Climate Activists Were Right To Throw Tomato Soup At Art

Photo by Heather Ford on Unsplash

We’re all talking about it, right?

Climate activists, seeking attention for the climate crisis, threw tomato soup at the Van Gogh painting “Sunflowers.”

The backlash has been swift.

Liberals tweeted about why we shouldn’t “desecrate art” to bring attention to the climate crisis. (Never mind the fact that the painting remains unharmed; it was covered by glass). Conservatives saying… well, who cares what they’re saying. Clearly they oppose the action.

Nearly everyone seems united in opposition to the protest.

Even so, we find ourselves talking about the Van Gogh, the woman with pink hair, the tomato soup, and — at least a bit — the climate crisis.

There’s Never A “Right” Way To Protest

Here’s the thing about the tomato soup action: It didn’t hurt anybody. It didn’t even hurt the painting. What it hurt was a greater sin, in the minds of critics. An unforgivable trespassing.

It hurt norms.

Violating norms, in America, is a worse sin than causing death. Mandating masks in public? An inexcusable horror far outside norms of behavior. But 1.1 million and counting dead…