Climate activists—or wacktivists, as I like to call them— claim they’re trying to bring attention to what they say is the most urgent threat ever seen in the history of the universe, global warming—but their antics like vandalizing great works of art, stopping traffic and harassing people often come across as juvenile semi-psychotic behavior rather than actual attempts to sway anyone’s opinion.
The latest ridiculous stunt occurred in Rome Sunday when activists saboteurs poured diluted charcoal into the water of Rome’s iconic Trevi Fountain, billed by some as “the most famous fountain in the world.” The vandals are from the group “Ultima Generazione” (“Last Generation”) and they held up banners saying (in Italian) “We won’t pay for fossil (fuels),” and shouted, “Our country is dying.”
If it is really dying, I’m not sure how defacing an icon is going to save it, but watch:
#BREAKING: Climate activists have poured black dye into the historic Trevi Fountain, in Rome.
These acts of vandalism can potentially damage the white stone, and have been roundly condemned throughout Italy.
Will there be prosecution by the government?
— Bree A Dail (@breeadail) May 21, 2023
Uniformed police eventually waded into the water to take the nuts away while tourists filming and onlookers shouted insults at them.
They later explained their actions:
In a statement, Ultima Generazione called for an end to public subsidies for fossil fuels and linked the protests to deadly floods in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna in recent days. The group said one in four houses in Italy are at risk from flooding.
There have been floods since the beginning of human history (in fact, there was a pretty big one depicted in the Bible), so it’s stretch to tie a specific weather event to climate change. The mayor of Rome condemned the attack:
Oggi 9 attivisti hanno versato carbone vegetale nella #FontanadiTrevi. Grazie all’intervento tempestivo della Polizia locale evitato il peggio. Ora necessario un intervento che impegnerà risorse pubbliche e porterà allo spreco di 300 mila litri di acqua ▶️ https://t.co/IRowYI6X4z pic.twitter.com/N4YLRb92se
— Roberto Gualtieri (@gualtierieurope) May 21, 2023
Google translates the tweet thusly:
Today 9 activists poured charcoal into the #FontanadiTrevi. Thanks to the timely intervention of the local police, the worst was avoided. Now an intervention is needed that will commit public resources and lead to the waste of 300,000 liters of water
In another tweet, he wrote (as per Google translate):
Enough of these absurd attacks on our artistic heritage. Today the #FontanadiTrevi was smeared. Expensive and complex to restore, hoping there is no permanent damage. I invite activists to compete on a confrontational terrain without putting the monuments at risk.
Unfortunately, the attack isn’t an isolated incident. As we reported, in October 2022 wacktivists threw soup on a priceless Van Gogh painting and glued themselves to the wall with oil-based product. And it’s not only art that they prey on: in April our Nick Arama brought you the story of protesters blocking the busy GW Parkway in Washington, D.C. However, as she writes, it didn’t end well for them; nor did it go well for some English protesters who tried to block a road but were instead dragged away by angry drivers. At some point, someone is going to get seriously hurt here.
The question is, what are these vandals trying to achieve? Their violent acts against centuries-old art and their disruption of people’s lives will sway the opinions of exactly no one. Actually, I take that back—it will sway many against their cause, and in fact, make people hostile toward their organizations.
The Twitter account Clown World Today has an interesting explanation of their goals:
These “climate activists” tried to destroy the Trevi Fountain in Rome by pouring black dye into its water.
This is not about the climate, it’s about destroying Western civilization and anything it has built. pic.twitter.com/6kWOJpTrkj
— Clown World Today 🤡🌎 (@cwt_news) May 21, 2023
The tradition is for visitors to toss coins into the Trevi Fountain to ensure that they will return to Rome one day. Let’s hope it’s still in one piece when they come back.