Just Stop Oil and the art of protest
Climate activists have been dismissed as ‘tedious’ after attack on Van Gogh work
The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge across the Thames was closed for a second day today as Just Stop Oil protesters continued their campaign of disruption.
The climate group has staged “several days of high-profile protests”, said Indy100, including throwing soup over Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting in London’s National Gallery on Friday. Activists then scaled the masts over the Dartford Crossing bridge east of London on Monday, forcing it to be closed and causing extensive delays for motorists.
According to its website, Just Stop Oil is a “coalition of groups” working together to “ensure that the government commits to ending all new licenses and consents for the exploration, development and production of fossil fuels in the UK”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, its disruptive and headline-grabbing protests have divided public opinion.
‘They deserve solidarity’
These protesters “deserve our solidarity”, argued James Greig in Dazed. Another direct action climate group, Extinction Rebellion, was “wildly unpopular”, he recalled, but “following their protests, polls showed that more people considered the climate crisis a priority”.
Greig added that “environmental protests do create a sense of emergency – within the last few years, you can feel that very palpably”.
“It’s OK to be a little divisive,” wrote Professor Paul Springer, director of the School of Communication at Falmouth University, for The Independent.
Just Stop Oil’s stunt is a “jolting, momentum-starting tactic” to “ensure that their message remains at the top of the news agenda, despite everything else that’s happening at the moment,” he added.
The protests also prompted a sympathetic tweet from a BBC stalwart. Sharing an interview Owen Jones conducted with the National Gallery protesters, Gary Lineker wrote that the conversation was “worth a listen, because, like it or not, no one will listen without disruptive protest”.
Just Stop Oil’s attack on Sunflowers “was to symbolise that we’re attacking something we love”, wrote Oli Mould on The Conversation. The geography lecturer from Royal Holloway, University of London added that “the level of ire at those symbolically ruining… a precious art piece”, which was behind protective glass, “should be given a million-fold to those who are actually ruining our precious planet”.
‘Tantrum-throwing trust-funders’
But the group has also attracted a great deal of criticism. “I suspect I’m not the only person of my political persuasion who has lost all patience with these tantrum-throwing trust-funders,” wrote Stephen Daisley in The Spectator.
“Every day now they perpetrate some fresh and deeply tedious outrage,” agreed Michael Deacon in The Telegraph.
Many believe that the protests undermine the very cause they are supposed to be advancing. “We know such protests damage good causes such as decarbonisation, protection of nature, waste and reforming industrial farming,” argued Libby Purves in The Times. She accused the protesters of a “self-righteous nihilistic rage that looks increasingly like a mental disorder”.
The then environment secretary George Eustice said the climate change protesters were “wrong” when they blockaded oil terminals back in April, reported The Times. Eustice criticised the activists for “trying to cause havoc with people’s lives”, and said such tactics would be banned by imminent changes to the law.
According to the BBC, new home secretary Suella Braverman is intending to give police more powers to stop protesters “holding Britain to ransom”. If that is the case then the tactics of groups such as Just Stop Oil may have to change.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - October 20, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - Secret Service flaws, weather control, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 cartoon critiques of the Kamala Harris media blitz
Cartoons Artists take on 60 surrealist minutes, word salad, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Did the Covid virus leak from a lab?
The Explainer Once dismissed as a conspiracy theory, the idea that Covid-19 originated in a virology lab in Wuhan now has many adherents
By The Week UK Published
-
Climate safe havens may be a thing of the past
Under the radar Safe spaces are few and far between
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
What does marine life do during a hurricane?
The Explainer The underwater ecosystem also faces deadly consequences
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Wildlife populations drop a 'catastrophic' 73%
Speed Read The decline occurred between 1970 and 2020
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
An iconic ship is being turned into the world's largest artificial reef
Under the Radar The SS United States will be sunk off the coast of Florida if all goes to plan
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
It's not just ice quantity that climate change affects. It's also quality.
Under the Radar Ice is getting thinner and frailer
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Colombo's wetlands: how the 'lungs' of Sri Lanka's capital are being restored
Under the radar The revival of the ecosystems could prove a 'valuable lesson' for the world
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The war on polar bears
Under the Radar Clashes with human settlements are on the rise, as melting ice drives hungry predators inland in search of food
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Sahara Desert is turning green
Under the Radar From dry to downpour
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published