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]

They also believe that every single nuclear power plant is staffed entirely by clones of Mr. Burnses at the top and Homers at the bottom

They are, though.

 

[Nobunaga]

They are, though.

I though they were filled with idiots that think 3.6 roetgens arent good but not bad

 

[The Great Citracett]

 

[From The Uncanny Valley]

View attachment 947600

RAH REEEEEE RAH RO

 

[Irrelevant]

(1) inert?

(2) those plastics (polymers) contains a lot of unreacted monomers. The most well known in public discourse being, of course, bisphenol A, and maybe styrene. I do suspect that the risk on the whole is exaggerated, but I'm humbled by the utter difficulty of predicting biological activity based on molecular structure, and all that. Like ... to give an unrelated example ... can anyone even tell me why pentane and heptane are pretty safe , but hexane will turn you into Chris Chan?

Also the guy he was replying to specifically said microplastics in health and cleaning products should be banned which is referring to microbeads. They are abrasive little rocks you can easily see and feel and people didn't want drinking water that goes down like sandpaper or fish full of mini buckshot. That's why landlocked states were the first to panic and the coastal states didn't care as the ocean dilutes them.

You don't need to waste time on the gay frogs BPA arguments to realise why people don't want to eat mini airsoft ammo.

 

[Dynastier]

View attachment 947600

I don't know who, but someone can't meme apparently.

 

[Bunny Tracks]

My issue with this whole situation is that it seems most of the vitriol is misdirected. Greta is an annoying, naive teenage, but as others have stated, she's just being propped up and used by her parents, and other douchebags as a mouthpiece, and shield to deflect any kind of criticism.

I don't hate Greta. I don't really even dislike her. Frankly, I pity her. Her heart is in the right place, and I genuinely believe she thinks she's doing the right thing. The problem is that in addition to her already being dealt a shitty hand with having Aspergers, a shitty upbringing, and being brainwashed for her entire life, she's now also being taken advantage of by her terrible parents, politicians, and celebrities, who have all been parading her around as some sort of infallible wonder child, and is currently a laughing stock due her and her group basically treating anyone who even slightly disagrees with them as evil, uncaring, greedy Captain Planet villains.

At the end of the day, we have to remember that Greta is just a mentally ill teenager who's being used as nothing more than a puppet and defense mechanism by people who have way more power, and control than she does. It's those people that deserve the hatred, and outrage, not the sixteen year old, malnourished, brainwashed aspie with probable FAS. Now if Greta continues this kind of behavior into adulthood, that's another story. But for the time being, we should focus the attention, and mockery on the assholes actually behind all this shit.

tl;dr-Be angry at the ones pulling the strings, and not at the hapless, helpless marionette being forced to dance on the stage.

 

[Quindoll]

Combine that with the fact that CO2 capture also gets cheaper and cheaper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11027-019-9847-y

But you have to remember economic growth is bad. Disregard the technological advances and lets smash capitalism.

What actually makes me upset is that the focus is as always on activists, social commentators and politicians. But who is actually doing the ground work? Engineers, scientists, technicans. These guys but they never get any credit.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

The harder a parent pushes for "AUTISM IS A SUPERPOWER REEEEE" the more I imagine what an absolute fucking nightmare their little tard is.

Some aren't even going for the SUPERPOWAH approach. They say it's not a disease. It's being perfectly normal only because it's not debilitating in any way. Imagine going to your doctor and tell them "I don't really have a hearth condition because I haven't had a hearth attack".

Honestly, any parent who says this it's very likely aware there is nothing wrong with their children, but they still want the attention. Little Timmy was a bit shy during a family reunion, so "omg, my son doesn't really has it, but has some of it, he's in the spectrum and please, give me the sympathy I deserve for being a struggling mother".

 

[TFT-A9]

Honestly, any parent who says this it's very likely aware there is nothing wrong with their children, but they still want the attention. Little Timmy was a bit shy during a family reunion, so "omg, my son doesn't really has it, but has some of it, he's in the spectrum and please, give me the sympathy I deserve for being a struggling mother".

So... MbP then. Jesus.

Am I imagining things or is MbP becoming really fucking frighteningly common in the above-stated sense?

 

[Tasty Tatty]

What actually makes me upset is that the focus is as always on activists, social commentators and politicians. But who is actually doing the ground work? Engineers, scientists, technicans. These guys but they never get any credit.

It goes beyond that. Scientists who provide data and results that contradict the norm are shamed and called "conspiracy theorists". Same situation we see with people who are critical of new gender theories.

It's extra hard to watch when you consider that many people in this climate boards are politicians rather than actual scientists. Just like those who speak about trans-issues are sociologists rather than biologists or neurologists.

 

[The Great Citracett]

There's a lady I know on Facebook who managed to escape a cult that brainwashed and used her for the whole first half of her life, losing her whole family in the process, and now she's having a meltdown over how "Greta isn't brainwashed because I agree with her! Reeeeeee!"

This is really making people go nuts. Even ones who should really be able to see what's going on.

 

[ColtWalker1847]

(1) inert?

(2) those plastics (polymers) contains a lot of unreacted monomers. The most well known in public discourse being, of course, bisphenol A, and maybe styrene. I do suspect that the risk on the whole is exaggerated, but I'm humbled by the utter difficulty of predicting biological activity based on molecular structure, and all that. Like ... to give an unrelated example ... can anyone even tell me why pentane and heptane are pretty safe , but hexane will turn you into Chris Chan?

Well considering that the can't prove that it is unhealthy when used as food packaging, only as a chemical consumed in quantities much larger than what would ever be emitted by decomposing plastic I'm pretty confident in saying that it is yet another panic over nothing.

The poison is the dose. Small enough quantities released over a long enough time makes even the most dangerous toxins a nonissue. Add to this that the most prevalent microplastics are benign polyethylene and polypropylene, I ain't getting worked up over it.

Shit, even third place polystyrene is pretty benign because of its durability.

 

[Captain Ahab]

imagine being so far up your own ass that your strongest argument is insulting a teenager for her looks when you're twice her age
really mature guys lmao

No one’s insulting her. I just find it peculiar that she is this short when she has normal height parents, is Swedish, and comes from a relatively well-to-do background. Short stature is either genetic or environmental. When a somewhat wealthy Northern European girl is as tall as one of them tiny African Pygmy niggers, you gotta ask yourself what happened. That, coupled with a slew of mental problems, makes you wonder what kinda environment she grew up in and who the fuck are her parents. This whole thing reeks of child abuse and she seems like another failed experiment to raise the perfect liberal poster child.

 

[Spicy Tacos]

Another thing to remember about autism spectrum disorder and these super intense interests is that people can drop them just as quickly and intently as they got into them. Next week this kid may decide she's into lime-flavored cupcakes shaped like Sean Penn and she doesn't want to do this other stuff any more, and there won't be a damn thing anyone can do to change her mind to continue to be the climate change Christ child. She'll find out what it is to have someone standing over her making her do stuff THEN.

My issue with this whole situation is that it seems most of the vitriol is misdirected. Greta is an annoying, naive teenage, but as others have stated, she's just being propped up and used by her parents, and other douchebags as a mouthpiece, and shield to deflect any kind of criticism.

I don't hate Greta. I don't really even dislike her. Frankly, I pity her. Her heart is in the right place, and I genuinely believe she thinks she's doing the right thing. The problem is that in addition to her already being dealt a shitty hand with having Aspergers, a shitty upbringing, and being brainwashed for her entire life, she's now also being taken advantage of by her terrible parents, politicians, and celebrities, who have all been parading her around as some sort of infallible wonder child, and is currently a laughing stock due her and her group basically treating anyone who even slightly disagrees with them as evil, uncaring, greedy Captain Planet villains.

At the end of the day, we have to remember that Greta is just a mentally ill teenager who's being used as nothing more than a puppet and defense mechanism by people who have way more power, and control than she does. It's those people that deserve the hatred, and outrage, not the sixteen year old, malnourished, brainwashed aspie with probable FAS. Now if Greta continues this kind of behavior into adulthood, that's another story. But for the time being, we should focus the attention, and mockery on the assholes actually behind all this shit.

tl;dr-Be angry at the ones pulling the strings, and not the hapless, helpless marionette being forced to dance on the stage.

This video has about the same opinion.

Thunberg is 'not the messiah, she is an extremely anxious girl'

Sky News host Andrew Bolt has described Greta Thunberg’s address at a United Nations climate event on Tuesday as a “meltdown speech”.

youtu.be

 

[Fliddaroonie]

This video has about the same opinion.

Thunberg is 'not the messiah, she is an extremely anxious girl'

Sky News host Andrew Bolt has described Greta Thunberg’s address at a United Nations climate event on Tuesday as a “meltdown speech”.

youtu.be

The people I know siding with Thunberg and making her out to be the second coming of Jeebus the hardest are the ones who have children, multiple foreign holidays, drive, eat meat. It's hilarious how people with no actual desire to change anything are rallying behind her the hardest.

Also appalling to me is how they are either unwilling or unable to see how she's a clearly very ill young person, who is being exploited by her parents for asspats and exposure

 

[The Great Citracett]

 

[Fliddaroonie]

View attachment 947754

Pahahahahahaha. Magnificent. Stupid little girl. Really, she's so dense, out of touch, coddled, and just a complete and utterly non-normal, low functioning human being. It's sad she's allowed to be tarted about like this, more so when she's sporting such slogans on placards.

 

[Bunny Tracks]

View attachment 947754

Fucking hell, she looks miserable. At the same time, I just can't stop thinking of this.

Spoiler

 

[Brundlefly]

Pahahahahahaha. Magnificent. Stupid little girl. Really, she's so dense, out of touch, coddled, and just a complete and utterly non-normal, low functioning human being. It's sad she's allowed to be tarted about like this, more so when she's sporting such slogans on placards.

...It’s a photoshop...