EDITORIAL: Shock factor protest methods are not effective, only damaging to climate movement
As the climate crisis becomes more urgent, developing substantive protest methods is essential
As climate change becomes more pressing, some protesters have taken incredible steps to bring awareness to the urgency of the issue in the hopes of forcing action. This mindset seems to be behind the recent vandalizing of artworks. Two weeks ago, young activists with the group Just Stop Oil threw soup onto the Vincent van Gogh painting "Sunflowers."
After throwing the soup, the activists glued themselves to the wall and protested the inaction on climate change. As part of the demonstration, the protesters demanded to know “what is worth more: art or life?” Such a question brings up cultural values and how to square the climate emergency with what we treasure.
This protest ignited other similar demonstrations. In Germany, for example, protesters with the group Letzte Generation splashed mashed potatoes on "Grainstacks," a Claude Monet painting, to center our attention on the climate crisis.
Mirjam Herrmann, an activist with Letzte Generation, said, “People are starving. People are freezing. People are dying. We are in the climate catastrophe. And all you’re afraid of is tomato soup or mashed potatoes on a painting. Do you know what I’m afraid of?”
Climate change is certainly an emergency. The activists are not wrong to bring our attention to the worsening situation and how the continued inaction by governments across the world is setting us up for consequences beyond imagination. Governments around the world, from national leaders to local leaders, must do more to address climate change and ensure we do not destroy the Earth.
So while we are living in a moment of crisis that calls out for desperate measures, these types of protests — defacing important pieces of cultural artwork — miss the point of activism. Activism is meant to connect the dots: There should be clear lines tying the message and the medium. As such, Van Gogh’s paintings of the 19th century have nothing to do with the climate emergency of today.
Protests can and should provoke a response but in a way that prioritizes actual change over temporary social attention.
The recent climate protests ignite conversations, but do they have a tangible impact? If the protestors' goal in dumping soup on a painting was to trigger social outrage and provoke philosophical questions about why we value art more than the environment, then they succeeded.
Anyone scrolling through social media discourse can see that. But is simply raising a question about what we value as a society enough? Would the energy it took to plan and execute this protest be better used for actually helping areas disproportionately affected by climate change or lobbying for climate action in government?
After all, any genuine discussion raised by this protest will disappear into the social trend cycle within a couple of days, and any lasting impact on people's perception of climate activism would be negative.
While they might make headlines, these protests do little to effectuate change as they focus too much on the protesters themselves and the shocking nature of the demonstration.
Climate change activism must fundamentally be about making individuals aware of the impending catastrophe if we do not act. This type of activism — it does not have to fit into the status quo — should make people recognize the threat of inaction and propel people to talk about climate issues.
One example of this type of activism is the Climate Clock, which bases its urgency on science. In September 2020, scientists found that we have seven years and 102 days to get off of a fossil fuel energy system. The Climate Clock was born to give a visual countdown until we literally run out of time.
Additionally, institutions can participate in creating meaningful action. Rutgers has an Office of Climate Action and a committee for sustainability. These initiatives are important to making change.
As students at Rutgers, we should keep the pressure on the University to remain committed to its energy and climate goals. Successful protests for students at Rutgers look like participating in climate marches and remaining informed about University policies as well as continuing to have conversations about we can envision a cleaner future.
The Daily Targum's editorials represent the views of the majority of the 154th editorial board. Columns, cartoons and letters do not necessarily reflect the views of the Targum Publishing Company or its staff.
