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"?

malylis

Use google for various youth movements that have been on the go for years. It is simple, I'm sure that you have used it before.

As for things happening before greta.
Car only city centres
reduction in CFCs
reduction in polution
changes to refrigerants
increases in recycling.

Do I really need to go on or do you truly believe that none of this happened before greta?

As for sizes of protests etc. this is your bugbear not mine, mine is your lack of ability to provide objective proof when you demand others do so.

But not youth movements have coordinated such a large protest all at once with such sigjificsnt numbers on this issue.

Strawman, didn't claim none of that happened before Greta, I said she inspired a whole movement which you denied. This youth movement is inspired by her and there are millions who have been involved.

Use Google to find the size of the protests, In sure you have before.

Oh and yes there have been other things introduced in the past, what Greta and the scientific community are saying is that it is not enough, and waiting to implement more will leave it too late.

Gosh we had loads of protests in the 70s about this kind of thing. Youth protest over the environment is certainly not new.

Why do some people dislike her? Hard to say. I have never met her so cannot say if I would ike her or not. She is a bit too young to be a real expert. She encourages children not to attend school which is really awful of her. She is also being exploited in a sense by others in part due to her condition

For the record old white men love young teenage girls more than any other kind of people actually, not always for the right reasons!

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_strike_for_the_climate

Read up on how Greta inspired millions.

I also think she comes across as hysterical and misguided. I think it's about her rather than her gender and age.

malylis

But not youth movements have coordinated such a large protest all at once with such sigjificsnt numbers on this issue.

This wasn't my point. As I said this is your bugbear.

As for using Wikipedia, that bastion of factual analysis, again look up what the word fact actually means.

Malyis,

You are making the fundamental flaw of believing it is a decline in piracy that caused global warming and we thus need more pirates to prevent it.

Well, OK, not quite that one but something v similar! The fact that Greta came on the scene at about the same time as climate change was taken more seriously leads you to believe that the former caused the latter, a fundamental mistake of confusing correlation with causation and then claiming this proves your point.

None of us can prove why the political response has become more serious but I would postulate that it was the IPCC 1.5 degree report, released in December 2018, that was the primary factor. This report laid out, in simple language, the consequences of doing nothing. Surprisingly a good number of the authors were ‘pale, male and stale’.

Ah now attacking the source despite being able to provide accurate rebuttal. My original point was that Greta has inspired a whole movement.

There is plenty of evidence for that.

I'm not wasting anymore time with you.

Just another young, white woman who she grates on here. I've never been nasty about her on social media, I wouldn't be about anyone, but I can kind of see why others are - you don't seem to be able to go a day without hearing about her anymore.

Being adult is about learning to compromise.

That’s a great post Larry, and it’s the reason why I find it so hard to understand the Greta / youth protest adulation. I mean what exactly is so great about a bunch of young people yelling about stuff? Why do we all have to agree that it’s absolutely marvellous and aren’t they an inspiration?

Just because they’re young and enthusiastic doesn’t make them right. It’s easy to shout, wave flags, make outrageous demands and refuse to listen to alternative perspectives when you’ve never worked, paid taxes, struggled with making difficult decisions or crap relationships, tried to make your rubbish salary stretch to feed your family, etc etc ... and generally have a completely cushy life.

I don’t want to be lectured by an “inspirational” 16 year old, or “inspired” young people gluing themselves to trains, on anything, least of all anything related to policy. It boggles my mind that adults take it seriously, I mean these politicians know that the kind of policies Greta / XR advocate are completely bonkers. I’ve come to the conclusion that the only reason they’re doing it is that Greta represents Wokeness, so for the moment everyone needs to be seen to get on board. But hopefully this ridiculous movement will soon burn itself out.

malylis
*Ah now attacking the source despite being able to provide accurate rebuttal.

Wikipedia being put forward as an accurate factual source is comedy of the highest order.

My original point was that Greta has inspired a whole movement.
There is plenty of evidence for that.

Yet you have failed to provide any.

Wikipedia is a valid source, even academic institutions allow it to be cited now, you still haven't provided evidence for your own claims.

I have provided evidence. You have simply not at all

malylis

You have provided opinions, estimates and supposition.
You have confused wants and needs.
You have repeatedly stated that you want everyone else to be objective whilst you have been biased in all your accounts.
You have also changed the narrative several times to try and get your point across.

And you have several time insulted those that are still on the thread.

But very little in the way of fact checked evidence.

Ok, well let’s say malylis that she HAS inspired a movement of kids and their parents to take days off school, wave banners and shout demands in a way that they weren’t 2 years ago, say. I guess you could call that a movement, of sorts.

The next question is, so fucking what?

Creating a movement in and of itself is not worthy of praise - far from it, in fact. History is littered with examples of inspirational leaders and their willing followers, and movements that at best went nowhere, and at worse created total chaos.

What matters is what is actually achieved. Which policies have been changed since Greta started her global harangue? Have Primark’s sales dropped due to young people deciding that they no longer need bucketloads of cheap crap? Did fewer families decide they didn’t need a holiday in the sun this year? Are the streets of our towns any less full or parents carting their teenagers off to school or football practice? Did the Green Party increase its representation in Parliament during this election?

I’m suggesting that fuck all has changed in terms of behaviour because the vast majority of ordinary people rather like their lives as they are and see absolutely no reason to make changes. Which is as it should be. And that nothing Greta says or does will make much difference at all. And that a thriving economy and innovation will solve our problems - not masses of state legislation and limiting individual freedom.

You on several occasions have changed the question. I said she inspired a movement, she did. Even looking at the source I provided you can see that the first youth campaigns were not that well atrended and then we have large numbers from all over the globe.

You aren't being objective and are allowing your prejudices to effect your arguments.

What had actually changed ? Give it time its only been going a year. But as lots of people on this thread have said (and been ignored) their behavoir has changed.

Your point about a thriving economy is laughable. its the rush for growth that has brought us here.

Its also worth noting that the most successful ways of improving the environment come from government intervention, and are not market driven.

malylis

You seem to believe that she is the messiah and should be treated as such.

I believe that she is a young woman that anxiety, fear and MH problems and has been pushed/put forward by the media and environmental groups as a figure head to rant at various government figures.

And I suspect that the media will do what they normally do, which is raise her up high and rip her to shreds on the way down.

BoneyBackJefferson

I agree.

malylis

I think you come across a bit obsessed actually and not in a healthy way. Maybe take a step back from all things Greta and get a bit of perspective. You stated she started a whole new movement but now apparently she inspired a movement. Do you even know what you are talking about? How is her flying all over the place, lecturing people and wasting money put into her education that she is ignoring actually helping the planet? Like what specifically has she done personally, to make the world better. Or is she simply adding to everything and shouting at people (worse off than herself) to do more even when they can’t possibly do anymore or cause themselves and their family suffering, when she isn’t seeming to step back on anything herself. Why is she eating out of plastic containers while telling others not to etc. She’s a hypocrite and I think that gets on people’s nerves, I don’t like or dislike her really but she isn’t going about things the right way.

Except all I said was she inspired a whole movement, which is probable by looking at all the events that have gone on and the massive difference in numbers attending them.

You'll also note she doesn't fly all over the place.

The eating out of plastic thing is also an example of a tu quoque point. The people she aims her ire at are governments not ordinary people

On that note am gonna leave you ladies to it.

Never said she was the messiah (strawman fail).

Nice attacks on her again.

Not sure that a movement consisting of middle class kids standing around emoting and panicking about things they don't understand is particularly helpful but yeah I guess she's inspired that

malylis

Never said she was the messiah (strawman fail).

didn't say that you did, (comprehension fail)

Nice attacks on her again.

No attack on her at all, I have just repeated what she has said about her MH. and I think that she is being used.

The rest is just going in circles.

"You seem to believe that she is the messiah"

You did.

Who said the kids were panicking? Calling on governments for change is panicking?

malylis

You are correct in that you never said that she was the messiah, I said that you seem to think that she is.

can you spot the difference?

yes but i have never even implied anything like this.

Its a creation of your own in an attempt to dismiss my points.

Do you understand?