The socially acceptable hatred towards Greta Thunberg et al

[TeacakesFTW]

I’m not a fan of Greta per se (different generation and so on), but I hate the way that’s she treated.

It seems perfectly okay, applauded even, to mock her appearance, autism, advocacy, and anything else really. Why? Because she’s a young woman fighting for climate change?

Can anyone whack out their psychology/ sociology armchair and explain why so many people dislike her and why it’s socially acceptable to do so? I’d really like to hear some wise feminist thoughts on this.

I don’t pretend to be wise but she can present as rather smug and dictatorial.

Many people, especially those significantly older than her with a far wider range of life experience, don’t appreciate being lectured even when they agree that climate change needs urgent action.

You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

It started with flat earthers. Who areostly middle aged men, and as we know they're so tolerant of females.
She's an easy target - not that she should be - being female, young and autistic - in their eyes, odd.
I don't necessarily agree with everything she does or has done but I completely admire her drive and urgency with climate change.

Female, and young. And fundamentally anyone talking about climate change is obviously setting themselves against the entire overarching machinery of worldwide capitalism.
So without meaning to sound like a mad conspiracy theorist, when someone is successful at getting themselves heard whilst going against the grain of capitalist society, there is going to be a lot of kickback.
As an environmentalist, I wasn't convinced of the wisdom of involving herself in the Gaza situation simply because it gives more people more 'reason' to criticise her and therefore her environmentalism.
But she would be criticised whatever she did now because like so many women with a view that is critical of the society we live in, she is considered silly/ignorant etc.

A woman in the public eye who doesn’t conform to ‘proper’ feminine standards of behaviour and grooming is going to get attacked even without all the other stuff. Doesn’t she understand she’s supposed to show proper deference to the patriarchy??

I think this is an instance of what the media builds up it loves to tear down.

To put it crudely the mainstream zoomed in on her because she was a "bit different".

They didn't care about her politics.

Then after that huge increase in demos where every so caring parents sort of pimped out their children to make lots of being green is the best thing in the world, the media got bored with them and all the tears. (And no doubt hated the fact that their own children thought they should be important too.)

I haven't seen any criticism of her in terms of how she looks etc., but as she herself has said her career is to be a campaigner.

And no doubt she is sincere of each campaign she attaches herself to.

But in reality because she has no actual back ground other than her parents let her spend her days sitting out side her country's parliament, she doesn't have anything to contribute.

And in fact, by being a "professional" flag waver of causes' I suspect many dont listen to her any more. And doesn't help the cause because they all just sort of blur together.

I can remember threads on FWR at the time she became known that in fact her parents in trying to make herself feel better about herself, would in the long run have not helped her deal with reality.

I just find her really sad.

(edited)

Tell that to the Suffragists.

Misogyny.

The problem is she preaches and is clearly a bit of a twat. The fact that she's female and on the spectrum really makes me want to like her but I just don't and honestly her message comes across very very badly and has the opposite effect to her aim.

I think she's quite hypocritical because she jets around the world yet professes to think we should act on climate change immediately. Not flying is what people who are truly genuine do.

It's all a bit 'rules for thee but not for me'.

Agree with PP that said it wasn't a wise move for her parents to let her become a media entity.

But obviously I don't 'hate' her. I just disagree with her. It's not the same thing. Any woman or girl in the public eye will have some random misogynists posting truly vile things about them. So going back to her parents and why they allowed this to happen......

Tell that to the women on here 😂

She pisses iff people because she is outspoken and it’s about climate change which makes people feel bad.

no one like being told their behaviour needs to change especially when it’s an inconvenience.

not sure why people say she “jets” about when she famously doesnt fly

I’m suspicious of any minor sent to make presentations to politicians - it reminds me of the trans kids phenomenon, adults won’t dare have a robust debate with a child who is perceived as vulnerable.

Puts me in mind of the kids who got women killed by accusing them of witchcraft

That GT’s main campaigning interest has pivoted elsewhere now that she’s an adult undermines any past authenticity for me.

Agree, coupled with the expectation that being female I must like her and agree with her.

It really, really fucks me off.

This is a girl who has dedicated her entire life to a cause she feels passionate about. She has risked her life to make a difference. She has been arrested, detained by Israel and in general faced huge risks that people triple her age would never take to stand by their morals.

She’s hated because she makes people feel bad about their own morals. I doubt she’d be called smug if she were a man!

I think she spent a lot of time saying ‘this is a problem you should solve it’ Great, she has a point, but now she’s just running around ‘campaigning’, and she’s not willing to do any of the hard work to actually find solutions. The fact that she’s off campaigning about Gaza rather than give that time and attention to the issue she says is the most important thing ever is a bit 🙄 to me.

But then, I really hate that the climate message has been overtaken by a whole range of other campaign issues (see the Green Party etc) It does rather dilute their message and suggest that climate issues aren’t that much of an issue after all….. meanwhile, average temperatures are still climbing….

I don’t hate Greta, but I don’t have much respect for her either

I wasn’t aware that I was supposed to support all women/females, no matter what.
I dislike like her and I have been living a green lifestyle for years, I don’t fly, the bloody bus(hours of my life I will never get back).
I only drive to work as the bus would take 2 hours each way (work from home half the week). I will listen to her when she gets some qualification and does a 12 hour shift at work. Or any work really.

Gaza is a climate change issue what do you think such massive amount of bombs is doing to the climate?

currently she is attempting to open a humanitarian corridor to deliver aid. Someone who cares enough about the planet to be an activist for it is highly likely to be moved to do something about an active genocide. People can care about more than one thing.

There is another aspect to it which is the white saviour complex.

Many many well established campaigners and much more deep rooted green campaigners see her as not that helpful let alone supportive of the issue in terms of the Global South.

ie that someone who is basically a personality gets so much media coverage when those actually doing real work, engaging at ground level are just ignored and past over.

For instance Wangari Maathai who as a campaigner not only engaged and inspired at grassroots level, and through her reputation later moved in to politics. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2004/maathai/biographical/ And she has left a legacy.

Getting a headline on a tv news segment or newspaper article is not creating a sustainable change. It implies that getting politicians to listen to you will bring about change, when for them it is just another sound bite.

If she was a young lad, and equally as irritating, he’d get the same response.

At a guess it's because she's young, a bit odd and not conventionally attractive.

currently she is attempting to open a humanitarian corridor to deliver aid. Someone who cares enough about the planet to be an activist for it is highly likely to be moved to do something about an active genocide. People can care about more than one thing.

This is just so stupid and nothing more than posture politics.

Do you really think that the Israelis who have illegally (according to maritime law) been blockading the shore line off Gaza for decades suddenly change their minds.

Do you think they will go, oh look at all those sweet little look at me westerners, will suddenly say, of course we should never have stopped Gazans from trading by sea or fishing.

If they really want that blockade to end they should be focusing on Trump. Although seems he doesn't have much influence

Not only is it puerile but allows the media to do stories about these daring campaigners and not report on what is actually happening.

I haven't heard her mention the environment since she got bitten by the Omnicause bug. She doesn't have anything to offer any cause, she's just an influencer and a lot of the criticism directed at her is about her actions not her autism.

I think the dislike is partly down to the fact that many people don't think we're in a climate emergency, and many people support Israel, therefore their starting point is that they disagree with her.

Secondly there is the perception, especially from people who don't think we're in a climate emergency and who support Israel, that there is a "liberal elite" pushing their agenda (TQ+, Gaza, green etc) down everyone's throats, and people don't like being force fed, and they certainly don't like being force fed things they don't want at all. Thunberg is a perfect poster "child" for a patronizing, deaf liberal elite that are hypocrites and do not listen to "ordinary people".

I would not at all be surprised if she gets more grief due to autism and being a young woman, but the hatred is down to her beliefs, the way she pushes them and the fact that she is yet another person pushing those beliefs in a very annoying way (if she was the only one she might be tolerated more as a one off).

Climate change? On the boat to Gaza? That isn’t climate change. She was respected initially with the climate change stuff. I think part of it is that - changing between causes.

When people don’t like Meghan Markle, they are called racist. Now when people don’t like Greta, they are misogynist, apparently. No. The problem is the behaviour.