Science Greta Thunberg Megathread - Dax Herrera says he wouldn't have a day ago (I somewhat doubt that)

Why is Greta Thunberg so triggering? How can a 16-year-old girl in plaits, who has dedicated herself to the not-exactly sinister, authoritarian plot of trying to save the planet from extinction, inspire such incandescent rage?

Last week, she tweeted that she had arrived into New York after her two week transatlantic voyage: “Finally here. Thank you everyone who came to see me off in Plymouth, and everyone who welcomed me in New York! Now I’m going to rest for a few days, and on Friday I’m going to participate in the strike outside the UN”, before promptly giving a press conference in English. Yes, her second language.

Her remarks were immediately greeted with a barrage of jibes about virtue signalling, and snide remarks about the three crew members who will have to fly out to take the yacht home.

This shouldn’t need to be spelled out, but as some people don’t seem to have grasped it yet, we’ll give it a lash: Thunberg’s trip was an act of protest, not a sacred commandment or an instruction manual for the rest of us. Like all acts of protest, it was designed to be symbolic and provocative. For those who missed the point – and oh, how they missed the point – she retweeted someone else’s “friendly reminder” that: “You don’t need to spend two weeks on a boat to do your part to avert our climate emergency. You just need to do everything you can, with everyone you can, to change everything you can.”

Part of the reason she inspires such rage, of course, is blindingly obvious. Climate change is terrifying. The Amazon is burning. So too is the Savannah. Parts of the Arctic are on fire. Sea levels are rising. There are more vicious storms and wildfires and droughts and floods. Denial is easier than confronting the terrifying truth.

Then there’s the fact that we don’t like being made to feel bad about our life choices. That’s human nature. It’s why we sneer at vegans. It’s why we’re suspicious of sober people at parties. And if anything is likely to make you feel bad about your life choices -- as you jet back home after your third Ryanair European minibreak this season – it’ll be the sight of small-boned child subjecting herself to a fortnight being tossed about on the Atlantic, with only a bucket bearing a “Poo Only Please” sign by way of luxury, in order to make a point about climate change.

But that’s not virtue signalling, which anyone can indulge in. As Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, and their-four-private-jets-in-11-days found recently, virtue practising is a lot harder.

Even for someone who spends a lot of time on Twitter, some of the criticism levelled at Thunberg is astonishing. It is, simultaneously, the most vicious and the most fatuous kind of playground bullying. The Australian conservative climate change denier Andrew Bolt called her “deeply disturbed” and “freakishly influential” (the use of “freakish”, we can assume, was not incidental.) The former UKIP funder, Arron Banks, tweeted “Freaking yacht accidents do happen in August” (as above.) Brendan O’Neill of Spiked called her a “millenarian weirdo” (nope, still not incidental) in a piece that referred nastily to her “monotone voice” and “the look of apocalyptic dread in her eyes”.

But who’s the real freak – the activist whose determination has single-handedly started a powerful global movement for change, or the middle-aged man taunting a child with Asperger syndrome from behind the safety of their computer screens?

And that, of course, is the real reason why Greta Thunberg is so triggering. They can’t admit it even to themselves, so they ridicule her instead. But the truth is that they’re afraid of her. The poor dears are terrified of her as an individual, and of what she stands for – youth, determination, change.

She is part of a generation who won’t be cowed. She isn’t about to be shamed into submission by trolls. That’s not actually a look of apocalyptic dread in her eyes. It’s a look that says “you’re not relevant”.

The reason they taunt her with childish insults is because that’s all they’ve got. They’re out of ideas. They can’t dismantle her arguments, because she has science – and David Attenborough – on her side. They can’t win the debate with the persuasive force of their arguments, because these bargain bin cranks trade in jaded cynicism, not youthful passion. They can harangue her with snide tweets and hot take blogposts, but they won’t get a reaction because, frankly, she has bigger worries on her mind.

That’s not to say that we should accept everything Thunberg says without question. She is an idealist who is young enough to see the world in black and white. We need voices like hers. We should listen to what she has to say, without tuning the more moderate voices of dissent out.

Why is Greta Thunberg so triggering? Because of what she represents. In an age when democracy is under assault, she hints at the emergency of new kind of power, a convergence of youth, popular protest and irrefutable science. And for her loudest detractors, she also represents something else: the sight of their impending obsolescence hurtling towards them.

joconnell@irishtimes.com
https://twitter.com/jenoconnell

https://web.archive.org/web/2019090...certain-men-1.4002264?localLinksEnabled=false
Found this thought-provoking indeed.

 

[AnOminous]

View attachment 3053253

Don't autistic speds suffer a lot more from missing school than normies?

 

[anti SJW]

 

[Hummingbird]

How much longer do you think people will be taking this screwed-up little puppet seriously? Maybe when someone younger and even more wrecked jumps into the spotlight? When she gets too old like 25?

 

[Evilronald]

How much longer do you think people will be taking this screwed-up little puppet seriously? Maybe when someone younger and even more wrecked jumps into the spotlight? When she gets too old like 25?

When she’s not cute and cuddly anymore

 

[Coldgrip]

When she’s not cute and cuddly anymore

She never was.

 

[Hummingbird]

She never was.

She's always reminded me of Wednesday Adams' joyless, blond clone.

 

[Coldgrip]

She's always reminded me of Wednesday Adams' joyless, blonde clone.

Only without the snarky, deadpan humor.

 

[Hummingbird]

Only without the snarky, deadpan humor.

Now that I think about it, a bit of Veruca Salt's sense of entitlement. (I'm talking about the one from the 70s film.)

 

[⠠⠠⠅⠑⠋⠋⠁⠇⠎ ⠠⠠⠊⠎ ⠠⠠⠁ ⠠⠠⠋⠁⠛]

Unlike Marjorie Taylor Greene, Greta hasn't betrayed freedom of speech.

 

[Super-Chevy454]

One blogger wondered if Greta's 15 minutes of fame had pass the expiration date because Greenpeache wants to ditch Greta.

Greenpeace to Ditch Greta | Armstrong Economics

Reports are circulating that Greenpeace may soon ditch their poster child for climate change, Greta Thunberg. The Swedish activist was pushed to fame as a child and became notorious for passionate speeches that she was likely forced to read and believe. Klaus Schwab even featured the young girl...

www.armstrongeconomics.com

Reports are circulating that Greenpeace may soon ditch their poster child for climate change, Greta Thunberg. The Swedish activist was pushed to fame as a child and became notorious for passionate speeches that she was likely forced to read and believe. Klaus Schwab even featured the young girl in his film, “The Forum,” to promote Agenda 2030.

Greta is now 19 years old and no longer the perfect child-like puppet with braids and innocence. I warned that her parents manipulated this girl for their own benefit. She suffers from autism and depression, and her parents publicly stated that parading her around the globe was “medicine” for her ailments.

As an adult, she is diverting from the script. Last year, she said that democracy should be prioritized over climate change in a move that angered her handlers. She accidentally shared an image of “suggested posts” that her handlers asked her to share across social media platforms. Greta even came under fire by the Indian government after being spotted with pop star Rihanna who began promoting the Indian farmer’s protest.

 

[CWCissey]

One blogger wondered if Greta's 15 minutes of fame had pass the expiration date because Greenpeache wants to ditch Greta.

Greenpeace to Ditch Greta | Armstrong Economics

Reports are circulating that Greenpeace may soon ditch their poster child for climate change, Greta Thunberg. The Swedish activist was pushed to fame as a child and became notorious for passionate speeches that she was likely forced to read and believe. Klaus Schwab even featured the young girl...

www.armstrongeconomics.com

Weren't they trying to push some other girl literally on the day Greta turned 18?

 

[Mikoyan]

One blogger wondered if Greta's 15 minutes of fame had pass the expiration date because Greenpeache wants to ditch Greta.

Greenpeace to Ditch Greta | Armstrong Economics

Reports are circulating that Greenpeace may soon ditch their poster child for climate change, Greta Thunberg. The Swedish activist was pushed to fame as a child and became notorious for passionate speeches that she was likely forced to read and believe. Klaus Schwab even featured the young girl...

www.armstrongeconomics.com

If this is true - that she was getting something positive out of it all to help with her brain woes - then I look forward to the downward spiral when the autism machine upstairs has nothing better to do than lolcow on the internet.

 

[IBrokeBob]

Love this pic of disgruntled greta.
is pic.

 

[The-Patriarchy]

Is she doing porn yet? If not I'll check back here in a year and ask again.

 

[Adamska]

Weren't they trying to push some other girl literally on the day Greta turned 18?

Yes they did, because human shields from criticism work most effectively when they're children. Ignore that the neglectful and narcissistic parents, creepy men who seem to like to hang out with and use children, and what is effectively a Millenarian Death Cult are the ones writing what she says. You are an awful person for telling off a kid for the shit takes others feed them.

I also seem to recall they have either said we are now dead due to their eco-tribulation, or they've reset the death clock again like they've done several times already.

I say this as a person who does believe that humans can and have altered the climate and that the warming trend is not a good thing mind you. These fucking idiots can and always will fail so long as they refuse to use nuclear energy as another clean source, and keep taking CCCP cock up the ass and neglecting the big carbon emitter and polluter.

 

[Rome's rightful successor]

One blogger wondered if Greta's 15 minutes of fame had pass the expiration date because Greenpeache wants to ditch Greta.

Greenpeace to Ditch Greta | Armstrong Economics

Reports are circulating that Greenpeace may soon ditch their poster child for climate change, Greta Thunberg. The Swedish activist was pushed to fame as a child and became notorious for passionate speeches that she was likely forced to read and believe. Klaus Schwab even featured the young girl...

www.armstrongeconomics.com

Has she realized that she was a political tool this whole time and it wasn't about the environment?

 

[Super-Chevy454]

Has she realized that she was a political tool this whole time and it wasn't about the environment?

I'm afraid not but if she realized it, it's too little too late.

 

[AnOminous]

One blogger wondered if Greta's 15 minutes of fame had pass the expiration date because Greenpeache wants to ditch Greta.

Here's Greenpeace:

 

[indigoisviolet]

I guess Greenpeace is suffering financially? I know the National Trust is now hurting since their "walking in the countryside is racist" ridiculous press conference. Turns out when pensioners can just unsubscribe by pressing one button on their banking app, they do. What does Greenpeace even do these days? Other than make disparaging remarks aimed at their donors, of course?

I feel sorry for Greta. When she's away from her parents' podium she's clearly a giddy little spazz who nervously enjoys young person things. She reminds me a lot of Desmond Is Amazing in that respect; it's not their fault their parents are insane and have an open line to the mass media.

Off script she says nothing at all. This was apparent up in Scotland when she was pushed in front of the cameras to protest the very group of international politicians in lockstep agreement with her parents' agenda. It was almost surreal, protest as performance art, yet not as polished as that might suggest. If she was supposed to be a funnel for general youth malaise, they really needed more substance to the controlled rebellion.

 

[BelUwUga]

I guess Greenpeace is suffering financially? I know the National Trust is now hurting since their "walking in the countryside is racist" ridiculous press conference. Turns out when pensioners can just unsubscribe by pressing one button on their banking app, they do. What does Greenpeace even do these days? Other than make disparaging remarks aimed at their donors, of course?

I feel sorry for Greta. When she's away from her parents' podium she's clearly a giddy little spazz who nervously enjoys young person things. She reminds me a lot of Desmond Is Amazing in that respect; it's not their fault their parents are insane and have an open line to the mass media.

Off script she says nothing at all. This was apparent up in Scotland when she was pushed in front of the cameras to protest the very group of international politicians in lockstep agreement with her parents' agenda. It was almost surreal, protest as performance art, yet not as polished as that might suggest. If she was supposed to be a funnel for general youth malaise, they really needed more substance to the controlled rebellion.

I don't feel bad because as a matter of principle I do not feel bad for vegetals. Her problem is life dealt her a hand like this:

(In case it's unclear that's someone launching a potato into a wall) She's got:

1. Alcoholic mother to the point she could have modelled FAS for a textbook.
2. Autism.
3. Eating disorder.
4. Swedish- the bad kind.
5. Non-achieving high school drop out.
6. Unhinged hippie.

Women that don't look like they had to fight the ugly stick to survive birth get to pick like one of those. A rich girl or a smoke show gets two maybe three tops. Between being pickled in-utero and playing fuck fuck games with her diet it's not like anything will fix her either. Unlike the body there's fuck all that can be done about the mind when you decide to kneecap its potential. It's better for every one involved that I just assume the broken brain is to a point where she doesn't recognize how fucked up it is. She's just a louder, more mobile version of what we have in the tardbabby thread.