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tyreextinguishers.com
We are people from all walks of life with one aim: To make it impossible to own a huge polluting 4x4 in the world's urban areas.

It’s a #directAction #activism initiative that deflates SUV tyres in urban areas and has upset some motorists.

from https://mastodon.nz/@pezmico/108253095144109751

dear fbi, i’m posting this so lemmings know what terrorists to avoid

Here’s a copypasta so y’all don’t have to click the link and join me and angela merkel on the nsa target list.

Locate an SUV. In towns and cities, you won’t have to walk far to find one. Target posh / middle-class areas. 
Unscrew the cap on the tire valve. This is usually very easy to find on the wheel. Usually, you turn the cap to the left to unscrew it, right to tighten it. Remember: righty-tighty, lefty-loosey. 
To get the air out of the tyre, there must be something pushing down on the pin located in the center of the valve. Drop a small bean (we like green lentils, but you can experiment with couscous, bits of gravel, etc) inside the valve cap. Replace the cap, screwing it on with a few turns until you hear air hissing out. Even if it’s only hissing out a little bit, that’s enough - it will deflate slowly. The whole process should take about 10 seconds.
Print this leaflet (at home, in an internet cafe, at the library, wherever) and leave it under the windscreen wipers, so that the owner is aware that the car is unusable and gets an explanation as to why this has been done.
When you’re done, anonymously let the local press know what you’ve done, where you’ve done it and why. You can use a free secure email service like Protonmail or Tutanota.
Send a report to tyreextinguishers@riseup.net so we can keep track! Tell us roughly where it happened and how many SUVs you have disarmed. Join the Telegram group for updates.
Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Here’s a video demonstration.

Other tips:

If you like, practice on a bicycle tyre first.
Work under cover of darkness.
Bring some friends. Split into pairs to avoid conspicuously large groups.
Hybrids and electric cars are fair game. We cannot electrify our way out of the climate crisis - there are not enough rare earth metals to replace everyone’s car and the mining of these metals causes suffering. Plus, the danger to other road users still stands, as does the air pollution (PM 2.5 pollution is still produced from tyres and brake pads).
Avoid: Cars clearly used for people with disabilities, traders’ cars (even if they’re large), minibuses and normal-sized cars.
  • CriticalResist8@lemmygrad.ml
    4·
    2 years ago

    I actually read the website you shared (I’d heard about this group before and mostly rehashed what I said back then), and honestly after reading that I can’t come out of it thinking anything other than they are self-serving individualists pretending to do some common good.

    I’m not gonna do the boring thing and take their manifesto line by line, but two things jumped out at me:

    We are defending ourselves against climate change, air pollution and unsafe drivers.

    How are SUV drivers unsafe? What is the metric? + if you want to fight air pollution fight corporations that pollute, don’t fight the consumer.

    We’re taking this action because governments and politicians have failed to protect us from these huge vehicles. Everyone hates them, apart from the people who drive them.

    Then take action against the governments and politicians that have failed to protect you, not against people

    Are we gonna blame the consumers for everything they do? Don’t buy new furniture, just keep the one you have, why do you want new furniture anyway? Don’t buy Coke, they hired death squads in 1998. Don’t buy BMW, they are actually a big polluter and their SUVs are bad. But Ikea, Coke, BMW? Yes please keep producing, we will win you over with our wallets you’ll see!

    This is the most ineffective, self-serving type of “activism”. The liberal type.

    We want to live in towns and cities with clean air and safe streets.

    Somehow I think the people behind this group are proponents of more police funding. Just a feeling.

    And finally their whole thing about SUVs being polluters… well, yes, all cars are polluters. Do they think we magically fix CO2 emissions by switching from SUVs to sedans? People will still drive their cars just as much. You want real change, get SUVs banned. I am 100 behind that (they don’t even have 4WD anymore, not that you’d need it in urban areas).

    + their sources are hastily put together + L + ratio.

    • meloo@lemmy.perthchat.orgOP
      2·
      2 years ago

      activism”. The liberal type.

      This is a bit nitpicky of me, but I think the average liberal would be opposed to this kind of direct action.