333
Just Stop Oil activists throw soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers after fellow protesters jailed
(www.theguardian.com)
this post was submitted on 27 Sep 2024
333 points (92.6% liked)
World News
39004 readers
2573 users here now
A community for discussing events around the World
Rules:
-
Rule 1: posts have the following requirements:
- Post news articles only
- Video links are NOT articles and will be removed.
- Title must match the article headline
- Not United States Internal News
- Recent (Past 30 Days)
- Screenshots/links to other social media sites (Twitter/X/Facebook/Youtube/reddit, etc.) are explicitly forbidden, as are link shorteners.
-
Rule 2: Do not copy the entire article into your post. The key points in 1-2 paragraphs is allowed (even encouraged!), but large segments of articles posted in the body will result in the post being removed. If you have to stop and think "Is this fair use?", it probably isn't. Archive links, especially the ones created on link submission, are absolutely allowed but those that avoid paywalls are not.
-
Rule 3: Opinions articles, or Articles based on misinformation/propaganda may be removed. Sources that have a Low or Very Low factual reporting rating or MBFC Credibility Rating may be removed.
-
Rule 4: Posts or comments that are homophobic, transphobic, racist, sexist, anti-religious, or ableist will be removed. “Ironic” prejudice is just prejudiced.
-
Posts and comments must abide by the lemmy.world terms of service UPDATED AS OF 10/19
-
Rule 5: Keep it civil. It's OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It's NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
-
Rule 6: Memes, spam, other low effort posting, reposts, misinformation, advocating violence, off-topic, trolling, offensive, regarding the moderators or meta in content may be removed at any time.
-
Rule 7: We didn't USED to need a rule about how many posts one could make in a day, then someone posted NINETEEN articles in a single day. Not comments, FULL ARTICLES. If you're posting more than say, 10 or so, consider going outside and touching grass. We reserve the right to limit over-posting so a single user does not dominate the front page.
We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.
All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.
Lemmy World Partners
News [email protected]
Politics [email protected]
World Politics [email protected]
Recommendations
For Firefox users, there is media bias / propaganda / fact check plugin.
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/media-bias-fact-check/
- Consider including the article’s mediabiasfactcheck.com/ link
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I'm confused who this is for. Even many who agree with them don't appreciate vandalism of art and art galleries.
Getting a couple of ounces of soup on a picture frame is hardly the "vandalism of art" people are making it out to be.
It's to get cameras thrust in their face so they ask when oil executives will face consequences.
"Is destroying art worse than destroying the whole planet???"
It's an idiotic form of protest, it accomplishes nothing but turning the public against you, and forever associating your cause with petty vandalism.
And also everything they do is wrong because all protests are secretly worse than the things being protested.
Let the planet die like all the reasonable people.
...and yet, here we are talking about climate change. If they'd instead organized a protest of 10,000 people marching for hours it wouldn't have been international news and we wouldn't be talking about climate change.
10 thousand people marching would make world headlines. Though admittedly that's more difficult than smuggling soup in to an art gallery.
No, it wouldn't. Protest is totally normalized now, it's just a pressure release valve that helps keep the status quo running.
Here is a protest that happened today - https://cloudisland.nz/@simplicitarian/113212289035494255
Apparently it involved between 20,000 to 30,000 people - https://cloudisland.nz/@simplicitarian/113212686270895144
It will not be mentioned in any big news media outside of New Zealand.
You're really close to getting it. Just a few more steps.
Confirming that "We don't want to do things the hard way that works, we want to do easy stuff" is the motivation is a hell of a take to present as a positive.
It’s a fair question.
Everyone cares so much about protecting this painting. Why don’t they care as much about protecting the planet? (And the painting isn’t even in any real danger. It’s behind glass.)
The vandalism is practically thought-provoking performance art in itself. It’s probably one of the best pieces in the gallery.
Jesus fucking Christ.
Except when they did protests targeted at oil infrastructure, that was still apparently wrong and got far less coverage than much safer stunts like these.
They should throw (cold) soup on the children of oil company executives.
I don't know how many times I need to say this. THAT IS ASSAULT. In most countries that is years of prison. Soup on a Plexiglas barrier is, at most, a few days for disturbing the peace and vandalizing protective equipment. What doesn't make sense about this to you?
Because soup on plexiglass doesn’t save humanity?
I think some soup on a person is a small price to pay. Frankly, I feel beheading a few million rich people and their spawn is also a SMALL PRICE for eliminating the problem with humanity.
But let’s start with the soup.
What doesn’t make sense about this to you?
I mean if that's your opinion, I'm right there with you. It's a drastic solution, but it might work! Problem is, who are you going to get who's okay with a serious crime and a prison sentence on their record? It doesn't matter what action they actually do as long as people talk about it. If the news got all up in arms about them putting up posters on their local community board, then I'd suggest that they do that.
I'm going to keep saying "what doesn't make sense about this to you?" because I feel you're being wilfully obtuse.
Oh, you can’t get anyone to do it. Because even then change would probably never happen.
Humanity is over, I’m down for whatever ends it the fastest and lets the earth wipe us from existence.
Long live Earth.
Will art matter when we’re all dead from climate change tho?? I guess everyone has their priorities
I believe these antics hurt the advocacy for taking climate change seriously. Their vandalism protests confirm in the minds of the opposition that "climate change is fake because the 'soup throwers' are the ones driving it.".
Its similar to how vegans are dismissed not for their choices in diet but because of how they advocate others to do the same. People that want to go vegan have to do so in spite of the perception the most vocal vegans have created. Instead of accelerating adoption it creates a new barrier. Note, I'm not a vegan. See, I have to say that so I'm taken seriously in this response. That is how bad public perception of veganism is because of its most vocal advocates.
So people can go randomly punch the homeless? It won't matter in the end if we are all dead due to climate change.
You think I’m ok with harming humans because I don’t care if art got ruined?? What?? The fuck
You seem to be ok with causing harm unrelated to the action taken. This is just identifying what that line is.
The painting wasn’t “harmed”,
‘In passing his sentence, Hehir said he took into account not only the damage caused to the frame but the potential for even greater damage to be caused to the painting had the soup seeped behind the glass that covered it.’
The frame is also not a human being, and no where did I imply I was ok with harming any person you jackass, false equivalence much?
Congratulations, I award to you the Useful Idiot Ribbon. Wear it proudly as your world burns.
I just don't see how vandalizing artwork helps the cause. Please explain it to me.
Yesterday you were not talking about climate change. Today you are. Because someone threw soup at a painting and sat down, waiting to be arrested. Had they not done so, you likely would not be talking about climate change.
Noone is talking about climate change. They're talking about shitty protest tactics and why they hate them.
Mmmm, yes, we are
We've been talking about climate change either way. We're also not talking about climate change, but people claiming climate change while vandalizing.
Perhaps you are. I would assume you're already probably at least somewhat on board with environmental causes.
How do you think a person who lives in the middle of nowhere, doesn't have much of an education or anything, would react if they saw someone doing this? Probably that they must care a lot to get arrested for doing something intentionally. What makes it worth it? What are they about? Oh, something called Just Stop Oil... oh, an environmental group. Something called climate change? If it's actually happening, I guess we should be doing something about that.
Fucking liberals who want to destroy everything, just like how I've heard on the few news sources I have bombard me with propaganda all the time.
I hear that, really I do. But here's the thing - if you don't have faith in humanity then we're all screwed anyway. And nihilism is not the answer. Never is.
Jesus Christ.
Yes. You got it. Climate crisis averted because some twits threw soup on a priceless painting and damaged the frame. Now we are all aware, whereas we weren't before.
I guess you feel like climate change is being tackled seriously and with great haste then. You’re right, calling more extreme attention to this issue is a waste of time, we’re gonna meet the 1.5C limit ez pz lemon squeezey. Shiiiet, you really helped me stop giving a fuck about this issue, whew.
Ah, yes, by throwing soup at a Van Gogh painting, extreme attention has been raised that wasn't already raised.
Next time they can try public masturbation. After all, apparently, the only thing needed for a successful protest is something that catches eyes and attentions.
respectfully disagree. its way too easy to normalize every disaster, every lie, every little "we're all going to die anyway".
I may be a sick minded outlier, but I am ok with this action and others. there is no damage done (soup on glass and cornflour on rock don't count) and these people are putting their bodies and freedom on the line to keep people talking about what is likely the single biggest existential risk humanity has faced.in 50k years.
right now, any time this issue is in front of eyeballs (even if tangentially reported) its a win.
if you do this bullshit for years with zero impact how is that a win? And why even paintings? I mean, let's be real, not a lot of people care about art. If you want to go this route, at least throw soup at things the masses care about. But really, just don't because no amount of attention will have any significant impact. You either give people incentive to change or you force them, anything else is not effective.
all good.points. my only retort is that its ineffective until its not. this direcyaction has an effect on a small number of people and I think the blowback is likely minimal - net positive? the people involved may geninely not ever engage in any other way on this issue. and if the marketing people are right, engagement is vital.
Honest question but do they really keep people talking about climate change?
I feel like this is the tenth stunt that I’ve read about then came into the comments and it’s just the same talk about exposure vs art vandalism.
I generally just leave these posts more exhausted and don’t give a shit about exposure or vandalism in the end. With climate change being something the furthest from my exhausted mind.
good question. it seems to work on me, but I don't think I count.
I can say that when people in my orbit start talking about the direct action they have heard about (a few do), it is a possible entry point into a personal discussion on climate change. I don't often pursue these openings, but I have gotten into 2 or 3 good conversations - apply exponential growth and ...?
so, I don't know. but it feels like its a net positive.
Everyone dying from climate change is not what climate scientists are predicting. Lying about reality will not help the cause.
The fuck? Yes it is. Unable to grow food? Unable to survive extreme weather and weather events?? Where are you getting your climate change info from, faux news??
Would you mind sharing an article from a climate scientist that claims all humans will die? What I have seen is that life will get harder, certain crops will not grow in certain areas anymore, resource-related wars will increase, and weather events will get stronger and more numerous. What I have not seen is that these things result in the extinction of humans. Which is a vastly different statement.
What you’re missing is the understanding that this will keep getting worse, till we are all dead, it’s not gonna taper off and then some places will be ok. As this continues, we will keep tripping past points of no return till everything we relied on for life is gone.
Apparently the climate scientists are missing that understanding too, as I have yet to see any of them claim such.