The 'Climate' Vandals are Back, with Hammers

Well, the anti-human environmentalist nuts of Just Stop Oil done it again. And this time they've got hammers:

BREAKING: Climate cult strikes again

Just Stop Oil lunatics took hammers and attacked Rokeby Venus, painted in 1651 ($90M) in the London National Gallery pic.twitter.com/97VumWIWeg

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) November 6, 2023

There isn't much more to add to what we've already said in our previous coverage of similar events:

These acts are deplorable. But, in one sense, we should be grateful for them. They have made plain the anti-civilizational barbarism of the environmentalist movement. They've broadcast to the world the fact that they despise the highest achievements of mankind. They always have, in fact, but regular people didn't notice as much when their ire was turned towards fracking or the Industrial Revolution. These targets were too abstract, and seemed so deeply embedded in our society that they couldn't be materially damaged by a bunch of hippies chanting about them, or even those hippies' highly remunerated lobbyists.

But there is something about striking out at timeless works of beauty which provokes a visceral reaction in people. When viewing the videos of these incidents, you can't help but notice the gasps of horror and the shouts of rage of museum-goers. It is likely that these people are of various political persuasions, and one would assume that many of them are generally sympathetic towards environmentalism. But they recognize immediately that these hoodlums are striking out at the frail beauty which Shakespeare contemplates in Sonnet 65, and they -- and everyone who sees the videos that the activists themselves are posting online -- are repulsed. Clearly what these activists are doing is beyond the pale....

Make no mistake, these are desperate acts from members of a movement who can feel their influence diminishing as the west's energy crisis (for which they are more-than-partially responsible) worsens and winter approaches.

Such assaults on works of art, housed in institutions predominantly run and visited by liberals and progressives (albeit ones engaged in the conservative task of "of preserving the artistic patrimony of a nation") are going to get worse before they get better. It's only a matter of time before priceless works of art are seriously damaged or destroyed, all in the name of... what? "Saving the planet"?

If the administrators won't take steps to stop these attacks while they are in progress instead of waiting until after they happen, it's high time their patrons do.