Tire-Deflating SUV Haters Hitting Several Cities in the U.S.
There are many ways for people to protest against vehicle emissions, but one of them is causing some controversy in the U.S. and overseas these days.
A group called the Tyre Extinguishers is going out at night deflating as many SUV tires as possible to hopefully generate enough "inconvenience and expense for their owners" that it’s "impossible to own a huge polluting 4x4 in the world's urban areas.
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It all seems to have started in England earlier this year, and now the group offers flyers in 10 different languages. In late June, the first actions on U.S. soil were reported, with dozens of SUVs being targeted in "several major cities, including New York, Chicago and the Bay Area.”
New York Sun: "American affiliates of a UK-based group that goes by the name Tyre Extinguishers have in the past week been deflating the tires of sports utility vehicles from New York City to San Francisco."https://t.co/pIwzsr4WzO
— The Tyre Extinguishers (@T_Extinguishers) July 11, 2022
Large vehicles like SUVs are "a disaster for our health, our public safety and our climate," according to the Tyre Extinguishers’ website. "Bigger and bigger cars are dominating our towns and cities, and all so a privileged few can flaunt their wealth. Because governments and politicians have failed to protect us from this danger, we must protect ourselves."
So, just to be clear, these activists are talking about public safety, yet they choose to deflate vehicle tires which can also compromise the safety of their occupants? Something’s wrong, here. In fact, tampering with a vehicle without the owner’s consent is illegal in many jurisdictions.
On their website, the Tyre Extinguishers even give instructions on how to deflate a tire in less than 10 seconds. They recommend targeting SUVs in posh or middle-class areas, leaving a leaflet on the windshield explaining why the SUV now has a flat tire, and then anonymously alerting the local press.
"Normal-sized cars," commercial vehicles, minibuses and cars used by people with disabilities are off-limits, but even electric and hybrid SUVs should be targeted, supposedly because “we cannot electrify our way out of the climate crisis—there are not enough rare earth metals to replace everyone's car and the mining of these metals causes suffering.”
What do you think about that? Will these tire-deflating SUV haters hit Canada next? You might want to watch out.