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.

 

[Alec Benson Leary]

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

Imagine a marketing machine so shallow that it puts an unaccomplished teenager not even old enough to legally drink in any country into its history books just because it needs to sell its message that badly, with no regard for the potential consequences of her going off the rails in the future because they can't be bothered to have a little patience and foresight.

What's next, will they give a Nobel prize to an elected president who hasn't even taken office yet just because he's black and then be embarrassed by his following 8 years of warmongering and eroding civil liberties?

 

[#zzz]

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

I was walking past a TV recently and they put her speech over one of those summary of the year montages. I wonder if some of the billionaires hire prostitutes to whip them and then gets Greta to come in and shout at what a horrible people they are so he can get off.

 

[Spiteful Crow]

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

Have you seen how the Chinese discipline their children?! Greta Isn't going anywhere near an entire country full of tiger mothers.

 

[bippu_as_fuck_ls400]

Yeah, that sounds like a kid who needs to put on the world stage.

 

[Super-Chevy454]

Timcast posted a new vlog on Bitchute about Greta and compared her to another has-been named David Hogg.

@Timcast

Political Groups Exploit Children Like Greta Thunberg And David Hogg Then Discard Them

www.bitchute.com

One commenter posted that image who gived me some chuckles.

 

[WonderWino]

Yeah, that sounds like a kid who needs to put on the world stage.

Jesus. When I watched the clip I could just smell the 'but moooooooommmmmm the environment is serious business!' oozing out of greta and she wasn't even in the clip

EDIT: Also this happened:

Greta Thunberg Changed Her Name to Sharon on Social Media

Greta Thunberg changed her name to Sharon on social media in response to a game show.

ca.news.yahoo.com

Totally serious news everybody

 

[Hatoful Dandy]

Jesus. When I watched the clip I could just smell the 'but moooooooommmmmm the environment is serious business!' oozing out of greta and she wasn't even in the clip

EDIT: Also this happened:

Greta Thunberg Changed Her Name to Sharon on Social Media

Greta Thunberg changed her name to Sharon on social media in response to a game show.

ca.news.yahoo.com

View attachment 1081988

Totally serious news everybody

I'm just mystified how this is trolling according to the article....

 

[LegoTugboat]

In important news, Greta turned 17 yesterday, and celebrated by protesting outside the Swedish parliament. As usual.

 

[Hatoful Dandy]

In important news, Greta turned 17 yesterday, and celebrated by protesting outside the Swedish parliament. As usual.

Seems to me her childhood isn't so much stolen as it was left outside with a sign that says "Free Childhood"...

 

[thismanlies]

Seems to me her childhood isn't so much stolen as it was left outside with a sign that says "Free Childhood"...

Her childhood was lured into the back of a van that said “free candy and fame.” Nobody has seen it since.

 

[Quantum Diabetes]

I imagine in a few years we'll see her in some drugged crazy naked fight like that YouTube chick did. Probably covered in 5 different guy's jizz to boot

 

[Spiteful Crow]

In important news, Greta turned 17 yesterday, and celebrated by protesting outside the Swedish parliament. As usual.

That poor woman. Did she even realize that it was her birthday?

She's going to give her entire life to the revolution and in doing so she will become a shell of a human. I put a lot of stock in the image of an inspirational figure from a humble background rising to greatness and electrifying the masses with their energy. Greta was never really going to be that.

 

[ditto]

It's all groundwork for her to run for Swedish parliament when she turns 18 next year.

 

[Super-Chevy454]

It's all groundwork for her to run for Swedish parliament when she turns 18 next year.

That's if, and it's a big "if", Greta don't become an has been like David Hogg as I mentionned in a previous message.

 

[Stoneheart]

I put a lot of stock in the image of an inspirational figure from a humble background rising to greatness and electrifying the masses with their energy.

Cant you guys stop talking about hitler for 5 mins?

 

[CWCissey]

Greta Thunberg changes Twitter name to 'Sharon'

It was a playful nod to actor Amanda Henderson, whose answer to a game show question went viral.

www.bbc.co.uk

Greta's handlers are getting desperate.

 

[Local Coyote]

Greta Thunberg changes Twitter name to 'Sharon'

It was a playful nod to actor Amanda Henderson, whose answer to a game show question went viral.

www.bbc.co.uk

Greta's handlers are getting desperate.

Is it a slow news day when outlets report on Twitter name changes? Or did they run out of things to blame Orange Man for?

She will absolutely go the way of David Hogg. Forgotten and screaming to no one on social media. They both have that same smug entitlement but while David went through something genuinely terrible and traumatic, Greta has no excuse to be a brat.

 

[Freddy Freaker]

It's all groundwork for her to run for Swedish parliament when she turns 18 next year.

Can't wait for gretta to turn into Swedish Brianna Wu. Does that include chopping her tits off? You decide!

 

[Crystal Golem]

Greta Thunberg changes Twitter name to 'Sharon'

It was a playful nod to actor Amanda Henderson, whose answer to a game show question went viral.

www.bbc.co.uk

Greta's handlers are getting desperate.

"OH HAIIIIILLL NO! Dis bitch gonna pretend she don't know who I is?"

Breaking news everyone a woman is being passive aggressive. You know Greta's handlers really missed a lot of opportunities to make her seem even the least bit likeable. Even a few years ago if this had happened on some gameshow we would have gotten "This gameshow contestant didn't know who PeePee Langstarden was so PeePee showed up at her house on a hoverboard!" all over the front page of reddit with accompanying photoset. Search results for PeePee and hoverboards spiking through the roof and some benefit being delievered to the AstroTurfed campaign. Now either because of her handlers strategy or Greta being just that unlikable that's not possible.

 

[Martys_not_smarty]

If only this guy was still alive:

Best case scenario Greta does what Tony did, put a gun to her head to end the suffering.