The prehistoric megalithic structure in England has been targeted by activists spraying orange powder paint, social media footage showed.

Environmental protesters sprayed paint on Stonehenge on Wednesday, with footage showing an orange powder covering some of the stones.

Two protesters dressed in white were seen running towards two of the megaliths, spraying paint, as another person attempted to stop them, in footage released by Just Stop Oil, an environmental activist group focused on the issue of human-caused climate change.

  • spujb@lemmy.cafe
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    5 months ago

    yknow what fuck it, i support this. i was a little on the reactionary side back when they were throwing soup,

    but after seeing hundreds of comments saying “just do <insert violent felony> if you want something done” and then seeing those same people turn around and say “but safely blocking streets in protest is an affront to my rights, stop being annoying”

    …i get it now. it’s cornstarch and will wash off. calling for “optics” is just concern trolling. people are hearing about it. that’s the point. fuck oil. keep up the messaging. people are going to starve and drown and bleed from war caused by climate change. we are gonna survive a few people yeeting nonpermanent shit at public art.

    • Bertuccio@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Even if they did damage anything their message is that anyone getting mad about damaging works of art or heritage sites through direct action should be just as mad about people destroying the actual entire planet indirectly and calling for their immediate imprisonment too.

      As annoying as I find them and as much as I want to preserve these things, they’re exactly right that paintings and rocks mean fuckall if we ruin our only home.

    • Crikeste@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      The people up in arms about the protests have never given a shit about the things the protesters “destroy”. It’s all just an optics game to make any dissenting opinion from the norm look batshit. Fuck the pieces of shit getting up in arms about this without knowing what’s up. Theyre the problem. They make the world worse every day they exist. They stop change. They allow for the atrocities to be committed.

    • lepinkainen@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      It was coloured corn starch, and the stones have lichen growing on them that has helped them survive this long.

      Nobody knows what the colouring agent was.

      • spujb@lemmy.cafe
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        5 months ago

        If it causes lasting damages they will and should be prosecuted for exactly what happens. I’m hoping they did their due diligence but hey, if not that was dumb as hell of them and they should pay for it.

        Again though, the sentiment remains that people are going to die. That damage is also irreparable and far less redeemable. I support this kind of action.

  • andrewta@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    Yeah those people who built that place definitely screwed up the environment. This will show them. Let’s dig up their graves and piss on them to show the world we mean business.

    Or maybe let’s not screw up historical sites and go after big business and the ones actually destroying the environment.

    • Sanctus@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      I hate it too. But you’re hearing about it and its here on Lemmy. So its working. Idk if bad rep is what they want. They should be trashing the industry buildings and business headquarters of the most polluting companies. They’re getting arrested anyway and at least then they’d look like Captain Planet.

      • Garbanzo@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Is it working though? Does discussion of what absolute dipshits they are further the cause? I bet I’d hear about it if they bombed a refinery, but that takes some pretty serious commitment.

        • Prandom_returns@lemm.ee
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          5 months ago

          “Man, these people are dipshits”, “climate change is a problem though”

          That’s an overall positive discussion that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

          So these people are sacrificing their image for discourse about climate change.

          • Saik0@lemmy.saik0.com
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            5 months ago

            Well you’re missing the other half of the sentence that’s implied…

            “These people are dipshits… I don’t want to be associated with them. How the fuck can I help the planet without being associated with these morons.”… It’s actually quite limiting.

            • Prandom_returns@lemm.ee
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              5 months ago

              I’d call that a net-positive.

              Also, disagree that they’re morons. Their methods are rather clever and well-thought out. Unlike some or the mouth-breathers here.

            • dukepontus@sh.itjust.works
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              5 months ago

              There are so many other people preventing climate change that are not trowing stuff at art. You can join them. If a little group of people doing non violent/non destructive behavior is already preventing you from acting to protect our planet. Then you where never interested in protecting it to begin with.

            • Prandom_returns@lemm.ee
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              5 months ago

              Climate-change activism shouldn’t be a thing. Let’s not get comfortable with it existing, otherwise it will become constant background noise.

      • FluffyPotato@lemm.ee
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        5 months ago

        They have spray painted those HQs as well, the news just doesn’t cover it much. So far the only way to raise awerness has been to do stuff like this. Also they intentionally haven’t damaged anything historic so this works with no issue, they know what they are doing.

        • meco03211@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          It’s like that internet law. The quickest way to the correct answer is to confidently assert an incorrect answer. Maybe the quickest way to getting noticed is whatever will entice the masses to “correct” your actions?

  • Lyre@lemmy.ca
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    5 months ago

    The amount of knee jerk rage I’ve seen over paint whenever one of these incidents happens. Its paint. It comes off. Its an extremely effective strategy to get attention while causing little to no damage.

    • FluffyPotato@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      In this case it’s actually dyed corn starch so this would literally wash off from the first rain. And yea, this actually gets attention, when they spray painted car dealerships of some of the heaviest polluters, protested oil companies and when a guy set himself on fire to protest climate change it gets almost no coverage.

  • VelvetStorm@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    Ffs just blow up a pipeline or sabotage parts of their infrastructure or follow the higher ups home and deface their homes.

        • Prandom_returns@lemm.ee
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          5 months ago

          Stalking is.

          Who cares? I’m sure the people who trying to protest without becoming felons. What is this take…

          • VelvetStorm@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            Following someone once is not stalking. For stalking there has to be a persistent pattern. Or else women would be able to get stalkers arrested a lot more often instead of being killed by them.

            • Prandom_returns@lemm.ee
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              5 months ago

              Fucking thank you for the nitpicking. I’m sure you can deduct where people live if you followed them somewhere once.

              Christ almighty the thickness.

              Encouraging people to do crimes IRL, while posting on the internet anonymously, sitting on your fat ass consuming resources that accelerate climate change.

              • VelvetStorm@lemmy.world
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                5 months ago

                How do the boots and assholes of the Uber wealthy taste btw? From the way you are munchin down I would guess pretty good but I would like to know your first hand knowledge.

                • Prandom_returns@lemm.ee
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                  5 months ago

                  Explain the correlation between you not understanding what a protest is and me supposedly “munching boots”.

                  Sit the fuck back down, basement-dweller, and enjoy people doing the hard work of resisting the status quo for you.

      • Adanisi@lemmy.zip
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        5 months ago

        This is the UK. “Felonies” 🙄

        But yeah it’s a lot more severe and they’d probably be out of activism forever.

        • Prandom_returns@lemm.ee
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          5 months ago

          Fucking so sorry my second language isn’t up to par to your standards.

          What’s the right term here, “a proper naughty twat?”

          • Adanisi@lemmy.zip
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            5 months ago

            That would be “crime”.

            A felony is a type of crime which doesn’t exist here.

            You can’t just get upset if someone points out you’ve used a word wrong. Words have meanings and while getting it wrong, especially as a second language, isn’t bad, it’s still incorrect and can be confusing (e.g. most people would assume you’re talking about US law when you talk about felonies).

            • Prandom_returns@lemm.ee
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              5 months ago

              I can get upset when instead of correcting me in the first comment, you mocked me.

              Assuming everyone’s aware of the US/UK law and their nomenclature is too much sniffing of your on farts.

              Or is it flatulence. Toots?

              Oh and lastly, the person I replied to, listed random crimes/felonies, and didn’t specify the country those crimes/felonies should be done.

    • lepinkainen@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Or go sabotage a monument in Saudi-Arabia, they produce more oil than anyone.

      Throwing orange corn starch on the Black Stone in Mecca would be amazing press.

      • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        They won’t do that. That would involve being killed. There is a reason why Peta throws red paint on old ladies wearing fur and not on biker gangs wearing leather.

        The very worst thing the UK government is going to do is throw them in jail for a few months, maybe a small fine.

    • FluffyPotato@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      This has been the most effective form of climate protest by far. When they block oil terminals or spray paint car dealerships no one will cover it making the protest pretty much useless, like a guy set himself on fire to protest climate change and that was barely covered. The stuff they do doesn’t actually cause any damage but the media actually covers it because they can spin it as rage bait against the protestors but at least it gets coverage.

      • Plopp@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Coverage, yes. But the result of that coverage? Making people not want to support climate activism, and maybe even have a negative reaction to anything climate positive. And how effective is that coverage in helping the climate? What changes in climate related policy can be traced back to any of these actions?

        • FluffyPotato@lemm.ee
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          5 months ago

          It spreads awerness, no other climate protest has even managed that. Some people obviously fall for the news rage bait but if even 1% of people gain any awerness of climate change it will have been the most effective form of climate protests by far purely on what reach it has had.

          • Jin@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            I would disagree. Like Greta Thunberg , did it right. peaceful protest and didn’t vandalize.

            She spoke in front the of UN. These guys are doing it wrong.

            • Lileath
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              5 months ago

              And there are thousands of people that express their hatred for her and the movement she stamds for, even threatening to rape and kill her.

              In Germany there are regular street blockades and Airport disruptions and the average response to these things was people wanting to run them over with their cars.

              • Jin@lemmy.world
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                5 months ago

                There will always be haters, but I’m not sure what point your bringing up?

                I’m just saying there are more peaceful way to do things like this, without vandalizing.

    • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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      5 months ago

      Much like my witnessing PETA protestors screaming in the face of little children with a bullhorn because they happened to be waiting in line for the circus. I can support removing elephants from a life of circus performing, but I absolutely cannot stand PETA (for this and other reasons like euthanizing people’s pets).

        • sandbox@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          Pretty much every shocking PETA truth is either taken out of context or completely fabricated. They’ve done one thing which I disapprove of, which is the weird “milk makes autism worse” advert they ran. other than that they’re fine imo.

        • ShepherdPie@midwest.social
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          5 months ago

          I don’t know if the euthanasia stories are true, but I witnessed the screaming into bullhorns personally as I was also waiting in the line with my kid.

  • dQw4w9WgXcQ@lemm.ee
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    5 months ago

    I still subscribe to the theory that these people are hired actors from Big Oil. They are experts at being unlikable and naturally pushes me towards the opposing side. It sucks.

    • Adanisi@lemmy.zip
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      5 months ago

      If a small group annoying you pushes you towards not caring about the climate, you never cared about the climate.

      • dQw4w9WgXcQ@lemm.ee
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        5 months ago

        Don’t worry, it’s not like I’m yielding. The point is that I find them to be detractors rather than attractors to join our common goal of not eliminating ourselves.

    • spujb@lemmy.cafe
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      5 months ago

      genuinely i used to subscribe to the same theory

      and then it switched. i think they’re here genuinely. not even sure what happened to change my mind. your mileage may vary? but i get where you are coming from.

      • VinnyDaCat@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Just be skeptical about it from both perspectives.

        Bad actors do exist but they’re not to blame for everything despite almost any organization or movement these days attempting to scapegoat any poor publicity they experience as bad actors.

  • katy ✨
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    5 months ago

    a reminder that the people complaining about how awful it is to desecrate stonehenge also want to build a motorway right through it

    • ASeriesOfPoorChoices@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      until they did.

      There’s an exact replica in Esperance, Australia.

      Why? Good question. Good question.

      Check out Bill Bailey’s Australian Adventure, episode 1. It’s on Channel4.

    • Swarfega@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      I’m all for their cause but they’ve been going about it the wrong way every single time. They do nothing but piss the general public off. The very people you actually need to get on your side.

      • FluffyPotato@lemm.ee
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        5 months ago

        When they block oil terminals, spray paint car dealerships of the heaviest polluters or set themselves on fire the news doesnt cover it so no one will even know, while this actually works.

  • Jin@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    I can’t simple not see any logic reason in what they are doing…

    Might as well paint a toilet orange at the local library and say it’s for the environment.

    Probably requires harsh cleaning and that goes into the ground…

  • Gakomi@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    I hate this kind of idiot shit, how do they think this will help their cause? Vandalising a fucking historical monument that does not affect in any way shape or form the environment will just hurt their cause!

    • BruceTwarzen@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      A bunch of old ass rocks that you have to pay money to look at. I hope all that ancient ass shit goes away at some point and humans can look forward.

  • nucleative@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    The most effective method of protesting would be to find a way to get the masses to turn against the lawmakers in such a way that they convince the lawmakers to solve the problem that the protest is focused against.

    But most of these protests just piss off the masses. They run their day with traffic, they destroy heritage sites that people care about, and while they do get in the news and get some publicity, people’s memory is quite negative. And there are zero focus on anybody who could actually change the situation.

    • Adanisi@lemmy.zip
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      5 months ago

      “destroy heritage sites”

      It’s cornflour lmfao. It’s probably been washed away by now.

  • mechoman444@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    All these idiots make me want to do is go dump crude oil into the ocean just to spite them!

    (Sarcasm kind of.)

    • spujb@lemmy.cafe
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      5 months ago

      i feel like druids, if forced to pick a side, might be on the side favoring protecting nature :)