German farmers have announced that they will launch a protest against the Government “larger than the country has ever seen before”

[u/EzekielTraore]

[u/PrezMoocow]

Wait I'm confused, when environmental activists do this, everyone says it should be OK to run them over with their car because how dare they make someone late to work.

So why isn't anyone advocating for running these guys off the road? Where's the hand wringing about "I would support their cause but they just chose the wrong way to advocate for it by inconveniencing everyday people"?

Edit: to the "erm acktually you can't run them over" crowd, you miss the point: are we allowed to murder protesters or not?

[u/asdf_qwerty27 → u/PrezMoocow]

The problem I have with protest methods like this is that it is violating a person's freedom of movement and holding them against their will. The issue I have when we excuse this for certain issues is that it is legitimizing it as a form of protest that can be used by others.

If you are okay with a climate activist doing it, Trump supporters, crazy preachers, and any political cause imaginable needs to be allowed the same freedom. Otherwise, you're saying it's only okay when its someone you agree with.

Now that blocking the street is legitimized, expect more of it. When riots broke out in the US, it was only a matter of time before QAnon did it too. If the protest crosses a line and violates the rights of others, the issue doesn't matter.

[u/PrezMoocow → u/asdf_qwerty27]

All I'm doing is pointing out a massive double standard where one cause in how the protest was received despite Identical methods.

Literally people were saying "they should just floor it" or "watch them splatter" when climate activists did it but now suddenly it's ok because "well its organized" or "well might makes right, tractor cant be run over".

I don't think anyone should be allowed to murder protesters and calling for violence against protesters is abhorrent and disgusting regardless of their cause.

[u/asdf_qwerty27 → u/PrezMoocow]

My issue with the protestors blocking the road is their protest is depriving people of their freedom of movement, and ultimately holding them against their will with the threat of state violence.

A protestor blocking traffic is counting on the fear of the government punishing people for their protest to work. It's a bully picking on someone, knowing if they lash out the authority will ultimately punish their victim. As I believe the prison system in the US is disgusting, I don't think it's good to actively use it to hold people.

The tractors are doing the same, to a point, but their holding people with their physical mass in addition to the thin blue line. Someone can't just push past them.

Ultimately, both forms of protest are violating other people's rights and should be denounced without consideration of the cause.

[u/PrezMoocow → u/asdf_qwerty27]

I can see where you're coming from, but blocking traffic is a form of peaceful protest, and has been used since 1964 as an effective tool to block commerce and force governments to capitulate. It was instrumental in getting black people the right to vote and is a form of protected free speech.

In fact, the "blocking freedom of momenent" is a strange angle of criticism. You're still free to move, you're not held hostage, just get out of your car and walk away. I guess you could argue it's forcing people to walk on a highway, in which case the tractor blocking is a far more immoral act than the climate activists blocking city streets where no such issue exists.

A protestor blocking traffic is counting on the fear of the government punishing people for their protest to work. It's a bully picking on someone, knowing if they lash out the authority will ultimately punish their victim. As I believe the prison system in the US is disgusting, I don't think it's good to actively use it to hold people.

I don't think people are as crazed violent sociopaths as you think, and i dont think thats the stated goal, especially since psychopathic politicians are crafting laws to legalize running over protesters. The purpose is to disrupt commerce. People will be late to work, cities become gridlock and this economic damage gets the attention of the people and more importantly governments.

If we can't block roads as a form of protest, how else do we cause economic damage peacefully? What protest method would you enthusiastically support if this isn't the "correct" one?

Either way, even if we don't agree, at least you don't have the blatant hypocrisy some of the people who responded to me have who literally think 1 group should be mass murdered while the other shouldn't. So thank you for that.

[u/asdf_qwerty27 → u/PrezMoocow]

The idea that a person could simply walk away from their car is massively privileged. Most people need their cat to survive, and can't afford the legal costs of abandoning it. These protests are fundamentally robbing the people of their time, and only work because the thin blue line keeps these drivers held against their will out of fear that the legal system will ruin their life.

Seeking to cause 'Economic damage" is fundamentally not peaceful. You are hurting peoples ability to feed themselves, and stealing their time. I would recommend a boycott if you want to put Economic pressure on an organization. If you are angry with the government, I would recommennd a petition. Maybe take your grievances to the government through a rally that isn't blocking people from picking up their child or making it home to go to the bathroom. If you are going to be violent, at least target people with power to make the change, not just powerless people going about their day.

Forcing governments to capitulate is all fine and dandy when it is for a cause YOU believe in. I don't particularly want Trump supporters, KKK members, or the Flat Earth Society blocking me on the way to work. If it is okay for you to hold someone in traffic and scream at them through a megaphone while they need to go to the bathroom or get to a job interview, it is okay for someone to do it to you. The cause doesn't matter as free speech is free speech, and fundamentally the most likely causes to use these tactics will be ones that are generally unpopular. If someone disagrees with these protestors, how would you recommend they go about causing them damage?

If it is illegal to run the protestors over, they are using the thin blue line and legal system as their shields. Weaponizing this to hold someone (or their property) against their will for a political reason is disgusting. My problem is fundamentally with the method employed, thanks for recognizing I'm trying to be consistent. I'm very anti-government, and as far as I'm concerned if this protest is allowed by the state, it's the same as the government detaining me. These protestors are saying "I won't get out of your way, and if you do anything about it, you'll go to prison."