Members of the far-left climate activism group Just Stop Oil have made themselves an effective nuisance.
Granted, they haven’t effectively drawn more people to their cause, necessarily.
But, through their irritating antics of interrupting performances, blocking traffic and attempting to destroy priceless works of art, they’ve effectively made themselves one of the most hated activist groups in the world.
From throwing tomato soup at Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” in 2022 to attacking Diego Velasquez’s “Rokeby Venus” with safety hammers at the National Gallery in London in 2023, they have made it clear no target is off limits.
On Friday morning, two Just Stop Oil protesters garnered widespread outrage by targeting the Magna Carta.
One unusual thing about this case was that rather than the young protesters usually seen engaging in these destructive acts, these protesters were elderly.
Sue Parfitt, an 82-year-old Anglican priest, and Judy Bruce, an 85-year-old retired biology teacher, entered the British Library, where the hallowed document is displayed, and proceeded to attack the glass case with a hammer and chisel before gluing themselves to the display, according to the U.K.’s Daily Mail.
🚨 BREAKING: JUST STOP OIL BREAK MAGNA CARTA GLASS
🔥 Reverend Dr Sue Parfitt, 82, and Judy Bruce, 85, then glued their hands together, demanding an emergency plan to just stop oil by 2030.
✈️ Donate to help us take action at airports this summer — https://t.co/R20S8YQD1j pic.twitter.com/uYMsvULce2
— Just Stop Oil (@JustStop_Oil) May 10, 2024
Parfitt has been getting herself into trouble with these protests at least since 2019, even interrupting a Thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Cathedral in 2023 with obnoxious orange signs reading “Just Stop Oil” and “Will Our Children Thank Us?”
Fortunately, the two of them did no harm to the document and were promptly arrested.
However, seeing that Just Stop Oil has gone from attacking art to targeting foundational documents of Western civilization was truly appalling.
The Magna Carta is more than just an old document.
Signed by England’s King John in 1215, thanks to an impending baron’s revolt in response to John’s numerous failures, the Magna Carta (or Great Charter) placed the kings explicitly under the rule of the law, History.com explained.
By doing so, it formed the basis for English common law and functioned as the first real written constitution.
Later revisions — specifically Clause 39 in 1670, which said that “no free man shall be … imprisoned or [dispossessed] … except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land” — formed the basis for the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
In attacking priceless works of art and now foundational historical documents, Just Stop Oil protesters have demonstrated their hatred of Western history and their desire to entirely erase it.
This group, it seems, will do anything to set the world back centuries.
Does the far left hate freedom?
Like so many other far-left outfits, they believe all the world’s evils come from Western civilization (especially dead white men) and thus that legacy must be destroyed so their oil-free utopia can flourish.
Unfortunately for such groups, protests like this one have done little besides make previously indifferent people hate them.
Indeed, most of the replies to Just Stop Oil’s post on the social media platform X were incredibly negative, expressing irritation, disdain and even anger at the group’s antics.
These people need jailed
— Mark (@scotsmancrypto) May 10, 2024
so many people would die if your demands are met. you are evil
— Raskolnikov вокиньлоксаР (@raskolnikov134) May 10, 2024
Both should be arrested and spend their final days in prison.
— The Middle Aged Baby (@MiddleAgedBaby2) May 10, 2024
The world hates you. The entire world. We all hate you.
— Calamity Jen (@realjenx) May 10, 2024
Perhaps, though these attacks on priceless works of art and historical artifacts have been distressing to witness, Just Stop Oil’s ridiculous antics might end up causing some good after all.
Few people have issues with a peaceful protest or an ordinary march.
But when you start destroying things people love and hold dear, they’re going to have a visceral, decidedly negative reaction.
And if enough people get fed up with these climate activists, maybe the tide will finally turn against this shameless brand of alarmism.
The Magna Carta said that no king or government was above the law — well, these protesters are about to learn that no self-righteous activist is above the law, either.
