[sparameswaran]

From The Guardian:
*Tyre Extinguishers deflate tyres of 900 SUVs in ‘biggest ever action’*

The climate activists claim to have targeted 4x4 owners in eight European and US cities

“Last night (the evening of Monday 28 November and early morning of Tuesday 29 November), citizens in eight countries deflated tyres on nearly 900 polluting SUVs,” the activist group said in a statement.

You may access the report from here

Another instance of activism and activists going mad?

Why harm such 'sitting ducks', instead of working on systemic problems?
Should the car owners be troubled like this?
What about their individual rights? Are individual rights not important to activists?

My thoughts are with those un-suspecting car owners who found stranded when they started for work or some other important assignment.

Do these activists avoid travelling in cars / personal vehicles? Are they all using bicycles to commute everywhere? Do they fly? Why not deflate tyres of airplanes - they are even more polluting than SUVs!

I understand and support the fight against climate change.
But I do not support such 'subversive' / 'rowdy' activity in the name of 'activism'.

Like every other form of 'activism', I guess it is just a matter of time before such insane 'activism' reach India's shores too.

[fhdowntheline]

I am reminded of the novel, "State of Fear" by Michael Crichton.He foresaw this kind of environmental activism , perhaps with artistic liberties, but not wholly beyond plausible. We are in an era where people source their primary information through social media and ,bereft of time, patience and application for researching, believe it as knowledge. Most of us are , unwittingly, guilty of the same on occasion. But at least I am of a generation that believes in being skeptical as an essential virtue, so can do course correction if needed. I am not so sure about the next gen. though.

[DicKy]

A long standing problem in the UK, where eco warriors know no boundaries when it comes to destroying other people's properties or livelihoods. Just like most protests they start with good intentions but then the group gets filled with social misfits/ anti-socials who just happen to get a noble intention for their free time.

Similar thread.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/inter...otor-show.html (Protestors glue their hands to exotic supercars at the 2022 Paris Motor Show)

Though they are no more vandalising like they did in the Hummer years and have resorted to deflating tyres.

[rajeevsulu]

Any activisms, if it goes on to damage any personal property should be condoned. Why trouble the public for no mistake of theirs?

[speedmiester]

This is pathetic. These are not "activists", these are vandals and should be treated as such.
I have zero sympathies for these idiots for any action taken them.

They could be disrupting or even threatening livelihoods of many people who might be using these SUVs.

[Garud]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

I am reminded of the novel, "State of Fear" by Michael Crichton.He foresaw this kind of environmental activism , perhaps with artistic liberties, but not wholly beyond plausible. We are in an era where people source their primary information through social media and ,bereft of time, patience and application for researching, believe it as knowledge. Most of us are , unwittingly, guilty of the same on occasion. But at least I am of a generation that believes in being skeptical as an essential virtue, so can do course correction if needed. I am not so sure about the next gen. though.

Although that book might discuss extreme activism, it's probably not the best work of fiction to look up to, since it tries to pander climate change denial.

[giri1.8]

Imagine having a medical emergency only to find out you have 4 flat tyres.

What people don't understand is that it's hard to draw a line on what is good or bad. Hypothetically if all SUVs are scrapped, these idiots will have some else to cry about! They won't stop until we are back to stone age again.

[thanixravindran]

This is not activism but pure arson as no one has right to destroy others property. I am surprised about this happened in USA too as I thought the gun culture and personal protection takes care of any intruders into one's property.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

This is not activism but pure arson as no one has right to destroy others property. I am surprised about this happened in USA too as I thought the gun culture and personal protection takes care of any intruders into one's property.

If that was true there would be virtually no crime in the USA. Unfortunately it is far from crime free. And yes, compared to western standards, sentencing in the USA tends to be much tougher. Still, they have an awful lot of people in jails too.

Jeroen

[Amrik Singh]

Envy and Jealousy has no boundaries. It is purely their attitude 'If I don't have it, others should not have it'. Are SUV's solely responsible for pollution ?
How about drag racing and Monster trucks display where one can see dense plumes of smoke - just for the sake of entertainment ?
Lastly, if the act of deflating Tyres of SUV's selectively was a good deed, you should have tried it openly (and see public run you down under their wheels).

[shankar.balan]

Envy, Jealousy know no bounds. Nor does irrational behaviour which rapidly deteriorates into mob frenzy.
We have our own share of people (perhaps not eco warriors but envious all the same) who perpetrate scratches with keys and other sharp instruments on car doors and bonnets.
But the perpetrators of this kind of vandalism, if they are caught, should be punished with very strong penalties.

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by Garud

Although that book might discuss extreme activism, it's probably not the best work of fiction to look up to, since it tries to pander climate change denial.

Thats why I mentioned artistic liberties. But the kind of disruptive, subversive agenda that is being shown today was a lingering theme of that novel.

[warrioraks]

So I just Googled the definition of activism.

From Wikipedia - Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range from mandate building in a community (including writing letters to newspapers), petitioning elected officials, running or contributing to a political campaign, preferential patronage (or boycott) of businesses, and demonstrative forms of activism like rallies, street marches, strikes, sit-ins, or hunger strikes.

As others have already pointed out, this tyre extinguishing has gone beyond activism. Would recommend changing the title of this thread and replacing the word ‘activism’ with ‘vandalism’ along with appropriate changes in the wordings.

[GTO]

It's a free market & a free society - one can buy any vehicle of their choice. No one has the right to illegally damage someone else's property. Not to forget, these fools are so ill-informed:

- Today's crossovers (and a few SUVs) aren't gas guzzlers anymore.

- How come luxury sedans like the S-Class (5 - 6 kmpl), M5 (3 - 5 kmpl) and Ferraris (2 - 4 kmpl) aren't targeted? These guzzle a lot more fuel than SUVs / Crossovers!

- Even then, in markets like the UK & most parts of Europe, gas guzzlers simply don't sell. It is perhaps only the USA where large pickup trucks & gargantuan SUVs with extremely low FE sell in the millions every year. 99% of other countries are very sensitive to running costs and / or vehicle size.

[RedTerrano]

The law enforcement agencies in US, make use of tasers.
I wish someone develops a taser based car protection system.
That should deter such vandals and thieves from messing with other people's property.

In the meanwhile, arrest these people, make them sit in a vehicle which has square iron wheels (and suspension removed) and drive them around for a minimum 100 KM.