Barcelona anti-tourism protesters fire water pistols at visitors | CNN
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Protesters in Barcelona have sprayed visitors with water as part of a demonstration against mass tourism.

Protesters in Barcelona have sprayed visitors with water as part of a demonstration against mass tourism.

Demonstrators marching through areas popular with tourists on Saturday chanted “tourists go home” and squirted them with water pistols, while others carried signs with slogans including “Barcelona is not for sale.”

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of the city in the latest demonstration against mass tourism in Spain, which has seen similar actions in the Canary Islands and Mallorca recently, decrying the impact on living costs and quality of life for local people.

The demonstration was organised by a group of more than 100 local organizations, led by the Assemblea de Barris pel Decreixement Turístic (Neighborhood Assembly for Tourism Degrowth).

  • GBU_28@lemm.eeEnglish
    12·
    4 months ago

    Again, sounds rough. Barcelona should change.

    But individuals do not deserve to be trapped or harassed for doing something legal.

    The issue lies solely between residents, property owners and the government.

    Don’t target individuals.

    Use some critical thinking, Im not defending unlimited tourism. I’m not discussing the situation in Barcelona at all really. I’m talking about the fundamentals of ethical protest. If your point requires you to abuse individuals, you aren’t protesting, you’re a mob.

    If “you” so casually ignore consent and bodily autonomy in public, what’s happening in private?

    • claudiop@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      4 months ago

      There are plenty of legal things that are condemnable.

      Going to a place that you know upfront that is suffering like this, where you know that you’re contributing a teeny bitsy to get someone homeless, jobless and cultureless might be legal but it isn’t moral.

      One might argue that most tourists do not know that. They simply look up some “top 17 best places to go in summer 2024” and off they go. They think that they are going to ride in a lovely tram through lovely streets and then some paradisiac beach when reality is smelling sweaty butts through crowds all the way.

      But how to you convince dumb tourists to be smart and moral tourists when there are plenty of good places they can go to that aren’t overcrowding (even in these same countries)? I personally dunno. And since you think that individuals should not be concerned then you probably prefer some other route.

      We can have quotas, but then you get gentrification. Whoever is the richest gets in and the others do not.That’s also terrible. Plus you’d get a black market with illegal renting due to market pressures.

      What solution do you propose exactly?

      • GBU_28@lemm.eeEnglish
        1·
        4 months ago

        I propose not targeting individuals with a mob.

        I propose turning that group back from a mob, into a protest, and getting in the government’s face.

        Like, the tourists walked into a door marked: “free candy, please come in. Yes, you!”, then once through, are told “how dare you, we have so little candy for ourselves”. They can’t undo that they walked through the door. They were invited through. The folks inside should instead take the issue up with whoever put the sign on the door, and work to take that down.