A professional Tekken 7 tournament took place over the weekend at EGX — the UK's largest gaming event. During the winners final between two of the UK's best players, Kaneandtrench and JoKa, three climate activists part of the Just Stop Oil group walked up on stage. They slapped red paint over both players' monitors — while the match was ongoing — sprayed more paint at the larger audience-facing screen, and then attempted to deliver a short speech. Security escorted the protestors from the venue, and they were later arrested by the police on claims of criminal damage.
The interruption didn't go down especially well with the admittedly meagre crowd, with boos ringing out as the activists made their intentions clear. The tournament itself was continued without any further disruptions, and JoKa was crowned champion not long after. Hilariously, it's been said that Kaneandtrench simply continued playing during the aforementioned winners final, despite his screen being coated in red paint. Now that's professionalism.
Just Stop Oil — which, naturally, is striving to make a stand against the production and use of fossil fuels in the UK — has been criticised for its decision to interrupt a relatively minor Tekken tournament. It's obviously quite a complex situation overall, as we'd assume that a lot of people tend to agree with Just Stop Oil's cause, but its disruptive methods often draw ire from both the public and media.
When queried about the tournament interruption on Twitter, Tekken boss Katsuhiro Harada gave a very measured response: "I want to be angry, but fighting back with anger against anger by wrong methods is sterile, and above all I only want to talk to people with whom I can have a conversation."
What do you make of this? Is any publicity good publicity? Try not to splash paint about in the comments section below.
[source juststopoil.org, via eurogamer.net]
Comments 44
They just keep spawning init
Don’t like to get political, but these guys are sure doing a great job at targeting the wrong audience & getting everyone against them.
I know protesting is about disruption and attention toward an issue; but, I feel like simply annoying people is no way to get people to join your cause.
I don't think it actually is, but some of these protests are so misguided that it's as if they're falseflags - like if oil companies wanted to turn people against environmentalism, they'd hire fake protesters to do things like that. This is how misjudged this is. I mean what's the supposed ideal outcome of this particular protest? That the Mishima Zaibatsu goes green?
They do feel a bit like a psyop by the oil companies. But then the suffragettes were bricking windows and bombing people and they got the vote.
@nessisonett @Matroska @Matroska @GamingFan4Lyf @Fight_Teza_Fight It's a tough one, isn't it? I feel like we live in an age of abject apathy — especially in the West — and while I can appreciate what groups like Just Stop Oil stand for, I don't think this is the way to try and spread the word (as you guys say).
But then I don't know what the solution is, from an activist's point of view. I guess it's to try and create large campaigns that really capture people's attention, but that's a lot easier said than done.
Sadly, by writing this article they’re getting exactly what they want.
@ShogunRok They aren’t hurting anyone, that’s the thing. People get wound up but the alternative is extinction and we’re already seeing the effects. If our line is a bit of paint at the snooker then we probably deserve to die out. I don’t really agree with the places they target but we’ve had impassioned speeches before and they’ve gotten literally nowhere.
@Fight_Teza_Fight couldn't agree more. All they do is annoy regular people and not the decision makers.
I'd get behind them more but when you see them holding up ambulances etc it's rather satisfying watching someone drag them rather vigorously off the road.
Millions of people agree with the cause, but almost no one agrees with Just Stop Oil. And I can tell that by the fact that they are ALWAYS booed.
@PixelDragon you can hardly say they’re a group of rich middle class kids when the majority of the ones who have been sitting on roads for the past year are over the age of 50.
@ShogunRok You say we in the West live in apathy, but we as a society have also never been more environmentally conscious. 2023 is starting to look like the future that Demolition Man warned us of.
The UK's territorial emissions have not been so low as they are now since the days of the horse and cart (per capita, our emissions are the same as they were in 1860 or so). If JSO was rational, they would take a global view and point out that the UK's total carbon footprint is higher than it could be because (a) the fossil fuels we do still use are for the most part produced abroad, and then shipped here; and (b) our goods are for the most part produced in parts of the world where emissions are worse, and then shipped here. They would go on to point out that there would be less carbon emissions globally if the UK turned back the globalisation tide and on-shored (a) more of its fossil fuel extraction (for as long as we still need them while the energy sector is electrified) and (b) production of the goods that it consumes. They'd point out that yes, this will be more expensive than buying everything cheap from China and what have you, but we would be putting less into the atmosphere.
JSO are not just annoying, they are annoying and wrong, which is a pretty bad combination.
@nessisonett They've blocked ambulances from getting to hospitals literally causing deaths but yeah their "not hurting anyone"
It is amazing how it seems people have forgotten how to actually perform a protest. The goal of a protest is to get people to look at an issue and agree with a certain stance on the issue and so support the protest. The goal should not be to disrupt normal society and make life more difficult for your average citizen and ensure no support for the protest.
Does standing on a corner out of the way speaking your message in a mature manner work? I can't say for sure but I can say with certainty that being a nuisance to society is not working.
Not sure what purpose they think this ***** will do, like when they try to damage priceless paintings. There’s better ways to do this, yet they mostly come across as brats.
It's such a complex and serious issue that it's hard to say what the best or better solution is. One thing's for sure. Whatever they have tried in the past hasn't worked, so unless we offer better alternatives, just saying "this is wrong" or "misguided" ain't gonna cut it. Same with the BLM protests in the US. They tried peaceful protests for years, it didn't work, then they rioted.
To he honest Just Stop Oil are that thick that they will most likely be using oil based paints.
Why couldn't they have interrupted the ksi and tommy fury fight instead
Can’t expect more from the ignorant. Utterly pointless action.
Should handle these wackos like we do here in the states.
@ShogunRok Problem with groups like Just Stop Oil from those of us who aren't apathetic about the whole deal is that their leadership is a collective of morons. Sit down and listen to what they have to say and apply a little brain power to it and you realize they're advocating for human genocide, which isn't a real solution. They have not truly educated themselves on the actual problems faced from removing elements from a post industrialized society. They don't realize how much of our food production, our power production, the limitations of our technology, to our every day appliances, drugs, medical equipment and so much more power depend on these factors.
In other words this group has ZERO value as the awareness they are bringing is not correct. It's them being disruptive and showing how stupid they can be.
IF they had any real offering at all to the conversation on Oil, they would bring attention to other efforts to do what they are trying to achieve. Find ways to educate people and fund these initiatives. If you wnat to do philanthropy, lead by F'ing example. Don't dye your hair 9 colors, get a bunch of stupid piercings, then glue your hand to pavement while screaming like a perpetual child about how we're killing everyone. Nothing they say aligns with actual data collected and none of their solutions are anything short of famine, death, and despair. Maybe that's what they want. Maybe they are a collective of Genocidal lunatics, but I think they are just a bunch of stupid kids who just believe what ever they are told.
Which brings us full circle to apathy.
Remind me what the paint is made from? And the container from which it came? Then perhaps factor in the transport that metal the paint tin takes to get from the ore, to the refinery, then on to the factory, where it is then put into use as said paint pot. Then repeat this process from which the paint is sourced. Furthermore, let's just ask how the protesters manage to get to a place en masse. They can't all have walked, right? Also, what are all these protesters wearing? If it's cotton, it's a plant native to subtropical areas, and if it's polyester, it's made from plastic. Regardless of all that, in order to clean said paint, the cleaners will have to use turpentine, which it it finds its way into the water cycle, is very toxic to aquatic organisms.
But sure, tell the people how they are damaging the environment.
@naruball Yes. BLM rioted. And they achieved...? What exactly?
Because from where I'm sitting, they got a lot of celebrities kneeling and the names of a few products altered. Nothing else has changed. Racism is still just as prevalent now as it was then.
Also, it must be pointed out that I am somewhere in the region of double the age of Greta Thunberg. She has travelled more miles in her life than I have.
@Keyblade-Dan Gonna need to back that one up with evidence that any of their protests have resulted in an actual death. Because then they’d be criminally liable and would have been brought before a judge for manslaughter at best. If anything, there’s been more criminal behaviour from the people attacking the protestors. I don’t know why people are so quick to want fascism, protest laws have been tightened so hard in the UK that they can shut down the slightest of marches.
Ha! Kudos to the subtitle writer.
@lechugajr I have been campaigning for years for that subtitle. Glad it was finally used 😂
@LifeGirl that couldn't be further from the truth. So many police officers used to kill black men and get away with it and after the protests at least some of them were finally held accountable. Things have considerably changed for the better. After all the uproar they think twice before casually shooting someone because they know what will follow. Kneeling and peaceful protests was the beginning, but clearly not enough.
Removed - inappropriate
@TheIronChimp
And would have used their gas guzzlers to travel there.
Scruffs (no I can't think of anything else to say)
@nessisonett
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1686998/just-stop-oil-protestors-m20-crash-accident-just-oil-two-women-killed
i miss Tekken tag. That was one of my most played and favorite PS2 games. It looked and ran really really well. Me and my friends would play it every weekend for hours.
So… Tekken is killing the planet?
These people should rage against the real culprits, the massive polluters in the world. The UK could go to net-zero tomorrow and it would have zero impact on global omissions.
The end result will be that UK citizens are taxed more and lose freedom because of policies these loons force through parliament and yet nothing will be solved globally.
Go protest in China or somewhere that can actually impact global emissions.
shouldn't have written about this.
Typical rich kids. Wonder if they’d worry about the climate so much if they were worrying about putting food on the table 🤔
@LifeGirl They burned down alot of black owned businesses.
I think they deserve a beating, no more, no less.
Wanna make a change? Go be a researcher or something, advocate for oil alternatives, etc.
@UK_Kev One of the most insane leaps of logic I’ve seen. Daily Express proving to be a rag once again. Attributing a car accident to travelling on a different road due to a diversion is for one, not in any way going to be taken seriously by the courts.
@Matroska @Fight_Teza_Fight You should look into who funds them. Definitely a big oil psyop.
They should be considered terrorist group. And again, total failure of security agency guarding event.
@nessisonett gonna need some evidence that the use of petroleum fuel is going to result in the extinction of mankind
It's worth noting that the tournament that EGX organised is sponsored by Barclays Bank, a notorious bank with heavy links financially to fossil fuel companies that is responsible for the climate crisis.
Perhaps the anger should be taken at the organisers themselves for sponsoring such a unethical company.
Not the first time gaming has links to fossil fuel (Fortnite x Shell).
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