Plastic bags, climate change, renewable energy,

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Was sitting at a cafe in Castlemaine yesterday, and there was a group of hippies talking about their environmental activism. Horrible bunch.

Matted hair, bare dirty feet, the whole nine yards. Just so egotistical, all about them and the amazing work they’re doing and how horrible it was they get arrested. Swapping bail stories like it was a badge of honour...

I didn’t say anything, but did finish my coffee quickly and left because they were so annoying...

What I’d have liked to have pointed out to their pea brains is that they do environmentalism a disservice. They make is so much harder for those of us actually working to achieve good environmental outcomes.

One of them “was off to Queensland to stop Adani”. Yeah, good luck with that... All you’re doing is tarnishing the rest of us who actually work (emphasis on the word “work”....) on environmental stuff with your strident counterproductive crap, and shoring up votes for the conservatives.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Which is not say I don’t believe a bit of blockade protest action isn’t valuable occasionally. The whole Franklin Dam thing worked, but it wasn’t because of a bunch of dumb hippies.

Bob Brown was smart about it and worked the political and media angles well.
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
One of them “was off to Queensland to stop Adani”. Yeah, good luck with that... All you’re doing is tarnishing the rest of us who actually work (emphasis on the word “work”....) on environmental stuff with your strident counterproductive crap, and shoring up votes for the conservatives.
I've thought this for many years.

If you want to change the mind of Average Joe, you have to look and smell like him.

A lot of these people enjoy being activists more than anything else, I suspect.
 

Calvin27

Eats Squid
The big difference in my view is hippies of days past did it because they were genuinely passionate about it and believed int he cause. Hippies these days seem to err more on the side of following a cult and/or the purpose of moral superiority.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
I've thought this for many years.

If you want to change the mind of Average Joe, you have to look and smell like him.

A lot of these people enjoy being activists more than anything else, I suspect.
It’s an ego trip. They’re too dumb or lazy to do well in the world, so they do the counter culture thing and blame their woes on the system. They get their sense of worth by feeling important and superior by protesting or looking down on “straight” people.

I grew up with hippie parents and in that whole world. Drove me nuts. To be fair, the wanker quotient is not always higher than in other parts of society, but god they’re annoying....
 

fatboyonabike

Captain oblivious
What I’d have liked to have pointed out to their pea brains is that they do environmentalism a disservice. They make is so much harder for those of us actually working to achieve good environmental outcomes.

One of them “was off to Queensland to stop Adani”. Yeah, good luck with that... All you’re doing is tarnishing the rest of us who actually work (emphasis on the word “work”....) on environmental stuff with your strident counterproductive crap, and shoring up votes for the conservatives.
they better have been walking their arse all the way to QLD, and not driving a fossil fuel burning auto of any type
I guess they could ride a bike there, just stay off the damn road hippy!..;)o_O
 

Freediver

I can go full Karen
In my time those loser hippies have achieved nothing, it's not like logging was stopped in the Otways or Errinundra national park got extended to include a lot of the high value forest around it that Vicforests were logging the crap out of.

It's not like the are really fucking with loggers on Granite Mountain as we speak. Which is an area that has only had a handful of non aboriginal folk even see it. An area so remote and mountainous you have to drive into NSW and come back down into Vic to get there.

It's not like they are out there doing the surveys that vicforests are supposed to do and getting large swathes of forest protected.

A lot of them might be wankers but lot are seriously motivated and actually achieving shit.

And yes Tubbsy I did enjoy being a forest activist for many years, and Haakon I'm proud of the fact I stood up for what I believed in, knowing that I would be fined for doing it. Have you ever stood up for anything?
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
And yes Tubbsy I did enjoy being a forest activist for many years, and Haakon I'm proud of the fact I stood up for what I believed in, knowing that I would be fined for doing it. Have you ever stood up for anything?
Fair enough, I generalised, but I did say 'a lot' not everybody. I think often these are good causes with some well intentioned people protesting.

My point was and is that for your message to resonate with the masses, it has to be relatable.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Have you ever stood up for anything?
Yes, spent my entire career working for the environment. On both national and international issues. I still stand up for something. Why did you stop?

Forest activists as I already said have their place and done well can be effective. Unfortunately they're often done with poor optics (ie deadshit ferals being generally embarrassing...) which is counterproductive I believe as it makes it harder for those of us working on the issues professionally to make an argument the wider population can relate to. This is important.
 
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Oddjob

Merry fucking Xmas to you assholes
In my time those loser hippies have achieved nothing, it's not like logging was stopped in the Otways or Errinundra national park got extended to include a lot of the high value forest around it that Vicforests were logging the crap out of.

It's not like the are really fucking with loggers on Granite Mountain as we speak. Which is an area that has only had a handful of non aboriginal folk even see it. An area so remote and mountainous you have to drive into NSW and come back down into Vic to get there.

It's not like they are out there doing the surveys that vicforests are supposed to do and getting large swathes of forest protected.

A lot of them might be wankers but lot are seriously motivated and actually achieving shit.

And yes Tubbsy I did enjoy being a forest activist for many years, and Haakon I'm proud of the fact I stood up for what I believed in, knowing that I would be fined for doing it. Have you ever stood up for anything?
And what difference will it make when climate change wipes all of this high value forest out through fires and disease?

While people were chaining themselves to bulldozers, the Catholics continued to encourage overpopulation and the coal lobby were winning the main game.


Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
And what difference will it make when climate change wipes all of this high value forest out through fires and disease?

While people were chaining themselves to bulldozers, the Catholics continued to encourage overpopulation and the coal lobby were winning the main game.


Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk
This as well... These issues still need to be dealt with, but only if enough effort is going towards the main game.

Which it isn’t. And hasn’t. And now it’s too late.
 

Stredda

Runs naked through virgin scrub
Was sitting at a cafe in Castlemaine yesterday, and there was a group of hippies talking about their environmental activism. Horrible bunch.

Matted hair, bare dirty feet, the whole nine yards. Just so egotistical, all about them and the amazing work they’re doing and how horrible it was they get arrested. Swapping bail stories like it was a badge of honour...

I didn’t say anything, but did finish my coffee quickly and left because they were so annoying...

What I’d have liked to have pointed out to their pea brains is that they do environmentalism a disservice. They make is so much harder for those of us actually working to achieve good environmental outcomes.

One of them “was off to Queensland to stop Adani”. Yeah, good luck with that... All you’re doing is tarnishing the rest of us who actually work (emphasis on the word “work”....) on environmental stuff with your strident counterproductive crap, and shoring up votes for the conservatives.
I totally agree here. If the Greens wants to make a productive effort for environmental change the need to change their image to the everyday person and be relatable. They need to be seen volunteering in the community, things like supporting and participating in the local volunteer fire service, lending a hand with disaster clean-ups ect. Not just standing back and criticising after the fact, be seen to be actively engaging. And yes the dirty hippy look does not help because no matter what they do people just think they are just bludging off the system, and that doesn't win any support.
 

Calvin27

Eats Squid
I totally agree here. If the Greens wants to make a productive effort for environmental change
...they need to actually have a population policy that doesn't skirt around the realities of population and environmental impact.

Population growth is about the only thin that has tripartisan support - they only disagree what type people they want to join our country...
 

Freediver

I can go full Karen
...they need to actually have a population policy that doesn't skirt around the realities of population and environmental impact.

Population growth is about the only thin that has tripartisan support - they only disagree what type people they want to join our country...
Here is a link for you Calvin. Maybe you should read it and then edit your post.

.
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
Here is a link for you Calvin. Maybe you should read it and then edit your post.

.
Nope. As a lifelong Greens voter, I'm with Calvin on this one. That link is all very well and a worthy set of principles, but its not the clear " we are overpopulated and we need to wind it back asap" policy thats needed. That was needed 50 years ago...
 

Calvin27

Eats Squid
Here is a link for you Calvin. Maybe you should read it and then edit your post.
Wishy washy words, clear as mud. Failure to acknowledge the limitations of the population carrying capacity of our dry continent. Also a life-long greens voter.
 

hifiandmtb

Sphincter beanie
Population is a secondary concern. It’s about people’s individual footprints.

Most first worlders consume magnitudes more than the others.

Which part of the world’s population do you want to tackle first? Those causing the least problem?
 
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