Two activists arrested after Rokeby Venus artwork targeted, as dozens of others held after blocking Whitehall
Just Stop Oil protesters have been arrested after smashing the glass covering a Diego Velázquez painting at the National Gallery in London, as police detained dozens of others who blocked Whitehall.
Two activists targeted the glass on the Rokeby Venus painting with safety hammers before they were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage.
The artwork, which was painted by Velázquez in the 1600s, was slashed by the suffragette Mary Richardson in 1914. One of those involved on Monday said: “Women did not get the vote by voting; it is time for deeds not words.”
The Metropolitan police said at least 40 activists who were “slow marching” in Whitehall were also detained and that the road was clear after traffic was stopped for a brief period
I find it funny that oil activists funny just go find a random piece of oil pipeline in the middle of nowhere to sabotage. Seriously, the things stretch for hundreds of miles, there can’t be a shortage of isolated segments behind no more than a chain link fence at most.
There’s actually a pretty good reason why they don’t do that. Media attention. Most acts of activism are ignored. Only extreme things make it into the media (sadly). Anything short of blowing up the pipeline won’t get them media attention. How do I know that? “Letzte Generation”, a German activist group did shut down a pipeline, but nobody bothered to report about it.
I’m really not arguing against the obvious futility of fighting against these giants, but I mean, we’re here literally talking about people vandalizing paintings which honestly has absolutely fucking nothing to do with the oil industry and it’s hailed as some big statement. It’s a sad reality we live in, but things like this aren’t making anything better.
We can’t be telling the youth that it’s too late to make things better, and then criticizing them for not making things better.
If we are at the point where people who feel they have no future are destroying the past of those who took the future, we are much further away from being able to do anything than you are currently ready to confront.
There is a massive difference between critique and telling people not to do anything. You enjoy that strawman as well. Jesus.
Making things worse is not a thing to be commended just for the effort, real life isn’t kindergarten, you don’t get a participation trophy. The road to hell is paved is good intentions and useful idiots do more harm than good.
But that isn’t just a little vandalism, that carries some serious criminal charges.
Oil leak caused by activists is great PR.
Sort of a joke, given how many oil leaks our infrastructure is already riddled with.
Doing a little light domestic terrorism would be a drop in the bucket beside the enormous amount of waste polluting our groundwater and riverways. But new media would fixate on it as the de facto reason why oil spills exist, for the next twenty years.