National gallery vandalism

[Winterthoughts]

www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/14/just-stop-oil-activists-throw-soup-at-van-goghs-sunflowers

Am I being unreasonable in being really angry at over grown children crapping on our shared history and cultural achievements, and the creation of one if the most famous works out art,from a tortured soul who still could express himself like this.

I genuinely think they'll turn more people off their cause than get them on board.

Great optics kids. Target the work of a vulnerable man who lived and died in poverty. Bravo.

None of those sound quite as bad as the destruction of the earth’s life systems, but maybe that’s just me.

Van Gogh and the National Gallery have nothing to do with the destruction of the earth's life systems. Why don't they picket the headquarters of an energy company or the House of Commons or similar?

And wasting food, blocking roads, spraying shit does what to help the planet?

This was literally my first thought when I read it!

I would happily help glue them to the outside of a building down a dark narrow alleyway...

Utter twats. They do absolutely nothing to help their supposed cause. Why they aren't tasered/arrested baffles me. And the hypocrisy - do they live their lives free of any oil based products? Would imagine not.

What we have here is a bunch of middle-class idiots who are completely out of touch with public opinion and the public in general living in a cult mentality where they believe they are rights and nobody else. They feel they have the right to do anything like the couple of young twits who vandalised the painting. By their sanctimonious and self righteous reaction to everyone you can see they are both spoiled little brats who have never really lived in the real world where people have to work hard for their money. This is the mentality of these protesters. They need a good spell imprisoned living among people who they will find less than congenial.

None of those sound quite as bad as the destruction of the earth’s life systems, but maybe that’s just me.

What a daft response. The ends justifies the means argument is completely meaningless here, because there is no causal link between the two. Do you honestly believe there is a single person thinking to themselves that they hadn’t really considered the impact of fossil fuels up to now, but seeing the soup-throwing incident has inspired them to take action?

The tactic of getting everyone talking might work for causes that are ignored or unfamiliar. The obstacles the environmental cause faces are much more daunting - everyone knows about it, everyone discusses it and yet change is not forthcoming. How is throwing soup or shit over things addressing that? It isn’t, and frankly if the sort of reasoning in the quote above is the best activists have, the planet doesn’t stand a chance.

Of course if I came and trashed your house it wouldn’t be as bad either but it wouldn’t help the Earth’s life systems.

I agree with some of this, I'm not sure the approach is the one most likely to compel people into action (though recognising that the painting was never going to be damaged here - they would have known it was behind glass so it is purely a stunt for publicity - which the threads alone on here have shown has worked)

However I don't think you can completely dismiss the idea that additional talking will help the cause. Whilst many will be irritated by the group, every time climate gets to front of mind will build a little momentum. It will have had a net benefit effect overall - and the more these things happen the greater the effect. Noone is going to deliberately put the heating on to stick two fingers up to the cause - but the frequency of climate stories will eventually stick in minds.

I agree there are probably better ways to land a message in a way which galvanises public opinion, but it is better than doing nothing

I don’t think the question should be- How extreme should climate activism go? The question is- How extreme will environmental destruction go? You need to listen to what they said. Those women are 20, not overgrown children. “What is worth more, art or life?” Just LOOK at what our governments are doing to our people. Thousands and thousands will die this winter across the globe. Look at the cost of living crisis in the UK. The floods in Pakistan. The 70 degree weather in the Antarctic. The homes on fire all over the global south. Malnutrition across the globe. Drought. Poverty. And the rich have NEVER been richer, while the poor have never been poorer. So stop being so petty and listen to what these women are saying. Read the IPCC reports. Read the statements from the UN. Read the statements from the International Energy Agency. Now is the time for action. The painting was covered with glass, they wouldn’t have done it otherwise, and afterwards, they cleaned the painting themselves with kitchen roll as planned. We need to JUST STOP NEW OIL. It’s fuelling the war in Ukraine, it’s fuelling the loss of all culture and life, it’s fuelling evil and greed and death and destruction. Just look at the president of Tuvalu, he begs and begs at every COP for someone to help his drowning island in all of its beauty and culture.

YES. The latest IPCC report makes it clear that public awareness is a huge step that’s needed for the social change we require to halt the climate crisis. Wether the public are angry, sad, shocked or disappointed at the campaign or the individual people taking action, they’re AWARE of the climate crisis. That’s the goal. Protests are meant to be disruptive and annoying.

To all of you ignorant people,

WATCH THIS .

What is worth more, art or life?

Well I consider it very ignorant to fling out such a meaningless fake choice.

What is more important: people or flying about to look at glaciers might be a better starting point.

Those women are overgrown children. Part of a cult mindset. No doubt they have signed the cult contract from organisers which commits them to taking action which will lead to them being arrested at least once. (Policy Exchange) These are not people I would be listening too, and the sooner there is tougher sentencing the better.

It may also, as an aside, helped Pakistan to reduce the amount of flooding if they had not cut down all their trees.

“The cost of living crisis is part of the cost of oil crisis, fuel is unaffordable to millions of cold, hungry families. They can’t even afford to heat a tin of soup.”

And they're throwing a tin of soup over a painting. These acts of vandalism just make it easier for people who are not interested in addressing climate change to ignore them. It's never a protest which would impact the very people they blame for the problem.

The photo is interesting, the one holding the can looks like they're making sure the branding is visible, I wonder what Heinz think about their products being used in this way. I'm wondering if the choice of painting has meaning given the war in Ukraine?

I think you’re totally not getting the point of what that “fake choice” means. I’d recommend watching the video :) the lady explains it very well