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Just Stop Oil: do radical protests turn the public away from a cause? Here’s the evidence (theconversation.com)

submitted 4 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

Thank you for sharing the supporting article. Sometimes, evidence contradicts intuition. From your link:

Less is known about the relative impacts of non-violent but disruptive tactics. “Is it better to throw soup on a painting, or block traffic, or glue yourself to something?” says Dana Fisher, a sociologist at American University in Washington DC. “We don’t know which is the most effective.”

But there is evidence that these types of protest can have an impact. Social Change Lab gathered opinions in three surveys — each asking around 2,000 people — before, during and after disruptive protests in the United Kingdom by Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion in April 20228. The protesters blockaded oil depots and glued themselves to government buildings and oil-company offices. Most people who were surveyed opposed the actions, but continued to support climate policies and Just Stop Oil’s goals to stop new fossil-fuel projects. This counters the view that disruptive action can sour public opinion on an issue.

Overcoming bias is an essential part of science literacy in both acknowledging climate change as a phenomenon and policy change to prevent it.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

Yeah, disruptive can be completely acceptable. The problem is that it takes more than just disruptive to be effective — not just avoiding a negative impact, but having a positive one.