Our planet is getting hotter, resources are dwindling, and people are getting angrier at our leaders' apparent unwillingness to act to stop either. There's at least one more angry person today, and she has nothing to do with the worsening climate change – not of her own accord, that is.
That person is Walmart billionaire heiress Nancy Walton Laurie, who is also the owner of the $300 million fully-custom superyacht Kaos. Kaos was vandalized on Sunday while docked in Ibiza, Spain, as eco-activists targeted it with spray paint because it's a symbol of the mega-rich who are killing our planet with their outrageous lifestyles. We're paraphrasing.
At this point, climate change is an undeniable reality, even for conspiracy theorists. Scientists are saying we're past the point of being able to do something to reverse the damage done, so the only thing left is to hope for a slowing down of the negative effects through drastic measures to curb pollution.
Increased awareness of this fact, i.e., that we missed all our windows of opportunity to act, paved the way for abnormally violent protests and seemingly random acts of vandalism by eco-activists in recent months. Rage and anger are natural reactions to fear, so, by that logic, the bigger the fear, the more violent the anger and the way it's manifested.
Photo: Futuro Vegetal
This is just one way to explain the ever-growing number of random acts of vandalism. Art masterpieces, whether paintings or statues, automobiles at museums and dealerships, and people's cars on the street are being targeted by eco-warriors with a bone to pick with local and international authorities. It seems unnatural to target people's property or pieces of cultural and historical importance to shake things up with the government, but the reasoning behind these gestures is that time for civilized talk is over. Now is the time for shocking acts.
Over the weekend, Futuro Vegetal put this into full practice and made sure everybody knew about it. It was a weekend-long spree of vandalism in Ibiza, Spain, where a couple of private jets, at least one flashy Lamborghini, and the $300 million Kaos superyacht were targeted with spray paint.
Futuro Vegetal is a collective of activists who practice civil disobedience and veganism as a way to fight climate change and force authorities to act. Their goal for the weekend was to show that the one-percenters of the world are killing our planet with their outrageous and highly-polluting lifestyles, but they also did lip service to a bunch of other issues, like how the "Mediterranean has become a graveyard for migrants" trying to get into Spain.
Photo: Futuro Vegetal
Kaos was docked at the marina on Sunday morning when a couple of activists arrived with fire extinguishers loaded with red and black paint. The fold-down swing platform on the aft beach club was almost completely covered in paint as three crewmembers looked on in disbelief, one of them on the dock. The same crew brought out water cannons to try and chase the activists away and wash some of the paint – but were fully successful at neither.
As noted above, the vandalism actually started on Friday when a Futuro Vegetal group broke into a local airport and spray-painted a couple of aircraft before gluing themselves to one. They were arrested and released within hours, which allowed them to act again on Saturday, covering a bright green Lamborghini in red paint. The following day, they went after Kaos, a spectacular vessel delivered by Oceanco in 2017 as Jubilee.
"The one-percenters of the world pollute more than the poorest 50%. They’re destroying our planet […] so they can lead a lifestyle that’s not normal," the activists told the crowd who had gathered by Kaos, as they flashed a "You consume, others suffer" banner. "They condemn us to a miserable future to maintain their privileges. We need to change that, it’s a question of life and death."
Photo: Futuro Vegetal
The two activists were taken into custody shortly after and set free hours later. Futuro Vegetal posted footage and photos of all three acts on social media, along with messages and commentary explaining their reasoning. "Eat the rich" is how it's best summed up. We need to prevent the world's richest people from going about their business and enjoying the pampered life because it comes at the expense of everyone else.
The argument isn't new if you think about it. It's been repeated over and over, though not in the exact same words, these past couple of years – more loudly after the carbon footprint of excessive private jet use was made public.
When people like Kylie Jenner or Drake, or even environmentalists like Bill Gates, choose flying by private jet over riding by car for trips that could easily be done with the latter, anger is the most natural reaction. Especially when the same people – like Gates – go on the record about how we need to cut down flying because it's bad for the planet.
Photo: Charter Yacht
On the same reasoning, buying a superyacht to go on summer vacations is mindless indulgence. The cruise and superyacht industry are leading polluters and major contributors to climate change, so whoever adds another superyacht to the long list of offenders is actively guilty of killing the planet. Chartering a vessel would make them complicit as well, but their offense would be less significant, as activists see it.
But that's not to say that spray-painting people's superyachts will discourage them from buying, or chartering, or living as outrageously as before. Waking up to hear your $300 million, record-breaking, fully-custom superyacht took tens of thousands of dollars in damages because two people took out their frustration on it won't be a "come to Jesus" moment for Laurie or any other billionaire.
That's just wishful thinking. And it doesn't excuse the deliberate destruction of private property, which is a criminal act.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News