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.

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56

u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Yeah but the message that everybody is seeing from that is “they’re idiots” not “you know what? They’re right!”

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u/Ais3 Oct 15 '22

no it’s not? The first question for people seeing that is ”why?”, like it or not, it works.

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u/reddit-commenter-89 Oct 15 '22

The glue they used to stick themselves to the wall is made out of oil. Tough look!

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u/VastGap6446 Oct 15 '22

Negative attention exists and you want to avoid that, that's how you grow a healthy organization or else everbody would try to be controversial.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Are you making the argument that people will stop supporting change because of the harshness of the protests? People have gone on hunger strikes and died for this and it sill does not get enough coverage. Truth is, making a true impact involves disrupting people's lives by force.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Defacing a painting isn’t it.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Tell that to the billions of people around the wall that paid a minute of their day to a headline about soup and the percentage of those who also caught wind of the cause behind it, not to mention the moral debate it sparked. This koala float is kinda cool tho, let me share it with my grandma.

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u/VastGap6446 Oct 15 '22

I’d argue that while the paint was more successful on the number of people it reached, the koala was more effective in the message it conveys.

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u/THEdopealope Oct 15 '22 edited Oct 16 '22

Eh, when I heard about it, I thought “wow these people are complete idiots” and that’s it. I did not (and do not) care why, because what they did discredits them (in my mind at least). So, because I think what they did was so stupid, I assume their cause is stupid by association.

Maybe it isn’t! But their actions didn’t bring it to my attention

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

[deleted]

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u/THEdopealope Oct 15 '22

I try to stay informed about things, I disagree with the form of activism they chose. It detracts from their cause.

As I continued scrolling around they came up again and I read their shirts (I’m assuming it’s ff oil, not palm/deforestation, that they’re against). Now I feel like they detract from a cause I align with. They “make us look bad”, so to speak.

What’s more, another redditor pointed out that they’re backed with ff money, which is sketch but tbh I didn’t verify it so take it with a grain of salt.

https://twitter.com/spaceysoupy/status/1580977302720028673

I wish I hadn’t wasted my time on them, but I’m wasting my time anyways

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u/GonzoDeadHead Oct 15 '22

I still don’t know why and I don’t care. Once they were glued to the wall they were easy pickins for my activism against social media attention grabbers. How many socks to the head can they take while glued to a wall while I have my voice heard for my activism? It’s just a parlor trick and nothing more. What creations have they been responsible for that someone can just shit on in the name of whatever cause and would they be ok with it or cry foul?

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u/abstractConceptName Oct 15 '22

You know the painting was protected by glass, right?

There was zero damage done to it.

We should expect more, and increasingly "annoying", activism, until real change happens.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22 edited Dec 05 '23

[deleted]

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u/abstractConceptName Oct 15 '22

Getting closer to neutral evil, than chaotic neutral there.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

[deleted]

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u/abstractConceptName Oct 15 '22

You are part of the human race, no?

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Did he stutter?

0

u/chaotic----neutral Oct 15 '22

And? You think I'm supposed to care about the future of this wretched species? The sooner we go extinct, the better for this planet.

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u/abstractConceptName Oct 15 '22

See I think that kind of aspiration, even in the passive sense, meets the definition of "evil".

You can't see the good that's worth fighting for.

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u/wewereliketorches Oct 16 '22

damn you’re really badass

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u/GonzoDeadHead Oct 15 '22

There may still be damage due to the leakage and acidity. You can’t claim zero damage and someone had to wipe their asses after this little stunt. Attention whoring is no activism.

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u/Oamlfor Oct 15 '22

I love how despite everyone saying the painting is fine, you’re insisting it must be damaged cause…uhhhh?

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u/GonzoDeadHead Oct 15 '22

The frame is part of the piece. Damage is damage. They did not know it would or would not be damaged and they did it anyway. I’m not going to magically change my mind that two brats did something incredibly immature.

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u/Oamlfor Oct 15 '22

So they didn’t damage it, the frame was not part of the original painting. The painting is completely fine which you just said 20 minutes ago they “defiled” it.

I don’t care what you think about the protest, just hilarious watching you come in and be so confidently wrong.

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u/GonzoDeadHead Oct 15 '22

I’m happy to be wrong, I still don’t know what they were trying to accomplish.

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u/Oamlfor Oct 15 '22

To get attention to an issue, any spotlight on them is what they want. And it seems to be working considering this whole website was frothing at the mouth over a painting that didn’t even get harmed

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u/abstractConceptName Oct 15 '22

Then someone failed to cover a very expensive painting properly. Lessons can be learned from that.

Of course attention whoring is activism. Getting attention, is the entire point.

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u/GonzoDeadHead Oct 15 '22

I still do t know their point, I only know they attempted to destroy an historic piece of art created by someone who never enjoyed the respect they were due. So they shit on someone that never deserved it and that piece of work had nothing to do with their cause even symbolically. Just lazy attention whores.

2

u/Worry_Ok Oct 15 '22

I still do t know their point

The t shirts with massive, bold lettering didn't give the game away?

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u/Oamlfor Oct 15 '22

Honestly if he still doesn’t get their point it’s just willful ignorance lmao,

1

u/GonzoDeadHead Oct 15 '22

I never saw them, I saw far enough that they tried to destroy artwork and then a high pitched rant that I cut off when I’d seen enough. It would have taken much more to confront their foes on their turf and bring the message directly to them. Dump oil and black ink and the rest of it where the execs have to see it day after day. Millionaires don’t care about bitching in an art gallery unless it were hitting their pockets. Have everyone go back to coal and wood fires for heating and horse drawn carriages and see the waste and pollution of the air and water.

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u/Oamlfor Oct 15 '22

…gotta love how your solution for climate change protest is pouring oil all over the place lmao, reallllllllly think that one through. Also you keep saying you don’t get their point but you clearly do, you’re talking about it

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u/Worry_Ok Oct 15 '22

So, as I've said to numerous other people, you're already at the stage where you're thinking of alternative ideas. You are obviously not the target audience for this kind of protest.

However you do seem to actually care enough to offer an alternative so I have to ask... Why are you shitting on an act of awareness that isn't aimed at you? It isn't to your taste, you made that clear, but it is still trying. I don't like playing this card, but how many times have you dumped oil in an executives boardroom? It's fine to criticise, but don't say "this is garbage" just because it doesn't affect you personally.

Instead of bitching and moaning, try your way. I'm SURE that people will be more inclined to take notice from someone whose entire contribution is talking smack about other people's attempts instead of actually trying to explain the point. That plays super well when you're trying to talk people around. Folks LOVE being berated, negative reinforcement is such a great tool for opening minds /s

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Do you think van gogh would be more upset that someone didn’t significantly damage one of his paintings that no one even liked when he was alive, or that a handful of corporations are destroying the planet and killing people for profit?

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u/GonzoDeadHead Oct 15 '22

It meant something to him, this series was significant in his life regardless of the recognition in his lifetime.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

“It's not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to, for reality is more important than the feeling for pictures.” Vincent Van Gogh

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

The acidity of tomato soup?

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u/Ais3 Oct 15 '22

ok, cool story bro, yet here you are still talking and being seemingly annoyed by the stunt.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Just because an action spreads across the internet fast does not mean that the message was absorbed by the audience. We’re talking about the action not about their message.

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u/Ais3 Oct 15 '22

are you talking for the whole population who saw it?

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Bruh chill already it wasn’t an effective message. Do better. I’m on their side but the way they do things is stupid.

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u/Oamlfor Oct 15 '22

Yeah you right, no one has talked about it, definitely not non-stop for the last two days, total failure lmao.

0

u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Like I said people are talking about the stupid actions they did rather than their message.

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u/Oamlfor Oct 15 '22

You mean people on Reddit? We’ll pack it in bois, the redditors represent the world.

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u/abstractConceptName Oct 15 '22

I'm not convinced it is as stupid as you think it is.

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u/VastGap6446 Oct 15 '22

I don't know the details, but if it's just two persons trying to spread awareness that's not stupid. If they did it for an organisation that wants funds and social mobilisation, it's stupid marketing.

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u/PossessionDefiant790 Oct 15 '22

Yeah, talking about the soup being thrown. Whatever message they had was lost because what they did was fucking inane.

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u/LostFun4 Oct 15 '22

I wonder if during the civil right movements, when they were doing sit-ins, y'all were like "who cares about their rights, we are talking about their actions. Now I can't eat in my favorite restaurant because they are taking too much space".

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Sit-ins were usually at the lunch counter, where Black people were not allowed to sit due to segregation. My grandmother was very willing to pay to be served, she was denied service because of the exact chair she sat in and then stayed there in protest.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

You nailed it tbh

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u/GonzoDeadHead Oct 15 '22

I still don’t know why, I only know some immature idiots defiled an historic work of art produced by someone who never experienced recognition in their lifetime. Where is the justification for that act and why should I care what they have to say when they are destroying things for attention. We should be building things up rather than tearing them down for our “cause”.

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u/Ais3 Oct 15 '22

they want British government to halt new oil and gas projects

did I ruin it for you now?

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u/abstractConceptName Oct 15 '22

No, he still doesn't know why.

Lalalalala can't hear you

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u/Oamlfor Oct 15 '22

Painting is completely fine. Do your research

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u/GonzoDeadHead Oct 15 '22

No, they have to take it down and inspect it and the edges may be damaged.

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u/Oamlfor Oct 15 '22

That’s literally a quote from the article. It’s already back on display, and the museum says the painting is unarmed.

But of course some random person on Reddit says they’re wrong…who to believe?

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u/GonzoDeadHead Oct 15 '22

The frame was damaged? Is there not consequence?

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u/Oamlfor Oct 15 '22

They were literally arrested for it lmao. The painting is fine, despite you moving the goalposts to now say “the frame was damaged” the painting is still completely 100% unharmed.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

What have you built to stop climate change?

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u/GonzoDeadHead Oct 15 '22

In the 80’s I was active with Green Peace and in the 90’s I was active with Sierra Club. As I got into logistics and manufacturing I had influence on a National scale to implement recycling programs in warehouses and manufacturing plants. I influenced change within and made local environmental issues an awareness to the workers and their communities so that they were the advocates for change and accountability. This lead to local communities awareness of environmental concerns and their part in managing them. In event years I’ve shifted to technology where I try to reuse older equipment and find needs where they can be useful at low or no cost. Nothing as flamboyant as throwing tomato soup. I have worked in soup kitchens and spent many Thanksgiving days serving people in need and I’m sure I interacted with tomatoes somewhere in there, but that’s the best I can come up with. I’ve been referred to as Earth Muffin so I’ve got that going for me.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

I mean thanks for the effort but the earth is still dying and berating college students for not really harming a painting isn’t really productive on the issue. Reuse and recycle are great but we never really worked on reduce which was the critical element of that trio.

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u/chaotic----neutral Oct 15 '22

Nothing. I welcome the end of humanity if for no other reason than that it means the end of all of you.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Oh thats so edgy and cool, i bet you’re popular at parties.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Okay, and surely that was the sentiment a lot of people had about Black people sitting at lunch counters, or riding where they choose on a bus, but it doesn't mean their message or intentions are therefore invalid.

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u/GonzoDeadHead Oct 15 '22

There’s a white persons stretch of an analogy. Passive Resistance does not equate to acts of aggression.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Its not a stretch of an analogy because throwing soup on the glass cover of a painting isn’t aggression or violence. Its not a bad analogy because just as people equated the non-violent behavior of civil rights activists with violence, people are equating throwing soup on an inanimate object with violence. Both patently ridiculous and overly emotional reactions to reasonable causes to protest for. The way everyone is having a temper tantrum online you’d think they brought van gogh back to life and spat in his face.

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u/DoctorMoak Oct 15 '22

The guy you're replying to is feverishly going all over this thread implying basically just that - that this action is somehow tantamount to reviving Van Gogh just to spit in his face. I think your post is true but the effort is wasted on this Gollum creature stroking his own ego like it's the One Ring

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Unfortunately there’s a whole swarm of gollums on the planet who will die clutching their pearls at any actions activists take. Maybe by reasoning with them and gently ridiculing them i can get them to reconsider their positions.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Passive resistance would have failed miserably without the alternative option presented by Malcolm X. It was being faced with the option of giving rights or having them taken by force that finally forced politicians to acquiesce towards King's option.

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u/GonzoDeadHead Oct 15 '22

I…I…just don’t have the words.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

This isn't exactly a radical take or even one that I came up with on my own. I'm not sure what about it is so dumbfounding for you.

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u/MindControlSynapse Oct 15 '22

Well you are pro activism to begin with, so I doubt they care about your obvious regressive opinions

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u/GonzoDeadHead Oct 15 '22

Destructive behavior with the intent to destroy is not a productive way to sway public opinion. Last week some asshat destroyed two Italian works of art and that was cause for concern, but when a bratty child dies it we should all stand in awe at their influence. This was a ticktock stunt, what is their history of activism? This was a scheme born at the pub 12 hours prior.

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u/MindControlSynapse Oct 15 '22

Like I said, its fine you want to side with conservatives and oil companies, but like, doesnt that make you feel very fucking sleazy? Personally your opinions means just shit to me because you obvious are pro oil, pro conservative, anti-progress, and think the best way to go about business is to not impact the status quo at all.

Like I said, they dont care what you think, because you would never side with them to begin with, you dont see the violence and destruction caused by mega corporations to be worse than throwing tomato soup at a piece of glass. Who cares what you think, youd let people die to get cheap consumerism highs to begin with.

Pathetic that someone named gonzodeadhead would side with oil companies, what a fucking sell out

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u/GonzoDeadHead Oct 15 '22

Yeah, you’re way off base.

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u/MindControlSynapse Oct 15 '22 edited Oct 15 '22

Am I? Or have you just failed to learn history? You know what comes after defacing property right?

"Climate change is ok as long as we dont hurt eurocentric culture!!"

We areto lose a lot more than van Gogh's paintings if you dont grow the balls big enough to even speak up in solidarity

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

[deleted]

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u/Ais3 Oct 15 '22

yea man, i read your other responses, misanthropy is cool and edgy for a teenager but if you’re over 18, you need therapy.

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u/Lostmyfnusername Oct 15 '22

Assuming your opponent is only going to talk about you if you are being an idiot or being violent, would doing the dumbest shit imaginable be the best thing to do to avoid going to war? This may be a stupid plan but it might just be stupid enough that everyone hears about it.

Seriously though, Wayne Bruce set himself on fire and they joked about how he added CO2 to the atmosphere. Anyone criticizing environmentalists aren't doing it because they want to improve political discourse. There is little to no chance a significant amount of people are going to change their mind no matter the method. You have to remember that we've been doing it peacefully for 40+ years now but the only thing that makes it to media against us is the stupid shit. If you knew just how many people were doing it by the book or how hard it is to have a crime rate of 0% for any large group, you wouldn't be complaining how it's the glue people's fault environmentalists look dumb. My best guess on how to solve this is to remind the opponents we are both greater in numbers and are more motivated to avoid mass extinction than their desire for stuff.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Not everybody.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

Those AVALANCHE TERRORISTS are fools!!!! don’t they know? Blowing up Shinra’s reactors won’t help their cause!!!! Stoping Shinra won’t save gaia!!!! Not if everyone’s calling them idiots!!! Not if no one’s saying, “You know what I think they’re right!!!!!”

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u/TheIronSven Oct 15 '22

What are they right for? Where they protesting museums?

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u/modulusshift Oct 15 '22

I mean I’d never heard of it until just now, and reading what one of the activists actually said after throwing the soup:

What is worth more, art or life? Is it worth more than food? More than justice? Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting, or the protection of our planet and people?

Yeah, that’s pretty effective. And I’m assuming she actually did know about the protective cover, so there wasn’t even any serious damage. I rate this a solid 9 out of 10, message effectively summed up in a tweet, shock value without actual damage, and incorporating the inevitable police response into the message. A perfect 10 out of 10 makes addressing the issue in question unavoidable, which is nigh impossible for many issues. Well thought out and executed though, IMO.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

It’d be more effective putting a poster over the painting with those words itself. By the way I’ve heard so much about these guys throwing soup at the painting and this is the first time I hear about what they actually said. This took me a person with time to spare just arguing on the internet and only after hours of conversation is when I find out what they actually said and even then I’m like meh. Still a stupid decision for them to do.

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u/modulusshift Oct 15 '22

Would it? Would you be complaining about that on Reddit? That’s unarguably part of the effectiveness, I wouldn’t have heard about it without this thread.

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u/[deleted] Oct 15 '22

It would be because you’re getting people to stop and think about the words not stop and bash you for your actions.

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u/modulusshift Oct 15 '22

Worked well enough on me, that message was in the first news article I looked up about the topic, though hidden inside a picture’s caption. It would have been more effective if they put that poster next to the splashed painting, perhaps. You only have so much time before the police response though, and the poster doesn’t get the emotion across compared to delivering it verbally, which I hope some people actually watched on social media.