down with it.

The earth will continue to be but some species wont be able to live in it and some will thrive.

People have the right to protest I a democratic country. However, I they are making life difficult for everyone else ie; stopping people earning a living, preventing ambulances taking sick people to hospital etc, these people must make sure they are absolutely whiter than white.
They must not use cars, mobile phones, wear clothes produced I swear shops, heat their homes etc, so yes basically they should live in a cave

@bellac11

Humans are not willing to do what is needed to get to the point that some humans are saying it needs to be (me included)

If people are happy with the consequences then we will just continue.

There is nothing special about humankind that needs to be saved, the problem is that the destruction of our species is likely to take a load of other species down with it.

The earth will continue to be but some species wont be able to live in it and some will thrive.

I agree with you. But no way on God's Earth will I support people like Extinction Rebellion.

If they want people's support in making fundamental changes to all our lives, then they aren't going to get it by disrupting supply chains and annoying the shit out of everyone.

You do not antagonise the very people you want on your side.

Totally agree

And to be precise about protest, we have the right to 'peaceful' protest in this country. I do not consider it peaceful to disrupt supply lines for essentials/major infrastructure.

@bellac11

Humans are not willing to do what is needed to get to the point that some humans are saying it needs to be (me included)

If people are happy with the consequences then we will just continue.

There is nothing special about humankind that needs to be saved, the problem is that the destruction of our species is likely to take a load of other species down with it.

The earth will continue to be but some species wont be able to live in it and some will thrive.

You want to literally go back to the stone age? Without oil, there is no heating, no electricity, no food, no hospitals.

Everything in society uses oil either directly or indirectly.

Err no, Im arguing the exact opposite. Not sure how you misunderstood me. I said that humans are not willing to make the changes needed to get to a point where we are saying we need to be (me included)

They're not wrong though are they?

What they are doing is costing my very overstretched and underfunded local police force over £1 million so far, reassuring to know when someone needs urgent police a fair proportion will be dealing with this nonsense.

This is not effective protest

Indiscriminately blocking anyone from driving doesn't achieve anything. Buses use fuel, emergency services use fuel, lorry drivers use fuel. Driving isn't optional for them. I'd understand more if they were blocking parking near schools or workplace car parks where you could argue driving was optional (even if it's not always optional). Or protesting against councils who have reduced public transport.

I actually work somewhere where they are researching fuel alternatives and the interest and funding is already there even without XR's protests. We have an electric bus which is promising but expensive and not quite at a point where it could do a day of driving without running out. The charging time is also too long to work (commercially speaking) between shifts. It's a work in progress but we are making progress and it will lead to changes for bigger vehicles like lorries. We also have vehicles running on hydrogen but the stringent rules on the storage of hydrogen suggest it might not be a workable alternative for the everyday car user. Hydrogen powered planes and boats are looking more likely but it will take years of testing to reach the point of bringing them to market confident in their safety. One plane my employer was involved with crashed. There were no injuries and moderate damage to the plane after an emergency landing but that's nowhere near good enough to tell people they're safe. My employer isn't the only one carrying out this research, it's happening all over the world and there's a definite race. The only reason it wont happen overnight is because it needs to be a safe and long-term alternative which takes time to prove.

If you don't want to join in society's rampant use of fuel, energy, food and everything else selfish that humans (by their very nature) do

That's a very "fuck you, I'm walking over this cliff and taking you with me" attitude you have there.

The protesters are also bloody idiots though. Protest yes! Disrupt already fucked up fuelling no.

Protestors in the UK are odd. In other countries, they protest against fuel price rises or tax rises, or poor working conditions. Here they protest against esoteric things which are mainly based on personal interest and virtue signalling.

I wonder why they don't protest in a more positive way. e.g. for more cycle paths, or for better footpath provision, or maybe for less litter, by blocking roads for a mass litter pick.

I also wonder how they get to their protest sites...I actually know a couple of environment bores and they drive everywhere and eat takeaways and supermarket food. I call them environment bores because they are really patronising towards those of us who actually do things like cycling to work and supporting local farm shops instead.

I actually loathe these overprivileged little oiks to be honest. They all need to get a job. All they are doing is wrecking the lives of ordinary, everyday people. THEY don't need to worry about ANYTHING, because daddy will support them and little protester whims! They make me sick.

Wouldn't you just know the weather's getting better?

Strange how we hardly ever see these idiots when it's icy and grim

No cause ever progressed through petitions and cutesy little protests.