Quote Originally Posted by Fenster View Post
Why was the video banned from youtube? I'm not comfortable with a teenage girl getting slaughtered but the actual joke is on people gushing over her, right? A privileged rich girl doing an Oscar performance to convince middle-class white people what Attenborough can't? An "heroic" rich girl, repeating what she's learnt from her upbringing. It's an insult to people who truly suffer or never had a chance.

So on this particular issue you're siding with Miles.


Guess I'll put my own two cents. No doubt that 16-year old Greta didn't get on that U.N. Climate Summit stage all by herself. Also, no doubt Greta's own life has not been tragically altered by any climate-related issues. In fact, I would've picked someone from a Caribbean island, ravaged by ever-more-frequent and ever-more-severe hurricanes. I would've picked someone from a place where the coastline has been severely eroded by rising sea levels. But even better yet, I would've picked someone from a place choked with pollution... ocean, air, or land.

There is in fact a sensationalist ring to Greta's very angry message. One can't help but think it's been staged and/or supported heavily by people who feel it's all the more effective if it comes from someone from the upcoming generation. It would also be negligent not to commend Greta for caring enough to deliver the message, or to imply she doesn't have her own input into it. She seems intelligent and articulate enough. But to feel that anger, you would have had to be personally touched by environmental-related tragedy. You would've had to have lived long enough to notice the changes in the environment.

I don't blame environmentalists for putting Greta on the stage. They're tired of banging their heads against the wall of those who just shrug their shoulders and make believe nothing bad is happening. They're looking for new angles and, if they can get kids to march or the Gretas of the world to deliver scathing messages, so be it.

If I was a kid, I'd be pretty upset about Trump pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Accord. Trump saying that China isn't doing their share just wouldn't cut it with me. There are enough people out there living as though the world is a disposable paper cup that it's bound to anger some young people. If you're old, and won't live to see catastrophic climate changes in your lifetime, it's easy to dismiss the calls of those who are very young and read all those National Geographic articles about climate change and pollution.

Why would anybody hate on Greta? She's obviously emotionally involved in what she's doing. Whether she's done tons of research herself, or whether most of it is being hand-fed for performances, is really a moot point. People should focus on the message..... not the messenger. Well.... maybe the messenger as well.... as she represents the young people wanting to inherit a healthy planet.

Is climate change real? Yes. Is it all man-made? No. Is man contributing to some of it? Very likely so. Should humanity come together and change its wasteful, polluting ways? Abso-fucking-lutely.