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Then why protest anything ever?
I mean... most protests seem to be unsuccessful inasmuch as nothing really changes. The ones that do are the ones that really serve to 'raise awareness' of something concrete that was up to that point not really that well-known, or something that can be solved in a specific and concrete way. Bonus points if it involves animals or children. It might sound cynical, but it's not far from the truth. If you tell people that some kids are being exploited to sew clothes somewhere in Bangladesh, that's something concrete that not everyone might have been aware of, with a relatively easy solution as far as the average person is concerned. If you tell people about climate change, well, most people know about it already, but solutions are very complex even if you just look at political action alone, i.e. voting intentions.
If the goal is to shift the Overton window, then I think they are already succeeding.
I honestly don't. I really don't see it. I've been reading about climate change and the need to 'do something' for seemingly ever, I don't see what has actually changed. There's a spike of reporting about them now, even that will fade away as everyone gets used to their existence. I don't see any Overton window changes thanks to them. The one that I did notice was one that happened over at least a decade - climate change going from something scientists talk about and that scientists were quoted on to something that is just common knowledge for all but a minority of tinfoil hat people. That was nice, but it hasn't done nearly enough either.
Why do they also have to be the ones to complete the next step and the step after that?
They don't, but it'd be nice if there was at least a faint idea as to how it's supposed to 'work'. As it is, I don't see them pushing the bulk of the population in any direction, and I definitely see them putting off some people. I don't think they're doing much damage, but I also don't think they are helping that much. I'm also not saying they should stop with what they're doing. But I don't see it working out particularly well right now.
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SwissChap
Then why protest anything ever? Surely the aim of repeated protests is to ensure that climate action stays at the forefront of our collective consciousness and is a constant in the media. If the goal is to shift the Overton window, then I think they are already succeeding.
Why do they also have to be the ones to complete the next step and the step after that? I don’t quite understand why people seem to want XR to have all of the answers and solutions.
If I were an optimist, I’d say the real change we need to see is politically, a green new deal perhaps. Well that will only happen if we elect a government who puts that at the front of the agenda - and isn’t there more chance of that with groups like XR pushing us voters and hopefully the media in that direction?