The last generation movement did the right thing when it decided to end its activism, a political researcher says.
16:03•Updated 16:27
VIENNA The Letzte Generation, a sister movement of the Elokupin, ended its protest in Austria at the beginning of August.
The reason was frustration. The movement no longer felt that it could bring about change. Vice versa.
Anger and resistance to the raptures began to spread. The social debate circled the ring.
The kidnappings were also expensive for the activists themselves. Some lost their jobs, some will pay fines for a long time.
We asked in Vienna why the climate movement arouses so much anger.
“People got tired”
Stopping car traffic during rush hour naturally makes people calm down, political researcher Kathrin Stainer-Hämmerle start.
– However, the fact that the demonstrations were so peaceful and not aggressive at all increased the anger. The activists just sat quietly in their seats.
– They were mainly young women, who can be difficult to insult or attack.
Then the protesters chose works of art as their targets.
– It angered people who probably never go to museums themselves to see these works of art. However, the works were social property and it cost money to clean them, Stainer-Hämmerle explains.
Activism was therefore effective at first in terms of gaining attention, but became “tiring” as it continued.
– People thought, fine, we understood your message, but enough is enough.
That’s why Stainer-Hämmerle considers it a smart decision to stop protesting.
“Change is impossible”
An activist of the last generation Mina Hagen-Canaval says that Austria has chosen “fossil ignorance”.
It means that people are deliberately ignoring the effects of carbon dioxide emissions. They get annoyed when someone criticizes their way of life.
– We activists show a mirror to society and show that we cannot continue our lives in the current way. It’s unpleasant because it means people should change their ways, he says.
Hagen-Canaval also says that she thought about whether the great hatred towards the climate movement is somehow due to being Austrian.
– Whether Austrians are simply politically oriented in this way. Or it’s just more comfortable not to care about the climate catastrophe.
The last generation of activists are now thinking about what they will do next. Austria will hold elections on Sunday, but elections will not improve the state of the climate, says Hagen-Canaval.
– All major political achievements such as anti-racism laws or women’s right to vote were achieved through peaceful civil resistance. Therefore, our resistance will continue in one form or another in the future.