AIBU Greta Thunberg?

[onalongsabbatical]

AIBU to ask everyone who can to get behind Greta Thunberg, even if only online, as she's now getting a lot a lot a lot of hate. She clearly threatens people - especially her polar opposites, men, rich old men, powerful men (did I mention men?). Let's all give her the lurve and support she needs.
So on FB I challenged one just now - Why are you attacking a young woman? - and he disappeared. Funny, that.

Great so they’re talking about it and then segue into what they can do differently

would you prefer this exposure didn’t exist

I would rather that there was a sensible and measured discussion which didn’t result in parents thinking that it is appropriate to encourage children to take time off school and/or make themselves ill with anxiety over this issue. Describing this as an “appropriate response”, as one PP did, to my mind totally abdicates the adult responsibility in the situation.

Forgive my cynicism, but I don’t think that expecting governments to change the climate is a particularly sensible idea. It is one of the weirdest things about the modern environmental movement: large numbers of people have been convinced to actively campaign to ask the government to raise their taxes and limit their freedoms. I find it bizarre.

Not only that, but governments regularly get things wrong. Government recommendations got us all buying diesel a few years ago. That didn’t work out so well, did it?

Jilly and where does this measured and sensible discussion take place and who sees it? The next generation who can learn from it, talk about it and think about changes?

No one will make these changes unless there’s mass exposure, pressure and talk

Humans are too selfish, short sighted and mean - as you can see on here.

Great so they’re talking about it and then segue into what they can do differently

Yes i missed a trick there. Might have to have a chat about me not having to go through the kitchen bin pulling out all the cardboard and tins!

Now all parents like Trewser have to do is give a nudge rather than climb a hill of indifference to the topic.

Yes she’s brilliant why don’t we think about stuff we can do here at home.

Do it you’ve got a window of op ;

Yes will do!

The sight of Michael Gove fawning over her was enough to put me off.

i agree a figurehead, especially a charismatic one will generate publicity. But publicity is no substitute for education and reasoned argument. And if the figurehead begins to overshadow the message then you're handing a weapon to the opposition because all they have to do is find a way to bring down the individual in order to discredit the message. And that's leaving aside what then happens to the individual, especially when they're a child.

I have a deeply ingrained suspicion of anything that smacks of a cult, and posts that draw an analogy with Jesus do little to allay those feelings. If this makes me a nay-sayer in some eyes then crack on.

Why can’t there be ‘reasoned and measured discussion’ elsewhere prompted in part by mass awareness?

No one will make these changes unless there’s mass exposure, pressure and talk

Ok Marsha, I’ll bite. Which changes exactly would you like to be implemented that are above and beyond what’s already being done? Please be precise.

No

I question whether what we're seeing is mass awareness. Mass publicity yes, but I'm not convinced there has been a rise in understanding. In fact I'm pretty sure it's not happening as the message is not a unpalatable one.

no I don't ever watch the news or read papers. I realise how bad that sounds. I get a lit of my information from twitter

Says it all really.

There’s something though

Trewser is going to chat with her teens about changes off the back of the exposure

More could do that instead of using the energy to moan about Greta

Soz another typo: I'm pretty sure it's not happening as the message is not a palatable one.

You’re all saying there’s a problem when you are the problem

Change your mindset have a chat with someone more engaged and interested and use it

Honestly, if Jesus had his Second Coming and starting preaching people and love and setting up anti-war protests, half the posters on here would be asking if anyone has checked his immigration status and whether he bought his robe from Primark.

Greta is doing this because it needs to be done and no-one else is, it's astonising how uncomfortable that makes some people. She must be doing it because shes enjoying the publicity, shes a figurehead, shes a shill for some other ulterior motive. Is the idea that she could be doing it because she refuses to do what we've all been trained to do and ignore the mass of scientific evidence that we are polluting ourselves into destroying the ecosystem we live in as a species really that unthinkable?

Yes shes young, yes she isnt the second coming, she could be anyone, and thats the point. She could be anyone, but shes the only one of all those possible anyones recently who has even chipped a bit off the corporate monolith of "ignore all the evidence, keep buying that plastic!".
Its all just "let she who is without pollution cast the first stone".

How funny to think that people see GT as a media invention. If anything the mainstream/right wing media avoid mentioning her, the strikes or anything about climate change. As shown by pps how say they have never heard about any strikes.

Pick up any Rupert Murdoch mouthpiece newspaper here in Australia and you will not read a word about climate change.

Greta is doing this because it needs to be done and no-one else is, it's astonising how uncomfortable that makes some people. [They think] she must be doing it because shes enjoying the publicity, shes a figurehead, shes a shill for some other ulterior motive.

Exactly stormtreader. But the people against her, ie, big business, big coal/fossil fuel, well they couldn't possibly have an ulterior motive could they? Obviously they just care about humanity and science.

I've been living a fairly eco life for years and so has dh. We recycle, save energy, walk everywhere and are suspicious of comsumption. Mend things, reuse things, budget etc. Just your bog standard liberal old farts, constantly nagging dcs to be the same. I can't get too excited about GT but I'm not sure I'm her demographic! Its irritating that my dcs dont listen to me! I wish she'd come out with some practical things teens could do, anti consumerism, put a bloody jumper on instead of the heating etc

I’m sure you can link the two T I have faith you can

I would rather that there was a sensible and measured discussion which didn’t result in parents thinking that it is appropriate to encourage children to take time off school and/or make themselves ill with anxiety over this issue

Once again you're in danger of bringing common sense into it, Jilly, but unfortunately common sense isn't as much fun as a nice day out at a sunny demo, with a goody to clap and a baddie to hiss. The frenzy being whipped up can sometimes cloud rational discussion in silly noise and fury and claims about only having (insert chosen timescale) to save the planet ... a bit confusing, too, when some then tell us the planet's not going anywhere, which maybe underlines the incoherence of the message

And in the posts about Greta's initial exposure I'm surprised nobody mentioned that her mum at least is a pretty avid environmentalist. I believe she even got some sort of award for it, so isn't it possible she knew which buttons to press to get her daughter "out there"?

As I said
70 percent will be like you Puzzled bitching and actively discouraging others
20 will be like Trewser and use their nous and make some changes
A few will do something better

I suppose you can tick off being part of the 70 making it worse.