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.

 

[Tasty Tatty]

I guess Swedish media is happy they can finally talk about one of their own native girls without including "was raped by seven refugees" or "killed and butchered by a truck of peace" in the articles. Of course they're crazy about Greta.

 

[Knojkamarangasan_#4]

I guess Swedish media is happy they can finally talk about one of their own native girls without including "was raped by seven refugees" or "killed and butchered by a truck of peace" in the articles. Of course they're crazy about Greta.

If people thing the Greta hysteria international is bad, keep in mine we have been dealing with her lunacy for well over a year now or some shit. It just keeps and keeps escalating and either you blindly support her cult or laugh at how ridiculous it all is, which is mostly the latter in my experience outside the cities and all the Batikhäxor /tiedye witches who worships her as the messiah

 

[PS1gamenwatch]

I guess Swedish media is happy they can finally talk about one of their own native girls without including "was raped by seven refugees" or "killed and butchered by a truck of peace" in the articles. Of course they're crazy about Greta.

If only this guy was still alive:

 

[Super-Chevy454]

I don't know if someone already mentionned but I saw that other thread about Greta linking to a tweet from Newsweek and the reactions was lots of lol.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/poli...-right-conservative-pastor-kevin-swanson.html ( http://archive.ph/wip/Aw7kf )

Newsweek on Twitter

“Conservative pastor says Greta Thunberg is "psychologically disturbed," possessed by "demonic spirits" and "needs Jesus" https://t.co/6BygcfnqWd”

twitter.com

 

[Turd Cow]

Yeah, they're making a Greta documentary already

Greta Thunberg Documentary Set At Hulu, Chronicling Climate Activist’s Global Rise

EXCLUSIVE: Sixteen-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg is the subject of Greta (working title), an original documentary that will premiere on Hulu in 2020. The documentary is produced by Ceci…

deadline.com

EXCLUSIVE: Sixteen-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg is the subject of Greta (working title), an original documentary that will premiere on Hulu in 2020. The documentary is produced by Cecilia Nessen and Frederik Heinig via B-Reel Films and directed by Nathan Grossman.

The logline: In August 2018, Thunberg, a 15-year-old student in Sweden, starts a school strike for the climate. Her question for adults: if you don’t care about my future on earth, why should I care about my future in school? Within months, her strike evolves into a global movement. The quiet teenage girl on the autism spectrum becomes a world-famous activist.






The team behind Greta has been following Thunberg from her early school strike in Stockholm all the way to parliaments and massive international protests, documenting her mission to make the world understand the urgency of the climate crisis. According to sources, Hulu boarded the project awhile back and had been involved behind the scenes while deals were being made.



RELATED STORY
'The Daily Show With Trevor Noah' Tackles The Trump-Thunberg Twitter Battle

AP Images
Thunberg recently was named Person of the Year, the youngest individual to get the recognition. She became a household name in the U.S. during her tour of North America this past fall. She attended rallies, met with world leaders and spoke at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York City. Her UN speech, in which she criticized world leaders for their inaction on the climate crisis, got international attention, and her interactions with President Donald Trump went viral. She recently made another big splash on the international scene with her appearance at the COP25 Climate Change conference.

Donald Trump Attacks 16-Year-Old Greta Thunberg After She’s Named Time’s Person Of The Year, Prompting Her To Respond & #BeBest To Trend Worldwide

Thunberg has been getting messages of support from Michelle Obama and has been embraced by Hollywood, with celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Leonardo DiCaprio and Woody Harrelson among her army of fans. As her popularity continues to grow, Thunberg was featured in Saturday Night Live’s cold open this past weekend, portrayed by the show’s star Kate McKinnon.

The young activist has received numerous honors and awards, including a fellowship at the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, as well as a nomination for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.






The Thunberg documentary joins Hulu’s roster of original documentaries focused on culturally relevant stories about the human experience, including award-winning Minding The Gap, Ask Dr. Ruth and Hillary.

It's like these rich people are still worshipping her long after her popularity faded

 

[George Floyd Sneed]

Yeah, they're making a Greta documentary already

Greta Thunberg Documentary Set At Hulu, Chronicling Climate Activist’s Global Rise

EXCLUSIVE: Sixteen-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg is the subject of Greta (working title), an original documentary that will premiere on Hulu in 2020. The documentary is produced by Ceci…

deadline.com

It's like these rich people are still worshipping her long after her popularity faded

Reminds me of the Dalai Lama in the 90s: rich people fawned over him and Buddhism but despite shoving that down our throats for many years, it never took off with the proles and now he is considered a problematic turbo nazi. Greta will get discarded for the next craze that only an out of touch class of people will care about. The public already rejected her and she’s been forgotten now for about two months.

 

[Mola Ram]

Reminds me of the Dalai Lama in the 90s: rich people fawned over him and Buddhism but despite shoving that down our throats for many years, it never took off with the proles and now he is considered a problematic turbo nazi. Greta will get discarded for the next craze that only an out of touch class of people will care about. The public already rejected her and she’s been forgotten now for about two months.

Greta Thunberg is the newest Cindy Sheehan. For those of you who are blessed enough not to remember, Cindy Sheehan was a woman who lost a son in Iraq (or maybe Afghanistan; I forget) who became a big time antiwar activist. Having lost a son, she was accorded exactly the same level of "You cannot criticize this living saint!" as Greta gets for being a kid and mentally unwell. Fawning tributes, glowing coverage of her protests outside Bush's ranch, ridiculously obvious staged photos, the works. I remember one particularly egregious moment where a columnist recommended she be referred to as "Mother Sheehan," to give her an extra numinous aura.

This all went great until Obama was elected. Because Cindy Sheehan was a true believer, and did not understand that protesting Obama would not be countenanced. Within months of Obama's inauguration, every ounce of press coverage of her protests completely vanished, and she is now little remembered.

Eventually Greta will protest the wrong person, or go too far with her rhetoric ("put against the wall" came close), and she'll vanish too, having outlived her usefulness.

 

[AnOminous]

This all went great until Obama was elected. Because Cindy Sheehan was a true believer, and did not understand that protesting Obama would not be countenanced. Within months of Obama's inauguration, every ounce of press coverage of her protests completely vanished, and she is now little remembered.

It's a good example but Cindy Sheehan at least had some personal standing on the issue. She was what you call a "stakeholder." What does Greta have? Being an autistic cunt? Breathing air? Everyone does that. Being really upset about clickbait articles she read?

She has absolutely no basis for authority other than being some weird scrunchy faced goblin the media, for who knows what reason, felt it was a good idea to try to shove down our throats at every available opportunity, autistically screeching about the world not being to her liking.

 

[Mola Ram]

It's a good example but Cindy Sheehan at least had some personal standing on the issue. She was what you call a "stakeholder." What does Greta have? Being an autistic cunt? Breathing air? Everyone does that. Being really upset about clickbait articles she read?

She has absolutely no basis for authority other than being some weird scrunchy faced goblin the media, for who knows what reason, felt it was a good idea to try to shove down our throats at every available opportunity, autistically screeching about the world not being to her liking.

I think that's deliberate, though. Cindy Sheehan ultimately could not be controlled or managed because her activism came from a genuine place of grief and devotion to a cause. Greta is purely a creation of the media, which makes her strings much easier to pull.

 

[Freedom Fries]

OK, so I gotta come back to this train thing. I just don't get it. It comes off more as the post of an attention seeking teen than an intelligent actor with a team. Maybe that's what it was, but still that's a big slip and hugely missed opportunity. A better post that would actually help your cause would go something like, "These trains are amazing and can take so many people so comfortably while viewing the beautiful countryside all while being more efficient." FFS isn't the goal to make people use trains?

 

[ditto]

Yeah, they're making a Greta documentary already

"HOW DARE YOU! The Greta Thunberg Story"

 

[CWCissey]

FFS isn't the goal to make people use trains?

Oh you sweet summer child.

 

[X Prime]

FFS isn't the goal to make people use trains?

Did you miss how it was actually about systems of oppression, which is why no nuclear?

 

[Super-Chevy454]

Eventually Greta will protest the wrong person, or go too far with her rhetoric ("put against the wall" came close), and she'll vanish too, having outlived her usefulness.

I wonder if Chinese President Xi Jinping might be the wrong person in question?

 

[George Floyd Sneed]

I wonder if Chinese President Xi Jinping might be the wrong person in question?

She will never autistically screech at anyone who is not white.

 

[Tootsie Bear]

Yeah, they're making a Greta documentary already

Greta Thunberg Documentary Set At Hulu, Chronicling Climate Activist’s Global Rise

EXCLUSIVE: Sixteen-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg is the subject of Greta (working title), an original documentary that will premiere on Hulu in 2020. The documentary is produced by Ceci…

deadline.com

It's like these rich people are still worshipping her long after her popularity faded

It wouldn't surprise me if they ultimately put Greta in the history books in the near future.

 

[teriyakiburns]

it never took off with the proles and now he is considered a problematic turbo nazi.

I don't know about that, he had quite some penetration in the public conscious. The thing that sunk him was that the luvvies decided China was the greater good.

 

[Super-Chevy454]

She will never autistically screech at anyone who is not white.

I presume then Maduro isn't white enough for her to screech against him?

 

[Freedom Fries]

Did you miss how it was actually about systems of oppression, which is why no nuclear?

I assumed the project was about punishing/genociding whitey and getting rid of the last vestiges of capitalism the lower-middle class is hanging on to, but I sorta thought the autistic kid was actually worried about "climate change."

 

[Freddy Freaker]

I assumed the project was about punishing/genociding whitey and getting rid of the last vestiges of capitalism the lower-middle class is hanging on to, but I sorta thought the autistic kid was actually worried about "climate change."

She's definitely been brainwashed into a state of fear by her parents/the media. I don't think it's entirely an act but it was amazing. Typically when you bring up nuclear with greenies you get scaremongering about muh 3.8 roentgens and not a peep about advancements in the field since the 1970s/80s. Nobody expected Greta to suddenly bring up oppression and muh patriarchy.