Climate Protesters Shot Dead in Panama

[IceJad]

Always wonder what these protestors are doing that will raise awareness about climate change. The tried and true block everyone's daily commute. Grand idea isn't it. Now the people will see the urgent need for it surely. They only ended up antagonizing the average Joe and Jane that wanted to go from point A to point B.

The fact that this shooting didn't happened sooner was a miracle. You don't know how everyone reacts when put under stress. Some people can take a lot of external stress before they snapped some very little. A very sure way to stress people out is to put a wrench into their daily responsibilities such as going to work. For what in return? Exposure? The motorists blocked I'm sure all became environmentalists after that protest.

While I don't celebrate the killing, I can't bring myself to sympathize with the "victims" either.

 

[Servus]

With the long history of road rage where drivers use guns and other weapons like bats and tire irons, against those who cut them off and get in their way, it's only a matter of time until more people end up in the hospital or morgue over this.

 

[IceJad]

With the long history of road rage where drivers use guns and other weapons like bats and tire irons, against those who cut them off and get in their way, it's only a matter of time until more people end up in the hospital or morgue over this.

Very true, while road rage is not an admirable trait, it happens and that fact will never go away. Knowing full well these protesters opted to do the one thing motorists hated the most - being stuck in traffic.

There is also no benefit to these kind of protests. The true target is not there to experience it. Yet those who could do little to help are caught up to suffer. If such methods had positive results, things would have changed by now.

All this is doing is turning people away from climate issues.

 

[Servus]

Very true, while road rage is not an admirable trait, it happens and that fact will never go away. Knowing full well these protesters opted to do the one thing motorists hated the most - being stuck in traffic.

There is also no benefit to these kind of protests. The true target is not there to experience it. Yet those who could do little to help are caught up to suffer. If such methods had positive results, things would have changed by now.

All this is doing is turning people away from climate issues.

There certainly should no element of they got what they deserved. But the fact is there are a lot of dangerous people driving cars. I avoid any kind of conformation diving these days because there's no way to know how crazy the other person might be.

And also yes, for those who think climate change proponents are nuts, the stunts being pulled by climate protesters just convinces them they're completely bonkers.

 

[Nithavela]

Certain elements of the right are celebrating this guy like he is some vigilante hero.

 

[RocksInMyHead]

While I don't celebrate the killing, I can't bring myself to sympathize with the "victims" either.

You can't sympathize with people who were shot for being an inconvenience? Really? Out of curiosity, what are your thoughts on Christians who are killed for practicing their faith in places where it is inconvenient or illegal? After all, it was only a matter of time...

 

[Nithavela]

You can't sympathize with people who were shot for being an inconvenience? Really? Out of curiosity, what are your thoughts on Christians who are killed for practicing their faith in places where it is inconvenient or illegal? After all, it was only a matter of time...

It takes a certain kind of personality to call someone who was gunned down in the street for no reason a "victim" with quotation marks.

 

[Larniavc]

The fact that this shooting didn't happened sooner was a miracle. You don't know how everyone reacts when put under stress.

Well with Americans you know it's a good chance someone will get shot. Not so much with other nationality.

While I don't celebrate the killing,

How very compassionate of you.

 

[Larniavc]

All this is doing is turning people away from climate issues.

Or makes people think Americans are gun wielding mentalists.

 

[Larniavc]

It takes a certain kind of personality to call someone who was gunned down in the street for no reason a "victim" with quotation marks.

What I find baffling is reading that kind of 'compassion' on a site where part of the point in Christian Outreach.

 

[Nithavela]

What I find baffling is reading that kind of 'compassion' on a site where part of the point in Christian Outreach.

Really? After more than 8 years on this site?

 

[driewerf]

Really? After more than 8 years on this site?

You don't catch flies wit vinegar. So the christians here should at least give the illusion of a honey pot.

 

[Nithavela]

You don't catch flies wit vinegar. So the christians here should at least give the illusion of a honey pot.

There are many christian on christian forums who post like decent people.

 

[Paulos23]

There are many christian on christian forums who post like decent people.

True, but the version of Christianity they present is soured for me by posts like the OP.

 

[Nithavela]

True, but the version of Christianity they present is soured for me by posts like the OP.

That appears to be your choice.

Anyway, this is very off topic. Let's stop this.

 

[The IbanezerScrooge]

Well with Americans you know it's a good chance someone will get shot. Not so much with other nationality.

How very compassionate of you.

This dude was an American ex-pat who retired in Panama.

 

[RestoreTheJoy]

Very true, while road rage is not an admirable trait, it happens and that fact will never go away. Knowing full well these protesters opted to do the one thing motorists hated the most - being stuck in traffic.

There is also no benefit to these kind of protests. The true target is not there to experience it. Yet those who could do little to help are caught up to suffer. If such methods had positive results, things would have changed by now.

All this is doing is turning people away from climate issues.

Agree - there is ZERO benefit to preventing movement of drivers- taking hostages, actually- on the road. It does however, ensure that the victims you prevent from moving will ever care about your issue or think seriously about it.

 

[Handmaid for Jesus]

Things have gotten so crazy these days.

 

[ranunculus]

It appears the people shot were protesting a copper mine and government corruption

I have to wonder if the climate activist label wasn't just added to try to lessen sympathy for the victims

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Admittedly, when I first read the story, I just assumed it was referring to Panama City FL and not the actual nation of Panama.

It appears that this wasn't purely a climate protest.

So my usual snarky response of "Oh, so your plan to protest fossil fuel emissions is to force a 2 mile long chain of cars and semis to sit there and idle & pump out exhaust for 2 hours when they could've been to their destination and turn their cars off in 15 mins? Great plan!"



However, it still raises certain questions about certain methods of protest, both in terms of their efficacy as well as their propensity for creating volatile situations that will never end well.

Obviously not all protests have to be "polite"... "polite" often doesn't get you very far. I acknowledge that you have to get some peoples' attention.

But, I've always failed to see how creating a public safety hazard and indiscriminately negatively impacting random members of the public were seen as an effective form of protest or awareness-raising.

Has anyone ever been "won over" by one of these efforts? Meaning, has anyone said "this group of people just made me late for work and I lost wages for it...gosh they're great, I'm buying whatever they're selling"? And has any one of these types of more random, non-targeted, disruptive protests ever ended in anything productive?

For instance, if I was an anti-fur activist, and I decided to block a road, vandalize an auto-parts store, or throw soup on a painting in a museum, how exactly do you draw a line from A to B in terms of how that makes any strides towards actually solving the issue? In the case of road blocking, the people stuck a mile back can't even see the signs anyway so they have no idea what's making them late for work.

If I went to a fur farming facility and broke in and unlocked all of the cages, that's still controversial, still "disobedience", still "in your face activism", at least that's still related to the problem at hand I claim to be protesting, and people negatively impacted are the people I would have issue with in that hypothetical scenario.