[LaLaLand]

What’s your opinion on her stance as an “activist”?

I see people are mostly divided on her across social media, some are calling her a saviour whereas others are saying she’s basically an attention seeker or being used to push an agenda.

I wondered what you guys thought of the work she’s been doing lately. She’s definitely made a huge impact!

Personal attacks on her (as seen across various media platforms recently) are not welcome! I’m talking about her current stance and buzz as an activist. Let’s keep this nice and mature. Thanks guys.

[Oliver_W]

Originally Posted by LaLaLand

I see people are mostly divided on her across social media, some are calling her a saviour whereas others are saying she’s basically an attention seeker.

Somewhere in the middle.

One of my only strong political convictions is protecting the environment and keeping our green spaces, and my fellow travellers on that issue are mostly "exceptional individuals" who block roads and planes, and give me collective embarrassment. So to see someone who's actually addressing the issues in a serious and constructive way is great.

I don't really understand how she gets some people riled up.

[bitontheslide]

i think the fact that so many people have resorted to bullying tactics toward her means that she has been effective in what she set out to achieve. If her message were not getting across, people would just ignore her.

If someone has a valid point to make, it doesn't matter what age they are, what background they come from. You always know when people resort to personal attacks, they have lost the argument

[Alf]

Currently suffering from child abuse at the hands of her parents. Maybe not physically, but she's most certainly being used.

[Alf]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i think the fact that so many people have resorted to bullying tactics toward her means that she has been effective in what she set out to achieve. If her message were not getting across, people would just ignore her.

If someone has a valid point to make, it doesn't matter what age they are, what background they come from. You always know when people resort to personal attacks, they have lost the argument

She's 16 not 6.

You can't just call people bullies because they disagree with somebody politically.

But it does prove my point that she's being used, used to push other people's message, with the get out clause that any criticism can be brushed away by turning it on the critic, using the child excuse.

Dirty, dirty tactics.

[bitontheslide]

Originally Posted by Alf

She's 16 not 6.

You can't just call people bullies because they disagree with somebody politically.

But it does prove my point that she's being used, used to push other people's message, with the get out clause that any criticism can be brushed away by turning it on the critic, using the child excuse.

Dirty, dirty tactics.

and you have just proven the point about losing the argument. Lets not deal with the topic she is discussing, lets get personal.

[Ammi]

...(..so sorry...)...I’m really not entirely comfortable with this, with so much online bullying and how it impacts on people...she’s a child...opinions on her thoughts and words as an activist is one thing...but personal opinions about a child...?...

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i think the fact that so many people have resorted to bullying tactics toward her means that she has been effective in what she set out to achieve. If her message were not getting across, people would just ignore her.

If someone has a valid point to make, it doesn't matter what age they are, what background they come from. You always know when people resort to personal attacks, they have lost the argument

I agree with this, you know when you have hit the nail on the head when people get riled up .

[Alf]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

and you have just proven the point about losing the argument. Lets not deal with the topic she is discussing, lets get personal.

I spent most of yesterday on this forum talking about the topic. Go into the thread and debate me on it if you want.

[bitontheslide]

Originally Posted by Alf

I spent most of yesterday on this forum talking about the topic. Go into the thread and debate me on it if you want.

i read what you had to say. How about you provide some scientific verified facts that disprove her arguments rather than try and personally attack her.

[Alf]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i read what you had to say. How about you provide some scientific verified facts that disprove her arguments rather than try and personally attack her.

How about she provides proof, instead of crying and telling people how bad they are?

[bitontheslide]

Originally Posted by Alf

How about she provides proof, instead of crying and telling people how bad they are?

you just can't help yourself can you

[Alf]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i read what you had to say. How about you provide some scientific verified facts that disprove her arguments rather than try and personally attack her.

And I'm not attacking her, I'm the only one in this thread who seems concerned about her, I'm the one who's trying to bring to light that she's being used and abused by all this.

[Alf]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

you just can't help yourself can you

No, I won't bite my tongue, because I'm not a coward.

[AnnieK]

Originally Posted by Alf

No, I won't bite my tongue, because I'm not a coward.

Surely that's what she's doing.though? Not biting her tongue.you can see she genuinely believes what she is saying. I think she's pretty inspiring for the younger generation, her biggest critics seemed to be older climate change cynics.

Anything that creates positive change in the environment can surely only be a good thing.

[Alf]

Originally Posted by AnnieK

Surely that's what she's doing.though? Not biting her tongue.you can see she genuinely believes what she is saying. I think she's pretty inspiring for the younger generation, her biggest critics seemed to be older climate change cynics.

Anything that creates positive change in the environment can surely only be a good thing.

She's being used to do it on behalf of adults, who want this political message pushing.

[LaLaLand]

Originally Posted by Ammi

...(..so sorry...)...I’m really not entirely comfortable with this, with so much online bullying and how it impacts on people...she’s a child...opinions on her thoughts and words as an activist is one thing...but personal opinions about a child...?...

That’s what I mean Ammi, opinions on her “work” and as a public figure and the impact she’s having as she’s such a polarising figure. Nothing personal intended at all, or at least I’d HOPE.

Hope that clarifies.

Let’s leave anything personal towards her out of this please guys and just stick to your thoughts on “HER IMPACT”!

[Alf]

Would you put your child on a World stage to push a Political message that you know is gonna get challenged.

Would you?

[Alf]

It's child abuse plain and simple. And if you're gonna go around calling people bullies for be critical, then I'm gonna call you child abuse supporters.

[LaLaLand]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

i think the fact that so many people have resorted to bullying tactics toward her means that she has been effective in what she set out to achieve. If her message were not getting across, people would just ignore her.

If someone has a valid point to make, it doesn't matter what age they are, what background they come from. You always know when people resort to personal attacks, they have lost the argument

I couldn’t agree more honestly.

[MTVN]

I know most people don't like him and it might be controversial but I completely agree with what Piers Morgan wrote yesterday:

On the science, I agree with her: climate change is a very real and present threat and our world leaders must all do more to combat it.

But her end-of-the-world-is-nigh ranting rhetoric is terrifying millions of young people to an extent that eco-anxiety is massively increasing as a stress disorder.

To put it bluntly, Greta’s made almost her entire generation think they’re about to die.

And she doesn’t really have any answers for what they can do about it.

Asked by a journalist from The Atlantic this week what young people like her should actually DO to combat climate change, she replied: ‘They can do everything. There are so many ways to make a difference.’

Sure, but specifically what?

When pressed, she suggested joining an activist movement and if you’re old enough, voting.

Well yes, that much is obvious.
...

She also, yesterday, came over as extremely vulnerable, emotionally unstable, and possibly psychologically damaged by her year of campaigning.

This should hardly surprise anyone who knows her background.

Greta first got worried about climate change when she was just eight years old, and expressed shock that adults didn’t appear to be taking it seriously enough.

It led to her suffering a deep depression when she was 11, saw her stop eating for two months, and going to school, and then stop speaking to everyone bar her family and one teacher.

It was around that time that she was diagnosed with Aspergers, obsessive compulsive disorder and selective mutism.

Her obsession compulsion was the environment.

...

So Greta’s now been propelled into the stratosphere of global superstardom, but at what cost to her mental health and wellbeing?

Certainly, if she was my daughter, I’d want to protect her now, not keep throwing her to the wolves of divisive global scrutiny and criticism.

And that raises another problem – Greta’s parents, and their motivation for all this.

They both craved the kind of fame their daughter now enjoys – mother Malena is a well-known Swedish singer who entered the Eurovision song contest in 2009 (she came 21st), and father Svante is an actor.

It’s widely suspected that it was Malena who initially tipped off the media about her daughter’s school strike campaign, with the help of green activist Ingmar Rentzhog who made millions for his firm We Don’t Have Time from the subsequent publicity blitz after Greta joined his youth advisory board.

Coincidentally, or perhaps not, Malena had just written a book about her family including Greta, that’s now become a bestseller.

Greta’s dad says he doesn’t like her missing school but insists: ‘We respect that she wants to make a stand. She can either sit at home and be really unhappy, or protest, and be happy.’

The problem is she doesn’t look remotely happy now.

Instead, Greta Thunberg looks miserable, terrified, vulnerable and lonely; a teenage girl on the spectrum who can’t deal with what is exploding around her.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...listening.html

[bitontheslide]

that may well all be true MTVN, but don't you see it for what it is, a method of completely undermining her.

So, she doesn't have the answers to correct the worlds ills, are we really saying that negates her point?

If she is concerned about the environment and it is backed up by scientific research, what possible relation is there to her mother appearing in eurovision and her father being an actor.

She has become a focal point. What it should do is concentrate minds on the issue, not on how many people she talked to at school etc etc etc etc

[Alf]

Originally Posted by MTVN

I know most people don't like him and it might be controversial but I completely agree with what Piers Morgan wrote yesterday:

"Greta first got worried at 8 years old" I wonder if her political activist parents played any part in that? At 8 years old, my parents bought me He-man action figures to play with.

[MTVN]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

that may well all be true MTVN, but don't you see it for what it is, a method of completely undermining her.

So, she doesn't have the answers to correct the worlds ills, are we really saying that negates her point?

If she is concerned about the environment and it is backed up by scientific research, what possible relation is there to her mother appearing in eurovision and her father being an actor.

She has become a focal point. What it should do is concentrate minds on the issue, not on how many people she talked to at school etc etc etc etc

Well I'm not sure that the extremity of her position is backed up by the science and quite honestly I don't think kids should be aspiring to that fundamentalist view of environmentalist action where they think economies shouldn't be growing, families should never take holidays, kids should skip school to strike etc. Nor should it be forgotten that the world has taken big steps in fighting climate change recently despite all the cries of 'you're not doing anything' because countries won't sign up to completely unrealistic targets

[MTVN]

This is also a good thread on it: