Privileged Young Activists Use This Power To Their Advantage

It is only privileged protest that motivates people to take action against climate change when people deface artwork, shut down freeways, and spill milk on the ground, according to a conservationist.

“Activists are trying to deface property and artwork specifically because it is shocking,” Danielle Butcher, executive vice president of the American Conservation Coalition says. “The tactics, they’re focused on sparking conversation, whatever that means, but they’re not actually helping the environment tangibly.”

“I saw the video of them throwing soup on a van Gogh, and I immediately cringed,” Butcher added. “It hurt to see, and I think that’s what they are going for.”

Paintings by Claude Monet, Leonardo da Vinci, and Vincent van Gogh have all been the target of climate protesters this year. A van Gogh painting was daubed with tomato soup by two climate protesters, a Monet painting with potatoes by two more, and the Mona Lisa was targeted by a cake-throwing protester.

In an effort to reduce the use of fossil fuels, protesters have also poured onto freeways to halt traffic and poured milk onto store floors to advocate for environmental justice.

“I am begging them to stop using these tactics,” Butcher continued. “You cannot annoy people into agreeing with you.”

“And certainly throwing mashed potatoes or glue or soup or dumping milk on a grocery store floor, those are not ways that you convince people you are in the right position,” she said adding that timing and context are key when it comes to effective activism.