“Lower Than This They Cannot Stoop“. Thomas Fuller tells us that an edgy British video called No Pressure that uses shock-value images in campaign to persuade people to lower their own emissions by 10 percent has destroyed any chance of discussion about global warming.
I will say that it’s a pretty strange one-off video. I understand that it was never aired and has been yanked from the 1010global.org/uk website. Is blowing up people (“even children!” note the scandalized denialists) who can’t be bothered to participate in conservation efforts a helpful image? Not really. I suppose someone decided the shock-value would draw publicity and that maybe the more prosaic intended message would get an exposure.
Thomas tries to insinuate that the exploding people represent the noble, independent “skeptics” being punished for their resistance, but the victims are clearly some kind of unsuccessful representation of ‘laziness’ or ‘thoughtlessness’. [Update: maybe ‘complacency’ is the best description.]
Thrash away, Thomas. Every day must have its own scandal. You’ll be considering something else “the lowest ever” before the week’s out. Last week it was the tide of public opinion is turning towards us! This week its we’re a threatened minority!
The comments at WUWT are naturally full of Nazi references, argumentative denialists ache to make them. Ironically, in the midst of the expressions of outrage over the paranoid conclusion that the “alarmists” want to identify and eliminate their opponents, Anthony Watts demonstrates that he actually engages in researching and intimidating his opponents with this little item about a commenter (David Gould) who dares to suggest that the video was an over-blown dramatic device:
Silly Anthony, don’t demonstrate the thing you’re complaining about while you’re complaining about it! That’s the dumbest kind of hypocrisy.
Wott's Up With That? 
Lower Than This They Cannot Stoop
Oh yes they can, the AGW denialists can, they do every day as you well know . . .
More BS coming from the gallery… don’t worry, I’ll create a site to mock this site. >:/
[Oooooh, post=modern! – Ben]
The video was a bad idea, but not as bad as Marc Morano encouraging violence against climate scientists.
The deniers will weave it into their conspiracy theories, all while real climate change blogs are criticizing it as ill-conceived and not helpful to the interest of the science.
The denialists’ censor has forbidden to use the word ‘to deny’ and its grammatical offspring.
After which the thread was closed.
I am not so naive as to conclude from this that these denialists have talked themselves out of existence. I wonder what they’d like to be called. Gods?
[Hypocrites like Anthony interrupt their inflammatory statements just long enough to label their opponent’s statements as inflammatory. Then, it’s right back to business. – Ben]
Denial – I prefer to see it as the first of the 5 stages of grief. I note that some of these deniers often progress to the 2nd stage of grief – anger.
As for the video. All of us non-USAnians are inclined to complain about them being insular, unconnected to the rest of the world. This video is a clear sign of that same fault on the part of the Brits. Thinking that a background in Monty Python or Blackadder style humour gives you any kind of grasp on the common ground is pretty poor.
If you want humour for dealing with this topic it’s got to be slapstick or farce, rather than surreal.
Oh and do keep up with the moderating as I’ve at least ten posts on previous threads waiting to be deleted or trimmed to make yourself look even better than you obviously are
[If you want your pointless false-identity rants to be seen, I suggest you start your own website. Don’t clutter up mine with drivel. I remind you of this comment: 2010/09/29 at 5:34 AM – Ben]
I think the video was quite decent.
Probably influenced by http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1-NpyaOWV0
[The Monty Python parody of Sam Peckinpah’s frequently violent films. – Ben]
It’s the deniers that blow things out of proportion in order to energize their base. The purpose of the video was to become viral. Let’s not be ashamed of it.
The deniers are energized, but in reality they should feel, no pressure.
[Viral indeed! Unfortunately I think the underlying message was poorly presented. – Ben]
I guess I’m getting old.
I thought the 10:10 blowing-people-up was icky. I walked out of Fargo too — feeling I don’t need fantasy violence put into my head.
Real violence, I have real feelings about.
Yet back in 1984 I loved Repo Man. Still love being able to see the trailers.
Back then, I showed it to a librarian friend (who was not happy with the violence).
Crybabies.
Manufactured outrage.
http://www.plognark.com/?q=node/1129
Ira Glass, on This American Life
Today:
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/415/crybabies
Host Ira Glass with Dave Weigel, political reporter for Slate.com, about manufactured outrage in American politics, and how it’s an effective way to bring in cash and mobilize your followers, as Christine O’Donnell and former Florida GOP Chairman Jim Greer have demonstrated. (6 minutes)
Act One. Wall Street: Money Never Weeps.
Act Two. Foul Play.
Act Three. The Squeaky Wheelchair …
Act Four. Cry Me a Liver.
[One of my favorite podcasts! – Ben]
Lawrence Solomon is a journalist of a ‘sceptical’ leaning, his articles often appear in the Financial Post and have been quoted favourably and sometimes re-posted by WUWT.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/?s=Lawrence+Solomon
Solomon had a series of articles on scientists, including Bob Carter, Richard Lindzen, William Gray atc, whose work he interpreted as contrary to the consensus (some of the pieces had to be revised or pulled after their subjects objected to Solomon’s characterisation, and he also disgracefully repeated the Roger Revelle/Cosmos story but never mind that now).
He later published the series as a book. Anyone guess the title of both the series and the book? Erm …
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deniers
[I live in Toronto, where the National Post and Financial Post are produced. Solomon’s writing was the main reason why I stopped reading them. How could I trust a paper that printed such enthusiastic misrepresentations and even bald-faced lies? Just “opinions” apparently. He certainly did embrace the term “Denier” though! – Ben]
Good points Ben,
I’m also amused/dismayed by how the deniers how cheapening the memory of the actual Holocaust by claiming the the 10:10 video is somehow a portent of a coming genocide.
Their complaints can be easily summarized as: overwrought, overly dramatic and just plain silly.