A reminder folks: people engage in this kind of radical protest because it works:
Results of two online experiments conducted with diverse samples (N = 2,772), including a study of the animal rights movement and a preregistered study of the climate movement, show that the presence of a radical flank increases support for a moderate faction within the same movement. Further, it is the use of radical tactics, such as property destruction or violence, rather than a radical agenda, that drives this effect. Results indicate the effect owes to a contrast effect: Use of radical tactics by one flank led the more moderate faction to appear less radical, even though all characteristics of the moderate faction were held constant. This perception led participants to identify more with and, in turn, express greater support for the more moderate faction. These results suggest that activist groups that employ unpopular tactics can increase support for other groups within the same movement, pointing to a hidden way in which movement factions are complementary, despite pursuing divergent approaches to social change.
This kind of tactic demonstrably works, even as people condemn it.
According to the intro, it works by making the moderate viewpoint seem more moderate. So basically the idea is being as extreme as possible so that people will say, “I agree with your point but not your methods.”
Yes, and it gets peoples attention, so they see that people care about the issue, and that they’re not alone in caring.
That doesn’t really address my concern about gluing yourself to things being a dumb way to protest. It relies on people stopping whatever they’re doing because they care about not killing you.
That generally is a good bet. People dont want a murder charge.
Sadly, there are places in the world with people who LOVE the idea of running over people with their giant trucks…
UK runways are not one of them.
Espousing more radical ideas (as opposed to advocating similar ideas in a more radical fashion) also makes the moderate viewpoint seem more moderate. That’s how the Overton window (of the acceptability of ideas in public discourse) shifts over time.