[RahulNagaraj]

The recently concluded 2022 Paris Motor Show was dominated by electric vehicles from various car brands. However, a group of "Eco-Warriors" - fanatics of the Extinction Rebellion, went on a protest, holding up banners and chanting slogans.



According to reports, the "eco-warriors", sat down in front of the cars & glued their hands on the bonnets of exotic supercars. Some individuals from the group even glued their hands and smeared black paint on the bonnet of a Ferrari Testarossa worth $180,000.



Reports stated that the group called for an end to advertising individual ownership of private vehicles & instead to improve public transportation. They mentioned that promoting personal vehicles as 'transport of the future' is "absurd", considering the current fuel and electricity prices.

Extinction Rebellion is said to be a new wave of campaigners using civil disobedience to draw attention to their cause. However, they have largely been condemned for causing disruption to ordinary members of the public. The group stated that 11 activists were arrested for pulling the stunt at the Paris Motor Show.

Source: TheSun

Link to Team-BHP news

[reinhardt93]

As if public transport runs on magic and rainbows. While I do appreciate the message they are trying to deliver, these kinds of stunts only put them in a bad light.

[DicKy]

Damn.

I was furious with the heading itself, but was expecting them to be protesting at some new car launches or models.

But doing this to old cars that were on display? These eco activists are getting way out of hand.

[GForceEnjoyer]

This seems similar to the actions of a particular group, the "Tyre Extinguishers", which I also read about recently. I still have a hard time figuring out whether these people are willing to go to absurd lengths and get (unnecessarily and wastefully) creative just to get their view across because they are misguided and misinformed, or whether they genuinely believe that private car ownership is the one and only cause for all evil on the earth and is the first thing that needs to be eradicated; even before even considering alternatives to replace it with ("mass transportation is a painfully vague term on its own)!

Anyways, this is vandalism of private property, and the arrests were well-deserved. There's other ways to inform people and make them change their ways, the biggest being setting your own example! And what about those in countries where public transport is inconvenient, unsafe or simply nonexistent? I fully support an efficient public transport system despite loving cars; people shouldn't NEED a car to get around anywhere, but should still have the option of choosing to buy one. Reminds me of the title of an article I read many years ago: "A developed country is one in which rich people use public transport." I feel like these people missed the connotation that this would occur due to how efficient public transport would be, not because private car ownership would be outlawed! This type of pseudo-activism benefits none. The headline alone makes my blood boil.

[anjan_c2007]

Morons of the pseudo GREEN kind! I saw this on twitter when I had retorted "do these people always use bicycles for their commute".

Also, I was wondering about the security back-up at the gala event, where exhibitors faced the wrath of morons, desperados and sadists for no fault of theirs. It would be proper for the affected exhibitors to sue the organisers of the 2022 Paris Motor Show for damages pointing out to the total lack of security. This will be a permanent lesson for exhibitors who need to beef up security to prevent these perverts from having a free-hand in future !

In fact, exhibitors should also engage their own security personnel as a precaution for future events as such perverts from these and more like minded groups could play spoil-sport.

[WorkingGuru]

This has become a way to fame for events & exhibitions that seek more popularity & publicity through controversial events that polarise people. We can safely say those cars likely had PPF and now that the objective is achieved, organisers will treat the vandals with gentle kid gloves and only recover minor damages from the "protestors".

[Kosfactor]

Different ways of protest seen in the recent times.

One group had thrown tomato soup on Van Gogh`s Sunflowers.
One group had thrown mashed potatoes (kind folks) on Monet`s painting.

I guess they are going to soon fly a few air planes full or people onto the side of some high rise buildings and...

There is academia, media, politics, education system - all kinds of ways to influence the society and yet some resort to violence.

[shankar.balan]

Oh god. What will they do next.
Reminds me of that virtue signaller supreme, Greta Thunberg. Jeremy Clarkson did remark about how much CO2 she was emitting on her transatlantic journey to address some conference/ eco summit.
Honestly these eco loonies ought to be locked away. There is no cause for vandalism and destruction of others property.
I wish these guys would try such things in KSA or Brunei. They’ll simply get their god-darned hands cut off! And they will deserve it too!

[lonetraveller89]

Absolute Vandalism! This is what went down when these clowns tried the same stunt at the Porsche pavilion at VW's Autostadt museum in Wolfsburg -

The staff at the VW museum ignored them. Instead of calling the Wolfsburg police immediately, staff “recognized the right to protest,” then closed the pavilion for the evening and left — turning off the light and heat as they walked out. The protestors “pleaded for medical treatment because their hands were sore and moaned that they couldn’t go to the toilet.” The police arrived in the morning to arrest everyone. Criminal proceedings were initiated for trespassing, coercion and property damage.

LOL

This is just like those vegans throwing red paint at customers visiting food retail outlets that sell meat.

[Electromotive]

Ah, yes. People jumpin' to conclusions because tossing out a word salad to project superficial outrage is easier than doing any actual research.
Worry not! I did the digging for you.

Extinction Rebellion is affiliated with Just Stop Oil, who you might have heard, have been defiling timeless pieces of art such as van Gogh’s Sunflowers, or Aston Martin showrooms, among other things.

Wait! Hold your outrage, there is method to their madness.
The actual painting was behind glass and was completely unharmed, no AMs were harmed either. Superglue is also not all that difficult to remove from cars that have a clear coat on - which is almost all cars.





So, what's the message?

Their stated objective and demands:

People have historically risen up to dismantle dysfunctional political systems. Extinction Rebellion believes there is an urgent need for a collective push to reinvent our democratic systems to deal with systemic crises, like climate change. Therefore, we are committed to using mass, non-violent civil disobedience, constructive disruption, planned and random acts of courage and rebellion so that we may discover our interconnectedness and our longing for a collective response.

Demands
1. The Government must tell the truth by declaring a climate and ecological emergency, working with other institutions to communicate the urgency for change.
2. The Government must act now to halt biodiversity loss and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2025.
3. Beyond politics - The Government must create and be led by the decisions of a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice.

Source

Seems reasonable. But hey, we got our cars and we will do the red-line thing come what may... that is until the flood waters cause a hydro-lock then it is back to complaining about corrupt, incompetent governments because holding the govs responsible and crafting ecologically responsible policy is too much work.

Reminds me of that brown guy burning pieces of paper in Johannesburg, now he has his face on a lot of pieces of paper. Surprising how things work out when you fight for what's right.

Also, not to appear biased. Sometimes there are bad actors who like to profit off of actual causes and sometime people just protest because they need to give their life meaning while not espousing the cause.

[SKC-auto]

I appreciate them for the cause, I am only worried some of these actions could cause similar negative reactions and can harm the whole cause.

Just for info, ER is also against EVs as personal cars.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Reminds me of that virtue signaller supreme, Greta Thunberg. Jeremy Clarkson did remark about how much CO2 she was emitting on her transatlantic journey to address some conference/ eco summit.

I guess you will appreciate her if you understand the difficulties she has to face to cross transatlantic. At 19 years she is far intelligent than many of us. Please do remember Jeremy Clarkson is just a comedian, not even a automotive journalist as informed by the UK court.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transa...rg?wprov=sfla1

[Sanidhya mukund]

How does throwing black paint on a Ferrari help the environment? Those cars probably had original factory paint, which has been damaged by these lunatics.

Imagine the environmental damage that will be caused to rectify the damage! It will involve the use of paint, which will release aerosols into the air! Isn’t that counter intuitive?

Protesting for a cause you believe in is fine, but it shouldn’t be at the cost of someone else’s prized possessions.

[srini1785]

Guys, I am all for your cause but just don't equate an ostentatious piece of flaunt-machinery to Vincent's Sunflowers.

[ZenMaster]

I guess these guys forgot that the paint and the super glue they used are also products derived from petrochemicals.

[Vikram9193]

Millions upon millions have marched, kids have boycotted school, scientists have gotten themselves arrested, the UN Sec-Gen and the Pope have basically said the world is ending.

A climate activist even self-immolated earlier this year.

Nothing has worked.

So now this. This is desperation and some clear coat has been damaged. But its made it into the papers and even a forum like ours.

It might not be enough to save all our kids’ futures but, as they say at the end of Don’t Look up, at least some one tried.