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Original poster

More isolation tactics – or am I imagining it?

57 replies

Righthandcider · 13/03/2023 12:37

This might not seem like a subject for FWR but bear with.

Yesterday my 12-year-old said, “I’m really interested in fighting climate change.” So I asked her about it. The first thing out of her mouth was, “Well, your generation has completely ruined the planet and my generation’s future.”
This kicked off a long conversation about over-simplification, the appeal of feeling like you’re part of a group with a common enemy, etc.

(I also pointed out how often we ask her not to leave lights on all over the house, or say no, we’re not putting the heating on in the whole house just so that you can have a warm towel, etc.)

The way she phrased it has really stayed with me. It’s so obviously a message she’s been fed via friends / SM – and it’s clearly intended to turn kids against their parents. It doesn’t seem like a stretch that this messaging isn’t really coming from groups interested in addressing climate change, so much as groups interested in driving a wedge between parents and children.

Am I paranoid?

OP posts:
YetAnotherSpartacus · 13/03/2023 14:08

I do think young versus old has become a new frontier for hostility and division; with the older generation being positioned as 'privileged' and the younger generation 'dispossessed'.

A bit like in the sixties, yeah?

Flossiemoss · 13/03/2023 13:54

Think we all said similar when we were young.
I distinctly remembering saying something about recycling circa 1988 to be rubbished by dm. ( who now recycles) animal rights and cnd were also very active annoying the older generations.(rightly)

younger generations are historically supposed to rebel and teenage years are the start of heightened political awareness. Although I’m not sure millennials did a lot of rebelling…

MrsOvertonsWindow · 13/03/2023 13:51

I understand your point Righthandcider but isn't it the way of the world for young people to challenge their elders, to see them as problematic and out of date? I do agree that there are groups weaponising this. I think we tackle this by adults retaining their authority, ensure that the young are listened to and their views respected without abandoning all critical thinking in the face of evidently naive / irresponsible / demands.

Original poster
Righthandcider · 13/03/2023 13:48

"Your parents have ruined the planet and your future" being a natural preliminary to "come and find your real family".

OP posts:
Original poster
Righthandcider · 13/03/2023 13:44

Thanks both. I don't think I was clear in the OP.

What I'm really saying is that the exact wording made it seem like deliberate messaging, not from environmental groups but from other movements who see a piggybacking opportunity: a way "in" to start presenting parents as the enemy, for other nefarious reasons.

OP posts:
NotHavingIt · 13/03/2023 13:21

I do think young versus old has become a new frontier for hostility and division; with the older generation being positioned as 'privileged' and the younger generation 'dispossessed'. Youth has become lionised to the extent that ever younger people are becoming spokespeople on major issues ( Greta Thunberg, for example), and local councillors and MPs are getting ever younger. Mhari Black was 19 when she was elected to parliament.

I'm not buying it, myself - but there is significant energy behind it. I was in the Body Shop earlier and they had a screen behind the counter relaying information about the fact that 50+ % of the world's population is now supposedly under 30, and yet the average age of national leaders is 60+ - suggesting that we need more younger people in positions of power or influence.

PauliString · 13/03/2023 13:06

My answer does tend to be along the lines of 'That's great. Do you think you'll go into the technological side and look at greener fuels, or the research end of atmospheric chemistry? Or are you more thinking about helping with adaptations to climate, or economic measures to help people switch away from oil?'

Assume she wants to work on the problem, not just rant. Take it from there.

No point in having a philosophical argument when she could actually form part of the solution (though the general measure is 'warming since pre-industrial times', so unless you are over 150 years old, it's a bit much to blame it all on your generation).

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