After years of disruption and vandalism, consequences have finally arrived for “Just Stop Oil” protesters. I’m not just talking about some motorists throwing them out of the street either, as satisfying as that usually is. This time, actual prison sentences were handed down.
In October 2022, two women entered the National Gallery in London and threw soup onto a famous Van Gogh painting. They then glued themselves to the wall while ranting about climate change. Video of the incident went viral at the time.
SEE: Climate Activists Throw Soup on Van Gogh Painting in London
Phoebe Plummer, 23, and Anna Holland, 22, were arrested for their deeds, though it wasn’t immediately clear any real punishment would be handed down. Now, nearly two years later, the two soup aficionados will be eating a lot of it behind bars. Plummer received two years while Holland got 20 months.
The response from “Just Stop Oil” was priceless. Instead of defiantly proclaiming the sacrifice was worth it to save the world, they cried foul, suggesting the punishment was far too harsh for the crime.
“Just Stop Oil” is a cult. It takes impressionable people and convinces them that if they don’t break the law and make the lives of other people miserable, life on Earth will cease to exist in relatively short order. Being brainwashed doesn’t give a person the right to block streets and damage priceless pieces of art. That’s a lesson these lunatics have been loath to learn over the years. I don’t know if this will change the calculus for them, but it’s necessary nonetheless.
The judge who oversaw the case wasn’t kind in his sentencing remarks.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Hehir said: “Your culpability is at level A. You did reconnaissance and planning and talked to a journalist. Your harm is at category 1, which means extreme harm to society.”
He indicated that conscience was not a mitigating factor and that “The action you took was extreme, disproportionate and criminally idiotic given the risks involved”. He continued “There is nothing peaceful or nonviolent about throwing soup. Throwing soup in someone’s face is violent.”
Addressing Phoebe he said “You think your beliefs entitle you to do anything. I was treated to a lengthy exposition to your political views. The suggestion that you and others like you in a democracy are political prisoners is ludicrous, offensive and idiotic. You have no remorse and you are proud.”
The key phrase there is, “You think your beliefs entitle you to do anything.” That is the paradigm these “activists” operate under. The fact that others have a right to go to work, get to hospitals, and enjoy their lives doesn’t register with them. Doomsday cults do not care about other people. They only care about their delusions of grandeur.
For context, “Just Stop Oil” is demanding all fossil fuel extraction be ceased by 2030. What would happen if they accomplished that goal? Millions upon millions of people would die, with the highest death tolls being in underdeveloped nations in places like Africa. Fossil fuels power the world. To think that can be stopped in the next five years is absurd and dangerous. If anything, these two women got off easy.
