Is Adbusters Going Too Far By Deflating SUV Tires?
In a polarizing Tweet by Adbusters, an environmental group, they called for activists to deflate SUV tires in wealthy areas. They even went as far as to provide instructions for how activists can do this with gravel.
And they are even supposed to leave an informative pamphlet instructing them to walk or bike. As many can imagine, most people agree this is a radical move that not only puts the activists’ lives at risk but can also seriously threaten the unaware vehicle owners.
Let’s discuss why this is a really bad idea.
Deflating Tires Is Extremely Dangerous For Everyone Involved
Let’s not beat around the bush here, if someone sees another person tampering with their car, you will almost always think they are a thief.
And that has a lot of possible outcomes. The first is alerting the police, which is probably the best option.
The second, and the most deadly option, is when the owner takes matters into their own hands. If you trespass onto someone’s property and then immediately begin vandalizing their car, well, many people will take action.
This can start as a verbal argument and escalate into a physical one. It’s a really dumb idea to trespass and vandalize someone else’s car.
However, this is only half of the reason it may be dangerous. For example, what happens if that car owner is a couple expecting a newborn? Rushing out to the car to only discover it now has a flat tire is disastrous.
This is just one scenario. The vehicle could be for a handicapped individual. Perhaps someone may use the vehicle to conduct their business, which could cause them financial harm.
Or, the owner might not even notice the tire was deflated. Thus, endangering other drivers. Again, it’s a really bad idea.
What Was Adbusters Thinking?
Let’s face it, this was a horrible idea that did have some good intentions behind it.
SUVs are really unnecessary in most cases. They consume more gas than regular cars, require more materials, and just take up more space. The world can exist without them, but that transition is not happening anytime soon.
Unfortunately, climate change will not wait around for that, thus the group is looking to make the change themselves. By targeting “wealthier” communities first, they probably think that the financial impact this will cause will be negligible.
However, it really isn’t, and it’s really dangerous. It’s even counterproductive to their goals.
Creating Enemies Hurts the Entire Green Movement
Let’s say nothing life-threatening happens, well, the people that do get affected by these actions would be very angry, and rightfully so. Adbusters just made an enemy, and those affected may think all environmental groups are like this.
Thus, they are now against the entire green movement.
It’s a sure-fire way to avoid making progress toward climate change. Instead, it just makes the issue much more divisive than it already is. The moment a group goes from advocating for change to trying to force change, it hurts the entire movement.
Robert has been following and writing about environmental stories for years at GreenGeeks. He believes that highlighting environmentally friendly practices can help promote change in every household.