Why do old white men hate Greta Thunberg so much?

[MotherOfDragonite]

My 65 year old uncle and friends of a similar age (and also white, though not necessarily all British -- others are American, German and Australian) seem to talk about her an awful lot with great vitriol and hatred.

They seem to have shared views about climate change, but I still can't understand why they hate Greta so much. Not only do they comment on her, but they post unpleasant memes about her. While I understand that they fundamentally disagree with the concept of climate change, I don't really understand why a 16 year old girl with Aspergers, who does not live in the UK and who clearly has good intentions even if they disagree with them, is the focus of so much of their ire.

What is it about Greta that older men find so very "triggering"?

I don't get the amount of vitriol either, and she is getting a message across, but I can understand how she irritates people. I'm in eaglejulesk's group. All the focus on the youth of today being our saviours annoys the hell out of me personally - when I was that age I was expected to put up and shut up and listen to my betters the elders, and now I'm middle aged and grumpy I'm being told to - put up, shut up, and listen to my betters the youth .

GT needs to channel her energy towards lobbying Industry in a more targeted way because it is Industry and governments who encourage production at all costs to boost their economy, that are truly at fault. If industry stop with the excessive packaging, use of non-sustainable materials, and poor waste-management and really become the source of ecological solutions, then populations will likewise change their own perceptions and habits.

There are currently too many mixed messages, inconsistencies and contradictions at play

1. Shop assistants STILL insist on asking me "do you want a carrier bag" to advertise their brand even though I visibly carry my large hessian bag

1. Costa and Starbucks STILL supplying disposable cups and cakes wrapped in plastic film. Stop it! The bins next to their shops are always overflowing with waste. Waitrose withdrew disposable cups 18 months ago, people have to bring their own cup if they want a hot drink. M&S only do paper bags for produce, Waitrose only do recompostable bags for produce. Other supermarkets need to move now, not next year!

1. FO Amazon!! you're hateful, you don't pay tax, you treat your merchants like sh*t and you don't believe in Workers Rights - Prime is having a massive impact on the "instant gratification" addiction and causing pollution and fossil fuel depletion.

If GT can stop wagging her "How Dare You" finger at the average person on the street, and target her ire at the big Corporates, it would make a lot more difference a lot more effectively. And stop guilt tripping us "I should be at school over the other side of the ocean" yeah OK go for it, who's stopping you!

@daisychain01 all good points, but industry won’t do this unless they’re forced to .....by governments. Hence why she’s aiming her message at world leaders.

I’m unsure why people take her passion so personally

Her passion would be brilliant in a school assembly.

In the real world, leaders need to balance the demands of people wanting to optimise their current life versus investment in a future that they won’t be alive to see. They need to do-ordinate the legislature, appoint talented scientific leaders to spearhead the technical work and convince the public to back this and pay higher taxes to make this happen as well as moderate their driving and holidays.

All of the above is really, really hard; shouting demands is really, really easy!! Hence..,,-annoying..,,

@larrygrylls you can’t be so obtuse to not understand that there isn’t time!!! Massive change needs to be made NOW.

The time frame is highly debatable and, in the UK, at least, we are going as fast as we can.

What change would you suggest and how would it be done?

It is you whom I believe to be obtuse...

The time frame is highly debatable and, in the UK, at least, we are going as fast as we can.

This ^ & and saying such, more often than not will get you branded a "hater".

@larrygrylls leading scientists have been clear on the timeframe

There needs to be a coordinated effort among all governments to cut meat production, increase use of non fossil fuels etc...If you don’t know this educate yourself

I'm frustrated with her and her supporters, it's fine to preach, but only if you practice what you preach.

I was in a major European city recently where there was a climate change demonstration by lots of young people, fantastic that they are engaged, but so many of them don't actually know what they are engaging in. This was a city where there are water fountains across the city of fantastic drinking water, yet every other child had a disposable water bottle, that they were duly disposing of in bins. If they can't get the basic right how are they expecting anyone to listen and respect them and their demands, they demand change but don't seem to want to contribute to that change.

Strongmummy

Some of the leading scientists, not all of the leading scientists as some are still arguing about timeframes.

Strong,

Your condescending language is becoming tiresome and your ridiculous prescription is completely unachievable.

Let’s start with your assertion that leading climates have been clear on the time frame. If you look at IPCC 1.5%, it comes with very significant error bars. The median may be clear but the variance is huge.

Meat production is a highly debatable contributor to climate change as it is assumed that the farms would revert to wild nature, rather than being built over, in which case cutting meat production would actually be a negative. In addition, do you want to tell the Chinese, who have only just been able to afford to eat meat on a large scale to ‘cut meat production’.

We are increasing non fossil fuels as fast as reasonably possible. The limiting factors are global production capacity for wind turbines and battery technology (for when the wind does not blow. However, the change is coming (and reasonably fast) in the UK.

Maybe you should educate yourself....

In addition, do you want to tell the Chinese, who have only just been able to afford to eat meat on a large scale to ‘cut meat production’

This is the biggest challenge, countries like China and India see UK and "The West" as having benefitted from their Industrial Revolution generations ago - they now want their piece of the action.

No matter how committed the UK is, when you look at the size of us (postage stamp of an island) and then look at the size of those countries, you realise how futile it all is. GT is going to need to spend her life, plus the lived of her children and grandchildren hammering home any sort of cohesive global message, for it to make any difference. Rather too depressing for Christmas Eve

What @WhereverIMayRoam said, in a nutshell.

Thing is with applied research, suitable governmental pressure on industry and the realization that current global captilism needs reform there is no reason why India and China cannot benefit by skipping the dirtiest parts of industrialization.

But there has to be the will - and playing nice hasn't worked. We can engage our elected representatives - I have a couple of letters in the pipeline I could convert to form letters if anyone is interested.

Well, I like her and I don’t doubt her sincerity. Why does everyone assume someone is controlling her

Because at nearly 17 why is she dressed like a 11 year old.

It comes across as trying to push her image as a young child.
Her speeches saying she should be in school when at the age she is a lot of 16/17 year olds are actually in work

A few are married and some have children themselves.

The look at me I am a little school girl image is quite strange

She's a Swedish girl with Asperger's, oliver. Different culture, different fashions, and she may very well be far more interested in the way clothes feel, or their environmental footprint in production, than fashion, in any case.

I think it's a broadbrush claim to say 16 and 17 year olds are in work. She would most likely be at upper secondary school in Sweden (for ages 15-18) if circumstances were otherwise, and she would most likely be at college or sixth-form in England, as the leaving age was increased to 18 by the Education and Skills Act 2008. She definitely wouldn't be married there.

(TBH with you, if I ran into a married 16 year old with a child, I wouldn't be thinking, "good on you for not being at school". I think I would be thinking "you should be at school".)

she may very well be far more interested in the way clothes feel, or their environmental footprint in production, than fashion, in any case

Or she is deliberately being styled to look like a young child.

Both my dd and Ds finished full time education at 16.

I finished f/t education by 16 and had moved in with Dp soon after.

Your daughter and son aren't contempories of Greta, and nor are you.

We may as well observe that the school leaving age used to be 12 in the UK. These days, 12-year-olds aren't working in the UK, except illegally.

Ds is 17 and dd is 19

I'm not a fan
I think there a big machine pr team behind her now and it's creating a young child image, down to the pigtails. A style mostly warn by kids under 9.

I won't take instructions on how I MUST live from someone with no life experience. Has she been homeless? I mean would she deny herself food or shelter if she had NO OTHER CHOICE but to pick the plastic wrapped, non organic meal or the old petrol guzzling car as her only home and protection from the weather?
Has she managed a house as a single, in a share house, a family?
Has she come to her last few dollars asking herself do I buy a bit of cheap food or a bus ticket. Do I pay rent or electricity this week.
How can she judge and demand of people when she has no idea on what it takes or the issues some face. Or is she deliberately forgetting that side of things.
People won't back her cause if it will see them worse off than they already are. People won't vote for politicians who support her if it leaves them worse off. Pretty simple

And I honestly find myself saying "dude, take a chill pill, act your age and have some damn fun" she comes of as bitter and spiteful.

I think her aspergers is being used as a tool to garner sympathy. If it was never spoken about, I'd have never known she had it, why do I need to know her medical history, she is a child.

Oliversmumsarmy

Okay, fair enough. I stand corrected.

squeekums - you definitely have a point.

Because I have a similar dilemma.
I care very much for the environment... and I think Greata has a valid point- climate change is real and happening.
But, I have a 45 - 60 minute commute to work every day. I drive an older diesel car. My car actually does more mpg than the more modern petrol car my DH drives.
I'd love to buy an electric car, but simply can't afford one.

There is no decent public transport... it's a 2 hour commute one way on a (diesel engine) bus, several changes.
I live in a "poor" area and jobs above nmw hard to get. So finding a similar job closer to home is impossible- I have tried.

I could move, but than DH would commute...
If i don't work, we simply wouldn't have a roof over our heads... I think there are millions of people trapped in this catch 22 situation.
Things need to change, but it has to be gradual with affordable technology. Politics can make it happen, but it wouldn't be very popular...

Hello ad hominem attacks - Greta dresses for comfort and utility - that's apparently a crime. I guess that means I am an unfit 40-something STEM scientist since I apparently dress like a 12 year old boy...

She's a dickhead.

JohnMcCainsDeathStare

Hello ad hominem attacks

Or a POV that you don't agree with

- Greta dresses for comfort and utility -

Another opinion.

that's apparently a crime.

Where has anyone other than you said this?