Anyone else running the Berlin Marathon this weekend?
The climate protesters who have been gluing themselves to the streets all year have announced that they are not yet sure if they’ll disrupt the Marathon too. Earlier this week they used fire extinguishers to vandalize Brandenburger Tor with red paint. If they find a way to disrupt the marathon, the publicity for them would be huge…
Article in German
tough one for me. i’m sympathetic to protest generally and think the scale of the climate crisis means that dramatic gestures are on the table.
on the other hand. . . i mean it’s literally a footrace. maybe protest the formula 1 instead or something?
The scale of the climate crisis???
The scale of the climate crisis???
have you heard? it’s a pretty big deal.
I think these kind of stunts have the opposite effect of what the protesters would actually like to achieve. It just makes them look like a bunch of wacko extremists and doesn’t change anyone’s opinion about climate change.
People are swayed by informative campaigns, education, and by witnessing the effects from hurricanes, wild fires, heat waves, etc., not by a bunch of crazed looking nuts harassing people, shouting, gluing themselves to the floor, or throwing paint on artwork. That’s all counterproductive in my opinion.
Gluing oneself to the street while 47 000 people run toward you is also not a wise choice, but let’s see what they come up with…
I think these kind of stunts have the opposite effect of what the protesters would actually like to achieve. It just makes them look like a bunch of wacko extremists and doesn’t change anyone’s opinion about climate change.
People are swayed by informative campaigns, education, and by witnessing the effects from hurricanes, wild fires, heat waves, etc., not by a bunch of crazed looking nuts harassing people, shouting, gluing themselves to the floor, or throwing paint on artwork. That’s all counterproductive in my opinion.
I agree with this. And I am someone who is very aware and concerned about climate change. But this is not how to change hearts and minds.
I do sympathize with the younger generation who are protesting. I can’t imagine what the future holds for them and their children/grandchildren. But disrupting marathons and bike races and other events is not going to bring much change. It only angers people. It’s not an effective or efficient way to bring about change.
They really are making it easier for climate change deniers to win their case. It’s not enough to prove the science, you need to win popular opinion as well.
They really are making it easier for climate change deniers to win their case. It’s not enough to prove the science, you need to win popular opinion as well.
I think in Europe popular opinion is that there is a climate crisis. At least in some countries?. The problem is taking action to reverse it. That is more complex and needs to be done sooner than later. I am not sure if it’s too late to reverse climate change. Big change takes time and moves slowly. I personally don’t think it will happen in time. Fossil fuel corporations and other industries contributing to greenhouse gas push back on environmental regulations. And many politicians and law makers are backed by these powerful companies. It’s going to take generations to change this in my book and by then it will be too late.
So in the meantime, disrupting marathons, especially the Berlin Marathon who is taking steps to be “greener” is not the best route to change course in my opinion. Iron Mike suggested doing these stunts at a race car event. That would be more appropriate. “muscles not motors”
Protesters now confirm that they will disrupt the race on Sunday. Cool.
Protesting:
during a running event (healthy),in Berlin (one of the most lefty-sided cities in Germany),in Germany (leading the eco-transformation in Europe),in Europe (generally leading the eco-transformation in the world)
is a ridiculous idea.
Go and protest prisoners/child labour in polluting factories in China or people dumping waste to rivers in India or F1 race in UAE…
Protesting:
during a running event (healthy),in Berlin (one of the most lefty-sided cities in Germany),in Germany (leading the eco-transformation in Europe),in Europe (generally leading the eco-transformation in the world)
is a ridiculous idea.
Go and protest prisoners/child labour in polluting factories in China or people dumping waste to rivers in India or F1 race in UAE…
I feel really sorry for the people who traveled here for the race and for the professionals whose livelihood may be impacted. This will be a huge embarrassment for the race and for Berlin if the protesters manage to do this.
Didn’t they protest at an F1 event and it got cleaned up pretty quickly? I imagine these big events are pretty good at stopping this sort of thing especially when it’s announced days in advanced. I wouldn’t be surprised if we don’t even hear about it.
I think these kind of stunts have the opposite effect of what the protesters would actually like to achieve. It just makes them look like a bunch of wacko extremists and doesn’t change anyone’s opinion about climate change.
People are swayed by informative campaigns, education, and by witnessing the effects from hurricanes, wild fires, heat waves, etc., not by a bunch of crazed looking nuts harassing people, shouting, gluing themselves to the floor, or throwing paint on artwork. That’s all counterproductive in my opinion.
I agree with this. And I am someone who is very aware and concerned about climate change. But this is not how to change hearts and minds.
I do sympathize with the younger generation who are protesting. I can’t imagine what the future holds for them and their children/grandchildren. But disrupting marathons and bike races and other events is not going to bring much change. It only angers people. It’s not an effective or efficient way to bring about change.
Maybe a better way is gluing themselves to an autobahn going into Berlin and disrupting general fossil fuel burning traffic on a randon day during rush hour. At least then they make the point of all the vehicles burning all that carbon and stopping them. Stuff like this makes them look like idiots and gets in the way of the rest of us trying to do something about it in our small way. I am sympathetic to the cause, I just don’t like how these idiots do it. As a point of reference, I am biased in the energy transition camp and have tried (so far no very successfully) to penetrate the German market. Berlin is a great place supportive place to impact climate actions, but their method won’t help .
Protesting:
during a running event (healthy),in Berlin (one of the most lefty-sided cities in Germany),in Germany (leading the eco-transformation in Europe),in Europe (generally leading the eco-transformation in the world)
is a ridiculous idea.
Go and protest prisoners/child labour in polluting factories in China or people dumping waste to rivers in India or F1 race in UAE…
That’s because this has NOTHING to do with influencing any kind if change (whatever that is). It’s about virtual signaling and screaming “look at me!â€
They glue themselves to the Autobahn that goes around Berlin probably three times a week. They don’t consider that all the cars sitting idle while the police deal with the mess isn’t good for the environment either.
They have blocked ambulances on multiple occasions.
Looks like the race will go ahead
Anyone else running the Berlin Marathon this weekend?
The climate protesters who have been gluing themselves to the streets all year have announced that they are not yet sure if they’ll disrupt the Marathon too. Earlier this week they used fire extinguishers to vandalize Brandenburger Tor with red paint. If they find a way to disrupt the marathon, the publicity for them would be huge…
https://www.tagesspiegel.de/...ration-10487854.html
Article in German
these protests have been going on all over, and in Germany for a bit. A few days before WTCS Hamburg/Sprint and Relay tri world champs, the Hamburg airport was shut down for a few hours when they glued themselves to the tarmac. None of them disrupted the race itself, although with the live TV coverage, that was definitely a possibility. These protests have hit symphonies, sporting events, basically anything where there is a camera with a potentially large audience… Now most organizers for large televised sporting or cultural events around the world are working with authorities to have plans in place for protests or attacks targeting the events. I am sure that the organizers are working with police and security officials to mitigate impacts to the race, the participants and the reputation of the event and the city.
Protesting:
during a running event (healthy),in Berlin (one of the most lefty-sided cities in Germany),in Germany (leading the eco-transformation in Europe),in Europe (generally leading the eco-transformation in the world)
is a ridiculous idea.
Go and protest prisoners/child labour in polluting factories in China or people dumping waste to rivers in India or F1 race in UAE…
I’m certain the protesters traveled there by completely environmental methods. Similar to the dignitarys who fly private jets to various climate “summits.”
I’ll jump in the fun. Tie themselves to tracks of ICE trains which are now power sourced by coal instead of nuclear