No doubt. My point was that I’m actually taking concrete action to dramatically reduce my own carbon footprint rather than pissing off a bunch of people whose support I really need for my cause by trying to ram my misguided sense of moral superiority down their throats.
I’m actually taking concrete action … rather than pissing off a bunch of people
Yes and this is an example of a justified campaign for some systemic change, something quite different from what you’re doing. I’m sure you’ll agree that once it is them causing a huge amount of damage, inconveniencing them is ok if it gets a message to them, and gets people talking about a non-proliferation treaty and the harms of private jets?
whose support I really need for my cause
I’m not entirely sure what you mean here. But they won’t be drawing up new laws. And we can’t rely on their good will seeing all the cases of companies focusing on their bottom line while knowingly harming people and the environment.
Yes and this is an example of a justified campaign for some systemic change, something quite different from what you’re doing. I’m sure you’ll agree that once it is them causing a huge amount of damage, inconveniencing them is ok if it gets a message to them, and gets people talking about a non-proliferation treaty and the harms of private jets?
I love the fact that you used the word justified here.
“Anything that I do to __________ is justified because I’m __________ superior.”
That’s self-absolution which is the hallmark of extremism.
A handfull of extremists gluing themselves to the road and throwing things at works of art aren’t going to change the world. They’re going to piss people off and get arrested and jailed and the world will move on. You need BILLIONS of people on board to get real change to happen and this is NOT the way to do it. Sure, it makes them feel good and they can sit around in a discussion circle and talk about how pissed off they made the people they were delaying but that’s not going to make change happen.
Anything that I do to …
But I never suggested anything so extreme, now did I? I argued that one harmless act they did was justified given the context of who they did it to, not that absolutely anything they do would be justified.
… aren’t going to change the world.
No one has ever claimed they and the stuff they’ve done is all it takes to solve these issues. They are a group that is part of a movement, and what they are doing is part of the work that is needed to bring about change.
You can’t just look at the acts, you need to look at their effects. In a democracy, you need to raise awareness and pressure representatives to bring about change. Which is what they’re doing by spray painting private jets and other vandalism they did.
You need BILLIONS of people on board …
I don’t know why you think that. Do you think countries held referendums before deciding to shift to more renewables, pass green taxes, etc.? They haven’t, and obviously they won’t.