Society Talk

The skull sculptures in Brasília: powerful protest or too much?

Reading the post about the 7,000 Indigenous marchers in Brasília, one detail I keep thinking about is the demonstrators burning skull sculptures representing lawmakers.

I can see both sides. From one side, symbolic protest is old tradition and nobody was hurt, and when bills threaten your land maybe you need strong images to get attention. From other side, these images can let opponents change the subject from land rights to 'look how aggressive they are'. What you think, does it help the cause or distract?