Last Wednesday, at least 43 sport utility vehicles were targeted by criminals claiming they were acting in the name of climate change. Environmental zealots calling themselves Tyre Extinguishers took responsibility for deflating the tires of SUVs in the ritzy Boston neighborhood of Beacon Hill.
The group said that it committed the vandalism in order to render the SUVs temporarily unusable. The criminals claim that they avoided electric or hybrid vehicles, and didn’t vandalize vehicles marked as handicapped.
“The group took this action to render the large greenhouse gas emitting vehicles unusable, directly preventing the outpouring of emission from the vehicles into our atmosphere which further contribute to climate change and air pollution,” stated a blog post from the vandals. “Only large, luxury, gas powered SUVs were targeted by the group; no tires were deflated on electric or hybrid vehicles nor any vehicles with handicap signage.”
The group is, apparently, active all over the world, having committed similar vandalism in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Czech Republic, and Norway. They also claimed responsibility for a similar spree in New York last July in which 40 vehicles were vandalized.
To add insult to injury, the criminals also left notes explaining their actions to the victims.
“We have deflated one or more of your tires. You’ll be angry, but don’t take it personally. It’s not you, it’s your car,” the patronizing notes said. “We did this because driving around urban areas in your massive vehicle has huge consequences for others. This is a machine that destroys life with terrifying efficiency.”
The criminals also attempted to shame the victims with climate propaganda.
“You will have no difficulty getting around without your gas guzzler, with walking, cycling or public transit,” the criminals wrote.
Some victims reported that they were inconvenienced by the action with, reportedly, a firefighter unable to get to work and another unable to make it to a medical appointment.
Even supporters of climate-change action took exception to Tyre Extinguishers’ methods.
“You know I’m all for taking action to save the environment but I just don’t know that destroying people’s personal property or damaging people’s personal property is the way to go about doing it,” a woman named Lauren told Boston 25 News.
“My parents didn’t need to go anywhere immediately this morning, but I know another person in the neighborhood who’s a firefighter and couldn’t get to the fire station,” she added. “There are plenty of people who work at the hospital and couldn’t get to work on time.”
Thus far, Boston police haven’t announced any arrests.
The group targeted the Beacon Hill neighborhood because of its wealth.
“The activists took this action in Beacon Hill as it is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Boston to own a house. According to an Oxfam report in 2020, the world’s wealthiest 10% were responsible for about 50% of global emissions in 2015 and the top 1% are responsible for as much emissions as the world’s poorest 50%, who will feel the brunt of climate impacts in terms of climate change and pollution despite contributing the least to the cause,” the criminals explained.
“The climate crisis is an environmental justice issue and the solutions to the crisis must prioritize marginalized and poor demographics and primarily reduce the emissions from the world’s wealthy,” they rationalized. “It is not an exaggeration to say that the richest individuals in the world are causing the current and future deaths of the less fortunate and less developed nations and people.”
The group claims that it is leaderless, although apparently there is some sort of coordination happening as they claim to have engaged in 18 similar attacks around the world just this year. Since it was founded in March 2022, the group claims to have deflated the tires of at least 10,000 SUVs worldwide.
The criminals who commit such vandalism are, of course, largely to blame regarding this senseless crime. However, groups such as the UN’s IPCC, the mainstream media, and the Biden administration must also bear some responsibility. After all, they are the ones who are frightening these weak-minded criminals into these mindless actions.
