this post was submitted on 10 Sep 2023
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Spanish climate activists sprayed red paint across a superyacht owned by billionaire Walmart heiress Nancy Walton Laurie in Barcelona on Friday, the second time the yacht has been the target of protests in the past two months.

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[–] who8mydamnoreos@lemmy.world 196 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Fire is harder to wash off

[–] peopleproblems@lemmy.world 45 points 1 year ago (6 children)

I have an idea. Destroying it probably just gets written off from insurance.

Wash the boat with undiluted pine sol.

[–] CeruleanRuin@lemmings.world 30 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Literally no damage done to the boat will ever actually financially harm the bitchionaire. That's not the goal of protest - though it's certainly a bonus when it's achievable.

[–] zuu@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago

So it slips out of the water. Smart.

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[–] treefrog@lemm.ee 15 points 1 year ago

Even harder when you spray with gasoline first.

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[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml 133 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Everyone's complaining that this doesn't do anything and is counter productive, but you know what this looks like to me?

Propaganda of the deed. Someone will look at this and think "I know better things to spray her superyacht with than paint..."

[–] DoctorTYVM@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Make sure it's something that will take her servants an extra hard time to clean

[–] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 40 points 1 year ago (4 children)

The bottom of the ocean would be pretty hard to clean.

[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

They should put the billionaire on the bottom of the ocean, not the boat. The boat might be useful for something.

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[–] markr@lemmy.world 99 points 1 year ago

Good. Symbolic protests are a way to surface issues suppressed by the dominant ideology. If it gets any media coverage it is a success.

[–] Macaque@lemmy.world 89 points 1 year ago (6 children)

All billionaires are ethically in the wrong.

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[–] RIPandTERROR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 82 points 1 year ago (7 children)

Fuck yeah. They should live in constant and non-stop fear of the people they hoard from

[–] elscallr@lemmy.world 27 points 1 year ago (11 children)

"Fear"

You really think they give a shit? About something like this? They just pay someone $200 to clean the yacht. Sink it and they just buy a new one. This isn't anything.

[–] GladiusB@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Lol you haven't seen many rich people have you? This is definitely something they fear.

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[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 63 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Governments should stop billionaires. Tax them 100% income tax after a certain amount of income, tax them 50%% of their networth yearly after a certain amount of value.

[–] BedSharkPal@lemmy.ca 58 points 1 year ago (3 children)

The government is now controlled, more or less, by said billionaires - too late?

[–] ParsnipWitch@feddit.de 12 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I don't think there ever was a time where not the richest were in power. From warlords to kings and now politicians in the pockets of CEO's or shareholders by extension, people in power amass riches and with it more power.

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[–] ActionHank@sopuli.xyz 60 points 1 year ago

100% agreed, billionaires should not exist. It's absolutely disgusting that they do. They'll take and take and take and take some more. If you haven't seen it yet, please check out this site visualizing Jeff Bezos' wealth. These people believe that they owe nothing to a society that gave them the tools, infra, security, and workforce for their companies to succeed. The level of excess is really unfathomable, and this chart is like Power of Ten for helping you understand the difference in a few zeros.

https://mkorostoff.github.io/1-pixel-wealth/

[–] jerome@lemmy.world 58 points 1 year ago

it's a great start.

[–] LibertyLizard 55 points 1 year ago

How dare these activists do anything other than overthrowing the government and instituting a socialist utopia. I just can’t support this.

[–] cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 49 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Let's make it a third time

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[–] tinkeringidiot@lemmy.world 48 points 1 year ago (8 children)

More mandatory overtime for her staff. She'll never know it happened unless one of her social media managers sees it on Twitter and mentions it to her.

[–] Kerred@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And then they buy more red spray paint on Amazon because Walmart was out .

Side note, didn't the movie company make bank from people buying those V for Vendetta masks to protest against corporations or something? Vague memory of it

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[–] CeruleanRuin@lemmings.world 32 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] stopthatgirl7@kbin.social 12 points 1 year ago

We gotta get the orcas in on this one.

Send in the orcas!

[–] Nepenthe@kbin.social 25 points 1 year ago (5 children)

A spokesperson for Marina Port Vell said that the boat had not been damaged in Friday’s action. “After a quick action on behalf of the security team, the incident has been corrected and the boat is now in a perfect state,” the spokesperson told CNN.

Cannot stress enough that a new paint job is not the kind of action that's going to fix jack shit. More than likely, it's barely an annoyance. Few people on the planet have not heard the message already. If you don't want them joyriding a massive yacht everywhere, remove the yacht.

[–] OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml 62 points 1 year ago

So, while you're entirely correct, someone on the team of "let's harass the inconceivably wealthy" would probably still appreciate this action because it's better than nothing.

It's also possible they're trying to get the media to cover it more, rather than cause actual property damage

[–] HeartyBeast@kbin.social 18 points 1 year ago (10 children)
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[–] LinkOpensChest_wav@lemmy.one 18 points 1 year ago (3 children)

And end up like Will Van Spronsen, who was called a terrorist and demonized by almost everyone for doing good. (Reddit would suspend your account just for mentioning him.)

The super wealthy's propaganda tools are more powerful than ours because they control the media, and there aren't as many people who are awake to what's happening as you might think. I'm all for direct action like what you describe, but we still need the red paint to make people aware of what's going on. And I promise, it does do something. What do the unlovable rich want that they can't buy? Love and respect. (Look at fucking Elon, that pathetic insect.)

I recently read a sci-fi book called "Station Six" by an anarchist author who goes by S.J. Klapecki. Let me quote one of the characters:

He wants to live like good King Arthur, loved and cherished and appreciated by his serfs. I like throwing a wrench into that. I think it's important. And, who knows, maybe the next set of malcontents will learn something from us. I doubt it, but there's my optimism for ya.

You and I look at the activists pictured and think, "What was the point," but the majority of people are still learning their ABCs of why this whole system is fucked. Sure, I'd have preferred the ship got destroyed completely, but these folks still did a brave act that has hit that sweet spot where it will get media attention without being entirely buried like a Will Van Spronsen (who, for the record, is a god damn hero and I'm not disparaging him at all).

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[–] CeruleanRuin@lemmings.world 13 points 1 year ago

And yet, here we are talking about it. Sometimes keeping the conversation going is in itself a win.

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[–] JazzAlien@lemm.ee 23 points 1 year ago (2 children)
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[–] BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago

I love it. God bless us every one.

[–] DarthBueller@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago (6 children)

It would be super easy to get away with sinking known billionaire yachts worldwide if you do it right.

[–] _number8_@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)
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[–] BuddyTheBeefalo@lemmy.ml 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)
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