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Comment by chippy | Hacker News Reader

as an environmentalist, we've been saying this since the 70's. As an educator I'd caution against fear as a motivation for societal change, but I understand that many think that its good to cause fear and panic for the benefit of the globe and everyone on it (after all, we teach children to be afraid of dangerous things).

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You've saying this since the 70s, how much change on people minds did you achieve without fear?

Great question - equally so: how much change on people minds did you achieve with fear?

The answer to both is that we need to do something different.

Fear becomes a greater motivator to action the more proximate the source of the fear is. Thus as the effects of climate change become more extreme and apparent the efficacy of fear to spur action increases.

I agree, we need to vigorously oppose climate denial, get money out of politics, and seriously reconsider if market economies are able to deliver sustainable lifestyles at all.

Look at what the fear of another 9/11 was able to accomplish. I still have to take off my shoes at the airport!

And look at what “masks protect other people” accomplished. 40% of the American population gleefully advertising that they don’t care about other people.

You don’t have to change people’s minds if you can change their actions.

And how does people taking off their shoes make air travel any safer? I do not see how your example supports using fear as a tool to drive useful change.

I’m just making the point that creating a state of fear is a good opportunity to push through change in society. Whether the change is effective or not is another question entirely.

Do you think if the US government had said, “we’re going to ask you nicely to take off your shoes at the airport so your neighbor’s grandma doesn’t get blown up?” that would’ve gotten people to take their shoes off?

They said "You're taking your shoes off, otherwise you're not going to fly today, you're going to get locked in a small room while we go through everything you've got with you and endlessly question you." It's not fear of terrorists that changed behavior, it's the threat of overwhelming government power used against you to cause massive inconvenience at best, and unjust imprisonment at worst.

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