Just Stop Oil activists throw soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers after fellow protesters jailed

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Just Stop Oil activists throw soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers after fellow protesters jailed
theguardian.com

Three individuals targeted National Gallery paintings an hour after Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland were jailed for similar attack in 2022

Climate activists have thrown tomato soup over two Sunflowers paintings by Vincent van Gogh, just an hour after two others were jailed for a similar protest action in 2022.

Three supporters of Just Stop Oil walked into the National Gallery in London, where an exhibition of Van Gogh’s collected works is on display, at 2.30pm on Friday afternoon, and threw Heinz soup over Sunflowers 1889 and Sunflowers 1888.

The latter was the same work targeted by Phoebe Plummer and Anna Holland in 2022. That pair are now among 25 supporters of Just Stop Oil in jail for climate protests.

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Then we wouldn’t be talking about stopping oil production right now.

We’re not talking about stopping oil production. We’re talking about these nutcases. And when we do get back to the important topic, now it’s harder to get support, harder to stay on topic, environmental concerns are more likely to be dismissed with jokes about throwing soup

We've literally been talking about it for decades. An Inconvenient Truth won the Oscar in 2006. What has talking about it accomplished?

That’s not my point. Everytime they deface something, we start talking again about stopping oil production. Sure we talk about it without that push too. But this means we start talking about it more.

When has talking about ending reliance on fossil fuels ever stopped? I don't remember it stopping.

Most people are aware that the Earth is warming and fossil fuels are the cause. There's nothing you or I can do about that. It's the corporations that have to be stopped. I can't stop them. You can't stop them. Talking about them won't stop them and neither will throwing cans of soup.

In fact, I have no idea what will stop them, but talking sure as fuck won't.

So we should just stop trying anything and do nothing?

There is a massive, massive gulf between "never try anything" and "throw soup at paintings in the hopes of making people aware of a problem they're already aware of and not just get pissed off at you."

Bit we're not talking about stopping oil production. We're talking about how stupid and pointless defacing art is.

We’re I'm talking about how stupid and pointless defacing art is.

FTFY.

Right, I see you must have trouble reading.

We're now talking about whatever i am talking about, which is reading comprehension, not how dumb this protest is.

Speaking from across the ocean where we’re really behind ….. I’ve seen articles about UK having days entirely powered by renewables. I see a massive transit system. I see double the EV acceptance. I see why desperado commitment to ending production of gasoline cars.

It may be way too slow but I see a shit load has changed over the years. A lot has been accomplished. Let’s try to speed this up rather than give reactionaries more ammo to delay

Right. Those all involve action, not just talk and awareness. That was my point.