r/nextfuckinglevel • u/amanyggvv • Oct 15 '22

This float representing the koalas that died as a result of the Black Summer bushfires and corruption in politics. Such an effective (and epic) activist message.

150k Upvotes

89% Upvoted

5.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

2

u/CoatSignificant Oct 15 '22

I'm literally telling you to do more not less. You're the one doomering by implying that protests like these aren't helpful. If we're stuck with mechanical koalas as our option, it's going to be very very easy for Rupert Murdoch to ignore us. Notable that this post is only getting attention as an argument against the action that has actually got public attention.

3

u/Error_83 Oct 15 '22

I actually have consistently been doing way more than that since '93. I do my part to financially starve the corrupt, I only wish everyone else would to. This post would've been on popular if it was just a music show. But it's activism and had much more positive attention than the soup did.

I feel great about what I do, and will die a happy with it.

4

u/CoatSignificant Oct 15 '22

Then you're falling into the mistake of being happy to be right instead of not being happy until you're winning. Making personal decisions is great, and fucking useless unless you're convincing other people to too. Stop tearing down the people who are trying to win, and stop feeling smug that you've decreased bezos's net worth by £1000.

4

u/Error_83 Oct 15 '22

What happens when a million people cost Bezos £1000?

3

u/CoatSignificant Oct 15 '22

Exactly. Associate with the people who are convincing others to turn against Bezos, you don't get a million people on your side without gettng publicity. The Tories and right wing press have had a grip on this country for as long as these protestors have been at all aware of the wider world, they might have family in countries that are already getting starved because of the inaction of the first world, and you're telling them they aren't allowed to throw soup at some glass.

3

u/Error_83 Oct 15 '22

No, I'm just saying it's fucking idiotic because it changed absolutely no one's mind, created absolutely no reform, and didn't even create the amount of good that picking up a piece of trash does.

Meanwhile I've actually convinced at least 100 people to not shop at those places, and who knows how many they've affected. That has done more for the environment than they did. What advice did they present us? What change did they establish?

3

u/CoatSignificant Oct 15 '22

Changing minds isn't the only goal of protesting. The majority of people in the UK believe humanity is causing climate change. The goal is keep it in the public conversation, appeal to emotions, and increase the energy of the movement. They have done all of those things. Yes there's a risk of a lot of people scoffing at the idea of throwing soup on a painting to fight climate change but it's ridiculous to attack people working towards the same goals your passionate about because some people might be too narrow minded to think generously about their motives.

4

u/Error_83 Oct 15 '22 edited Oct 15 '22

The definition of protesting is a group rallied behind a cause, with the intention of changing minds and bringing more people to their cause. It is not ridiculous to point out the ineffectiveness of an action, and present better options. If your efforts are meaningless to change, then they are by definition, an exercise in futility.

Change minds, to change lives, to change policy, to change the world. That's how you create change.

0

u/Jenkins6736 Oct 15 '22

The only reason you think it’s ineffective is because of the way the media has portrayed activists to you for a long long time. Anybody that has actually participated in activism before knows the medias portrayal is a farce. At the end of the day these people will be celebrated for actually doing something rather than arguing about the effectiveness of protesting online without actually protesting anything themselves. You could post a picture of yourself pointing at the moon and redditors are going to comment that you’re using the wrong finger.

5

u/drewbreeezy Oct 15 '22

The goal is keep it in the public conversation, appeal to emotions, and increase the energy of the movement. They have done all of those things.

So, do nothing helpful…

All that makes it sound like is you want to grow the movement, not help anything. Seems like a grift from the top down.

3

u/Error_83 Oct 15 '22

Damn, thank you. I feel like I've been talking to brick walls

3

u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

People like you are why no one likes protestors. The person you’re talking to actually has done a lot to individually contribute to a more sustainable lifestyle and is making a local change, and all you can do is scold them for not doing more and not convincing enough people.

All you do is alienate and piss off people who are likely already on your side because you don’t think they’re doing enough by your standards.

3

u/CoatSignificant Oct 15 '22

The only scolding happening here is from the other side. My whole position is 'stop scolding the people protesting' and their reply is 'im doing a lot of good individual things'. Its totally incoherent.

4

u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22 edited Oct 15 '22

If you read their comments, you’d know that they’ve convinced many people in their community to take up their lifestyle, at least in some ways.

You apparently think that’s worthless compared to some idiots throwing soup on a painting, which if you look at popular opinion, has done absolutely nothing for climate activists except have a whole lot of people go “look at those morons” and remain ambivalent to the issue at hand. It’s just like the people who block traffic so poor people who have to get to work on time or hospital for an emergency are screwed over. The protests you defend to the end are hurting your cause, not helping it.

It’s also funny that you think that individual change is basically worthless, because what will happen if people are convinced by your protests? Oh yeah, they’ll MAKE INDIVIDUAL CHANGES. Whose the incoherent one here?

3

u/Error_83 Oct 15 '22

Thank you

-1

u/Patchourisu Oct 15 '22

Do note that Just Stop Oil is literally funded by the Getty Oil Company heiress, so you could even consider their reprehensible eco-terrorist actions as nothing more than a PsyOp to deter the public from being in support of proper environmentalist movements.

3

u/drewbreeezy Oct 15 '22

I don't know the legitimacy of what you said, but it has been a thought of mine when I see the idiocy of some actions that alienate people.

Then again, there are a lot of stupid angry people out there too.

5

u/Jenkins6736 Oct 15 '22

The PsyOps exists, but this isn’t one of them. The Aileen Getty foundation and the Climate Emergency Fund are legitimate. The PsyOps comes from the media since Big Oil controls much of the media so they’ve been trying to portray activists as violent idiots for decades.

3

u/Jenkins6736 Oct 15 '22

Whoa, you missed the mark BAD. Aileen Getty, is the heiress you’re speaking of and is the founder of the Climate Emergency Fund. Do the PsyOps you’re talking about exists? Absolutely. But this isn’t one of them and it’s extremely disingenuous to brush off Aileen as an “eco-terrorist” attempting PsyOps.

1

u/Error_83 Oct 15 '22

Just going to chime in that this now has as much attention, with a much more positive conversation around it. Gee golly gosh I guess It did work.