But why are they inconveniencing people who wanted to watch a tennis match and not idk… oil execs?
They get as much sympathy from me as I gave the truckers who protested outside my apartment building in Ottawa trying to convince me covid isnt real as if I had any decision making power
Tl,dr: pick your battles
Wimbledon is a sporting event which has a posh reputation, many seats being traditionally reserved for the upper and ruling classes. For example, on the centre court they have a area called the ‘Royal Box’. I would argue that there are probably quite a few oil execs in the audience.
They weren’t at centre court…
Arguably the most impactful figure for climate change is Greta and I can’t think of one instance where she has angered working people to gain traction (maybe I’m wrong) and I believe she has done much more for the cause than getting on the news for causing a disturbance…
What??? I hear Americans hating her for “trying to get attention and stopping people from doing their jobs” all the time
- Visibility. Targeting widely broadcasted events increases exposure of the cause.
- Disruption: Ever heard of bread and circuses? Disrupting the circus rouses the general public, and a roused public is preferable to complacent one even if they are roused against the protestors themselves.
- Pressure: Eventually, 2. forces the ruling class to take action. Again, even if the action is to silence or persecute the protestors it still serves to highlight the issue.
- Symbolism: Shit is not fine. Most people want to pretend it is, and this kind of event is part of the illusion. Pulling aside the curtain is the right thing to do.
2 and 3 sound about where we are and even you admit it turns people against the protests - I’m against oil execs but it genuinely feels like these muppets arent on my side
Yeah I agree - so why do they keep picking on us who have no power and not bringing their message to places that could have more impact with less fallout from those who agree with their cause but not the way they are going about it
Why do you think a protest at Wimbledon, where Britain’s rich and powerful elite frequent, would not be a place that could have an impact?
I just want to say, I used to work at a fossil fuel company and one of the owner‘s family’s favourite sports to talk about was tennis, other two was golf and sailing.
Not sure if they also watched this one, but I can see a potential connection at least.
I get that but it’s starting to feel like these people would protest a kids birthday party if it meant the news would cover them .
I like seeing them on the streets doing their slow walks and getting in the way of corporations daily business but I can’t help but feel some of their actions are starting to alienate would-be supporters
I get that frustration as well that you express, since it disrupted something you enjoy and that isn‘t pleasant. However, as the inaction by those in power mounts, so do the frustrations of otherwise powerless protesters and that is something happening regardless of any negative counter reactions they may also provoke.
Already people have set themselves on fire in front of government buildings in the US for example and even that isn‘t yet the height of escalations that people can go to trying to get themselves to be heard. You can probably see why, as the climate reports we do hear get increasingly dark and various people and ecosystems on the planet experience negative effects.
Inconveniencing oil execs achieves absolutely nothing. You will never change someone’s opinion whose livelyhood depends on holding that opinion. The climate crisis will not be confronted by oil execs and any meaningful measures will not have their support. Protesting them is a waste of time.
The only way to achieve anything is to increase the immediate right-now cost of doing nothing over the cost of doing something. The cost in annoyance, money, time and for the people that can be persuaded, ie. the general public.
Ok - so one could say a ‘goal’ per se is decreasing attendance at events like this with the hope that it causes a change ? I can get behind that and believe that’s a rational reason to protest.
If all that’s true then my only real complaint is Just Stop Oil isn’t getting THAT message across effectively
You’re really missing the point. Nobody would say “the ‘goal’ per se is decreasing attendance to events like this”.
They did exactly what they set out to do. Make a public spectacle that people write news stories on and then the public talks about it. Normalizing discourses of these issues and drawing more attention and support to addressing them.
People who are already of the corporate lapdog mindset that any inconvenience to them about social, political, and environmental issues should just go away won’t have their minds changed. But nobody wants to change their minds, they understand these people won’t change.
But young people especially will be drawn to support causes and invoke change when they are constantly reminded that their future is being destroyed around them, instead of just buying into distractions and ignoring it all.
