Self-gluing climate activism vandals should take the advice of Ralph Waldo Emerson
04/11/2022 Category: general
Self-appointed activists for climate and the environment have long dished up trashy and sometimes bizarre behaviour. They do this in the mistaken belief that their antics will somehow change the world for the better.
Silly fools who glue themselves to masterpiece artworks and busy roads have missed a crucial point. They are clearly incapable of comprehending how their behaviour looks in the eyes of public audiences.
If they were smarter they would take heed of a brilliant statement made by the great Ralph Waldo Emerson. It reads "What you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you're saying".
These individuals are perceived by the public as conceited exhibitionists whose true desire is to make a personal statement. At that, they certainly succeed. However, like the people who hideously disfigure their faces with outrageous features, their statement is interpreted by onlookers very differently to how they intend it. They may well be good people but they're socially inept.
These activists' behaviour cries out that they want to be noticed. That isn't to say they're not concerned about the environment. No doubt they are. The problem is that their message is unsavoury and it won't change the minds of those not onboard with climate change, anyway. It will do the exact opposite. It will convince non-believers that people who believe in climate change are a pack of fools.
The declaration that 'If you vandalise something that's highly important to me then I will vandalise something highly important to you' is disastrously flawed. At a bare minimum it declares that two wrongs make a right. That's a fallacy. It also declares that vandalism is acceptable if you believe it to be justified. Fossil fuel advocates believe that climate impact is justified, so these actions can be met with the response 'who are you to talk?'.
No one doubts that these artwork vandals and traffic disrupters feel strongly about climate change. However they have thought very little about how to effectively get their message across. They portray themselves to the public as a bunch of idiots.
Their actions trash the climate activism brand rather than bolstering it. The fact that they don't understand this is mind-boggling.
Most of us assume it's because their true motive is "it's all about me", five minutes of fame and peer group approval. That's primarily what we see regardless of any serious message they hope to get across.
- - ArgueGuru - -