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.

 

[Cryonic Haunted Bullets]

What is it about climate activists that pisses people off so much?

The impending ecological disaster distracts from their pet boogeyman and is therefore too inconvenient to believe in.

 

[Arkancide Pact]

I agree that her winning Person of the Year is dumb, but why does Trump feel it necessary to throw a tantrum whenever someone who dares disagree with him on something wins?

So this chick sames some dumb shit, I've yet to see her say anything truly enraging or anything that justifies the level of anger (and if there is it should be directed at her handlers, not her). What is it about climate activists that pisses people off so much? She hasn't even done anything other than dare criticize Daddy Trump, and all his white knights come out of the woodwork to be pissed that somebody doesn't love them man.

How dare you?! You have stolen my youth.
>Glares in potato

Remember she tried to stare him down. He won't stop until she is as irrelevant as Rosie O'Donnel.

Plus, again, telling a humorless scold to chill out isn't abusive at all. Not even a little.

 

[ProgKing of the North]

How dare you?! You have stolen my youth.
>Glares in potato

Remember she tried to stare him down. He won't stop until she is as irrelevant as Rosie O'Donnel.

Plus, again, telling a humorless scold to chill out isn't abusive at all. Not even a little.

Yeah, it's not abusive, but the fucking president of the United States should be able to get the fuck over having a kid stare him down. I don't see how still being pissed over the fact that a kid doesn't like him makes Trump the bigger man here

 

[BrokenWokenBespoken]

You're saying nothing. You're spewing words, names, and phrases you heard somewhere but don't understand the context of.

Smog is unrelated to Co2. Smog is a real problem that kills shitloads of children worldwide. But the UN doesn't care about air quality. All they care about is Co2.

Get a fucking clue you sped.

Well my answer is the Trump needs to grow a pair and just start double down on the climate change by any means necessary instead of getting into tweet fights.

 

[Mola Ram]

Yeah, it's not abusive, but the fucking president of the United States should be able to get the fuck over having a kid stare him down. I don't see how still being pissed over the fact that a kid doesn't like him makes Trump the bigger man here

Oh, come on. Trump's not pissed. Trump just knows he can send the entire Twitter/media hivemind into an absolute fucking meltdown with shit-tier trolling. And he's right.

 

[turboNIG-3k]

The impending ecological disaster distracts from their pet boogeyman and is therefore too inconvenient to believe in.

I was about to make a reply to the quoted poster about self assured smugness turning people off, but seems you got me covered already.

And the impending doomsday?
I'm willing to take that bet.

 

[Arkancide Pact]

Yeah, it's not abusive, but the fucking president of the United States should be able to get the fuck over having a kid stare him down. I don't see how still being pissed over the fact that a kid doesn't like him makes Trump the bigger man here

You project he's "pissed".

He's mocking her stupid movement and her angry glaring all the time.

I'm glad the leader of the Free world is mocking the figurehead of a supremely wasteful fraud and let kids know not all the important people in the world think they should skip school and whine about a hoax.

The comment about her glaring was a joke, I hope Trump isn't holding a dumb grudge like that.

 

[thismanlies]

Y'all gotta at least admit that this is a little funny

View attachment 1047987

I'll give her handlers some credit. They found someone halfway decent to run her social media account.

 

[Local Coyote]

And she changed her Twitter bio again
View attachment 1047687

Her Twitter bio changes are just pathetic. She thinks she's showing how much she doesn't care when she clearly does.

What I wonder is what the future looks like for activist darling kids. They're basically progressive versions of Disney Channel child stars so I kinda think they're gonna end up the same way. Broken, probably addicted to something, and with zero sense of self worth and self esteem. Wouldn't be surprised if Greta ends up in a doomsday cult or on drugs to deal with her horrible world ending anxiety. The future seems kinda bleak.

 

[ProgKing of the North]

Her Twitter bio changes are just pathetic. She thinks she's showing how much she doesn't care when she clearly does.

So Trump tweeting about something that doesn't matter isn't pathetic, but the person he was tweeting at responding to it is?

I guess my question is just...why does Trump (and conservatives in general) give a shit? Laugh at her, sure, that's fine, but what actual harm has she done to justify the anger directed her way (and again, directed at her, not her handlers)?

 

[Mrs Paul]

For god sakes, she's a teenager. The president freaking out over a teenager criticizing him is cringe-inducing at the very least. Here we have a grown man, the president of the United States, ranting about what some kid's saying.

I agree that her winning Person of the Year is dumb, but why does Trump feel it necessary to throw a tantrum whenever someone who dares disagree with him on something wins?

So this chick sames some dumb shit, I've yet to see her say anything truly enraging or anything that justifies the level of anger (and if there is it should be directed at her handlers, not her). What is it about climate activists that pisses people off so much? She hasn't even done anything other than dare criticize Daddy Trump, and all his white knights come out of the woodwork to be pissed that somebody doesn't love them man.

It's his ego. He just can't take being being criticized, or disagreed with, or challenged. That only makes people more likely to do so. It's one of his worst flaws.


I don't care how you feel about Thurnberg, but dude, c'mon. Get over it.

 

[Overly Serious]

I guess my question is just...why does Trump (and conservatives in general) give a shit? Laugh at her, sure, that's fine, but what actual harm has she done to justify the anger directed her way (and again, directed at her, not her handlers)?

I don't think he does particularly care about her. Trump has turned out to be a master politician and perfected the art of misdirection and making his opponents destroy themselves. Any time he wants to pass an executive order or negotiate something, he sends out something that sends his haters into a useless tizzy fussing about something else whilst he does what he wants. Taunting the Left's vaunted child prophet is just a tactic and the simple truth is he can be callous enough to do it. I don't imagine he'd exploit any old kid like that but maybe he sees her as part of the hard left / XR / destroy America movement and he's not big on sympathy for those I guess. Behind his favoured schtick of affability, Trump can be a steely bastard on occasion.

I personally feel sorry for Greta and I wish her well. I also don't necessarily disagree with her on some of the environmental issues. But I think she's used to push an agenda that has less to do with environmentalism and more to do with socialism and progressivism.

 

[Dolphin Lundgren]

Oh noes.

 

[Kane Lives]

I don't think he does particularly care about her. Trump has turned out to be a master politician and perfected the art of misdirection and making his opponents destroy themselves. Any time he wants to pass an executive order or negotiate something, he sends out something that sends his haters into a useless tizzy fussing about something else whilst he does what he wants. Taunting the Left's vaunted child prophet is just a tactic and the simple truth is he can be callous enough to do it. I don't imagine he'd exploit any old kid like that but maybe he sees her as part of the hard left / XR / destroy America movement and he's not big on sympathy for those I guess. Behind his favoured schtick of affability, Trump can be a steely bastard on occasion.

I personally feel sorry for Greta and I wish her well. I also don't necessarily disagree with her on some of the environmental issues. But I think she's used to push an agenda that has less to do with environmentalism and more to do with socialism and progressivism.

One does not survive the NYC real estate scene without having a ruthless streak, IMO. And Trump survived just that.

 

[⠠⠠⠅⠑⠋⠋⠁⠇⠎ ⠠⠠⠊⠎ ⠠⠠⠁ ⠠⠠⠋⠁⠛]

One does not survive the NYC real estate scene without being an absolute piece of shit

FTFY

 

[Local Coyote]

So Trump tweeting about something that doesn't matter isn't pathetic, but the person he was tweeting at responding to it is?

I guess my question is just...why does Trump (and conservatives in general) give a shit? Laugh at her, sure, that's fine, but what actual harm has she done to justify the anger directed her way (and again, directed at her, not her handlers)?

Dunno why this stupid Trump tweet out of a sea of other stupid Trump tweets is particularly egregious. It's a waste of everyone's time and energy on both sides.

Public figures will be criticized, constructively or not. Greta is absolutely a public figure. If the point of contention is that she is a child, maybe the adults in her life should've thought about that before using her as a mouthpiece.

 

[TowinKarz]

Imma public celebrity, you need to listen to me when I spout off about politics! BUT, I also have autism and I'm just a kid, so, you can't criticize me and you're bad if you do!

They want all the good and none of the bad.

It doesn't work that way.

NONE of this works that way.

 

[IMayUseSpaces]

For god sakes, she's a teenager. The president freaking out over a teenager criticizing him is cringe-inducing at the very least. Here we have a grown man, the president of the United States, ranting about what some kid's saying.



It's his ego. He just can't take being being criticized, or disagreed with, or challenged. That only makes people more likely to do so. It's one of his worst flaws.


I don't care how you feel about Thurnberg, but dude, c'mon. Get over it.

Dude, maybe you can take Trump's advice and chill the fuck out. Literally all he did was shoot out a single tweet a sentence or two long telling her to watch her anger, chill, and go watch a movie with a friend. Nothing else. The other tweet, months ago, he said she has a bright future ahead of her. And the only time they've crossed paths, he ignored her.

You're spreading fake news. It's cool if you don't like Trump, many don't, but you will be called out for being disingenuous, which you are here. Anybody reading your fake news-filled post would assume the President of the United States just shot out a vitriolic, expletive-laden rant all over social media, blasting a 12-13 year girl just concerned over the environment.

No, this is a 16 year old girl (legally an adult in many countries and states) who has deliberately thrust herself in the spotlight and has made a name for herself out of scolding, admonishing, and outright attacking those who have even the most remote of disagreements with any of her woefully misinformed views. I won't get into the science, the excuses made for totalitarian despots that get excused for their pollution constantly, the fact that she's being exploited, but it's all out there.

But if anyone hits back? Time for the tears! She's a moving target. Fact is, Ms. Thunberg is an adult for most intents and purposes and you're being a useful idiot by pretending she's immune to criticism. She's a coward if she thinks she can stand on the bully pulpit without a rebuttal. But Trump, as of yet, has not been one of the people responding to her. So move on from this idea, for the love of God, because it's just a little transparent in light of the left's harassment against the Covington kids and pretty much any minority, LGBT individual, or woman on the 'other' side of the political spectrum. Black Republican? Uncle Tom! Gays for Trump? Faggots! Women voting for the right? You must love being in the kitchen! Can you please direct me to any of your posts concerning your outrage on some and/or all of these topics, especially the Covington kids incident?

 

[Big Nasty]

I'll give her handlers some credit. They found someone halfway decent to run her social media account.

Her social media accounts are run by Indians.

 

[TaimuRadiu]

Oh noes.

View attachment 1048702

as has been stated over and over again, "shouldn't have made her the figurehead of your movement"

"If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid. "