The News recently reported that a group called ‘Tyre Extinguishers’ had deflated SUV tyres in Dulwich and Herne Hill. But who are these eco-vigilantes and what do they want?
The group which claims to be “leaderless”, appears to have originated in the UK, and hit headlines in March 2022 when SUVs in London, Bristol, Brighton and Manchester were targetted.
But the activists, famous for using lentils to deflate tyres, only hit the headlines in March 2022, a month which saw SUVs struck in London, Bristol, Brighton and Manchester.
The group argues that SUVs are unnecessary, “a climate disaster” and dangerous to cyclists and pedestrians. They say they will not stop until it is “impossible to own a huge polluting 4×4 in the world’s urban areas”.
The group even has a mysterious, quasi-judicial code, with SUVs condemned for deflation described as receiving “the order of the lentil”.
THE ORDER OF THE LENTIL pic.twitter.com/nxnoEep1dS
— The Tyre Extinguishers (@T_Extinguishers) May 27, 2022
Speaking to the News, an anonymous spokesperson said: “We were sick of seeing polluting cars on our streets, sick of near-death experiences while cycling when a big 4X4 tries to run us off the road.”
The group has its own bible – ‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline’ by Andreas Malm – a controversial book which attempts to justify climate activism through sabotage, and slams “climate pacifism”.
Tyre Extinguishers say the book, which has been described by critics as “an astonishing abdication of responsibility” and “eco-terrorism”, was a founding inspiration.
However, some critics have praised the book as “erudite and, above all, morally serious” and offering “a stirring moral case for the necessity of escalation”.
The activists also have a personal score to settle. A spokesperson said that members once witnessed a cyclist who was “nearly killed” by a Range Rover.
“A few weeks before we got started, one of our group saw a cyclist get hit by a Range Rover and nearly killed. The Range Rover simply drove off, while pedestrians called the ambulance”, they said.
“These people are a menace and if governments won’t take action to stop them, we will.”
Since then, the decentralised organisation has spread to Glasgow, Vienna, Gothenburg, New York and Christchurch, New Zealand.