this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2023
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From the article: *Large SUVs were particularly affected. According to the police, notes were attached to the cars indicating that they were harmful to the climate. The tyres were not punctured, but merely deflated. The cars were parked in the area between the S-Bahn line and Elbchaussee around Kanzleistraße. *

Personally, I like this protest way more than glueing themselves to the streets, causing traffic jams where cars burn gasoline for hours and ambulances / firefighters / police gets stuck, putting innocent life in danger.

The article is in German. Warning: this link leads to google translate.

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[–] CarloGesualdo 61 points 1 year ago (49 children)

I wish this form of protest would catch on elsewhere as well. Every day I'm struck by the number of huge gas-guzzling pick up trucks parked around the city, and seemingly every bed completely empty. Letting out the air to their tires would certainly be slower and more work than the old method of puncturing their tires, but has the dual benefit of not necessitating replacement (which has a carbon cost of its own) and not enabling the vehicle owner to file an insurance claim.

[–] Seathru 23 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I wish this form of protest would catch on elsewhere as well.

I feel this would go over differently in the land of "fuck around and find out". You'd have bored old dudes with rifles setting up watches. And ~~if~~ when something did happen, public opinion is not going to be on the air-letters side.

not enabling the vehicle owner to file an insurance claim.

My insurance comes with road hazard that would cover this at no cost; and I'm a poor.

It seems misguided. The people doing the most climate damage aren't parking their cars on the streets. Go pop some private jet tires.

[–] fuzzywolf23 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

This tastes the same as right wing efforts to convince people making $50k a year that their enemies are those making $100k a year when, in fact, the enemy of both those groups is billionaires.

If you're a climate activist, your enemies aren't those with a carbon footprint 2x or 5x what yours is. The enemy is those with 10000x the carbon footprint

[–] BartsBigBugBag@lemmy.tf 6 points 1 year ago

The most dangerous people aren’t the rich, they’re the moderates who would rather continue the status quo than risk any sort of uncomfortable truths. You are not going to be able to live the standard of living you have now for the rest of your life. The moderate can either choose to catch on and willingly sacrifice some comfort now for the good of everyone, or everyone can suffer significantly more later.

The rich will always try to use their influence to exploit and extract. As long as there are Ways to become rich, there will be people who are incentivized to be bad people. That is unavoidable.

The real problem is that billions of people have collectively surrendered all of their sovereignty to these few individuals. The many who accept the status quo are class and species traitors, hell, planetary traitors, choosing Their own small comforts over the life of the entire planetary ecosystem, and actively fighting against those who aren’t cowards as they are.

[–] esaru 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Even though per individual the rich are the greatest polluters, in absolut numbers average people might have a stronger influence on the climate due to being so many more people.

[–] fuzzywolf23 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Average people who don't care about the environment did not get that way in accident but because of a concerted disinformation campaign that has lasted decades. You can't change the culture without going after the perpetrators of that disinformation

[–] FreeLunch@feddit.de 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I don’t think it is only because of disinformation. Our modern day consumption is desirable on its own. I don’t think you need disinformation to convince people that flying to a sunny and exotic location is desirable. Or the flexibility and mobility that driving thousands of kilometres per year in cars provides. Eating meat and drinking milk…

[–] steltek@lemm.ee 2 points 1 year ago

I agree and you're forgetting old people. A lot of them have straight up told me, "I'll be dead when the worst hits, so why should I care?" People need more cynicism for human behavior; it's not entirely cartels and conspiracies.

[–] CarloGesualdo 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

I feel this would go over differently in the land of “fuck around and find out”. You’d have bored old dudes with rifles setting up watches. And if when something did happen, public opinion is not going to be on the air-letters side.

Bored old dudes with rifles watching over their parked vehicles in dense urban centers seems like a disproportionate response to having some tires deflated. I think your speculation about the public supporting someone being murdered over their participation in peaceful protest is pretty depressing. I hope you don't actually think that.

My insurance comes with road hazard that would cover this at no cost; and I’m a poor.

This is a good point - I'm not very knowledgeable with respect to insurance, especially internationally. Thank you for your insight

Go pop some private jet tires.

I think this is something we can all get behind

[–] argv_minus_one 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (2 children)

Bored old dudes with rifles watching over their parked vehicles in dense urban centers seems like a disproportionate response to having some tires deflated.

As far as they're concerned, they're innocent victims and you're a criminal.

And they're not wrong. Property damage is a crime, and working-class people aren't the ones obstructing the development of electric vehicles, solar power, etc.

[–] esaru 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

The argument of climate activists is that everyone is factually the victim of SUV drivers, because SUVs unnecessarily but lawfully contribute to deaths statistically.

[–] argv_minus_one 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The problem with this argument is that it claims without evidence that an adequate alternative means of transportation was already known and available to the owners of all SUVs at the time those SUVs were purchased. That assertion that makes a lot of questionable assumptions about the circumstances of millions of people, the vast majority of whom the claimant has never even met, let alone interviewed.

[–] esaru 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Well, they say that SUVs never made sense in cities. Actually, also in villages, as this is happening in Germany. I'd say 99 ℅ of those SUVs are not used as an SUV. Not that I'm supporting manipulation on other people's property, but I understand that part of their argument.

[–] argv_minus_one 1 points 1 year ago

Maybe so, but I'd hate to be the one guy who actually needs it and finds it vandalized over something someone else did.

[–] CarloGesualdo 1 points 1 year ago

As far as they’re concerned, they’re innocent victims and you’re a criminal.

"They" meaning the bored old dudes with rifles watching over their parked vehicles and dense urban centers? "They" are a hypothetical group of people who don't exist and don't have concerns. Or are you also speaking hypothetically about how an imaginary group of individuals would respond to a potential form of protest?

[–] Seathru 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Bored old dudes with rifles watching over their parked vehicles in dense urban centers seems like a disproportionate response to having some tires deflated. I think your speculation about the public supporting someone being murdered over their participation in peaceful protest is pretty depressing. I hope you don’t actually think that.

Oh, absolutely. I'm not advocating for it, just commenting on the local climate. All it would take is fox news saying "AnTEEfah is coming to cut your tires so you can't go to church and worship jesus! Why do they hate baby jesus?" and there would be people willing, if not itching, to kill over it. It is very depressing, all that rage could be put to much better use.

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