Youngsters demonstrating against climate change

Gonegirl

Your posts are Priceless and a further observation of how anger and behaving aggressively limits the ability to maintain debate / discussion. Something I hope some of the children who were there might take on board as their cause was diminished by the behaviour of the few.

Ain't it always!

As for your :-

' Wtf would political activists bus them in? hmm'

Who said they did? This was in my post :-

They were taken out of school and transported to the demonstrations by whom? If a parent did not take them and the protest venue was not on the doorstep they had to get there somehow.

By the way I am an adult you don't have to use acronyms say what you mean it has more effect.

Children? Year 12s/sixteen and Seventeen year olds? I doubt any little ones with their mums were doing much chanting.

You do need a sense of humour to appreciate that bit. And some degree of tolerance.

I wouldn't appreciate anyone shouting "f***" anyone or anything, let alone children.
It does little to further the cause.

It was on a school day because that way it got more media coverage.

Wtf would political activists bus them in?

This thread is now making me really Why don't some of you venture out into the real world?

They only chanted "fuck Theresa May" when the silly woman (silly in this instance) came out and spoke against them protesting. Was really funny actually. ?

Grandson and his mates got there by underground trains.

Younger children were taken by their parents.

GGravy

I watched a lot of live coverage on that day and I was watching what was going on in the background, mostly the involvement of some of the adults which proved to be very interesting.

I was annoyed quite frankly that children were so easily led by some of the adults and activists and I hope some of the parents who were not cottoned on to, managed to see what some of their children were doing and will think twice about letting them attend the next scheduled protest.

POGS I would have had more respect for them if each school picked a local area whether it be park, woodland or beach and clear it up. They could have then posted the amount of single use plastic and other rubbish collected on social media and maybe got local newspapers, radio stations and TV to cover their activities.

I was frankly appalled at the language, attitude and the prevalence of political banners on some of these marches.
I assume like you that they were bussed into some areas by local political activists.

I think the theory and the practice proved to be different things.

The theory was school children used their voice by protesting.

The practice was they were infiltrated by the likes of the Socialist Worker and Corbyn activists and the children waving pre made Socialist Worker placards were in effect used as political pawns

They were taken out of school and transported to the demonstrations by whom? If a parent did not take them and the protest venue was not on the doorstep they had to get there somehow.

Who was responsible for their safety? Children were walking along roads stopping traffic and walking between vehicles, standing on statues, climbing goodness knows what such as traffic lights.

Children were swearing and shouting things such as ' F--k Theresa May and therefore showing once again there was a political move behind a lot of this.

Did the litter they dropped contain plastics?

Why did it have to be on a school day?

The good intentention was lost on me for so many reasons and I would have respected the protest had it been a day of respect for others and not running amock with no adult supervision.

I appreciate the smaller protests were probably more respectful.

Agreen,PamelaJI but it's nevertheless important - nay, vital - to try on an individual level.

Single-use plastic has to be the biggest evil, or one of the biggest. It's everywhere. Manufacturers continue to package products in it, from drinks and foodstuffs to washing products.

We took ours to the Deep in Hull yesterday.
The damage that plastics are doing to the ocean was a featured very prominently, we filled in a questionnaire about it as we went round.
Eco credentials were very evident in the cafe.
Then we went into the gift shop. - different story here.
We bought a postcard and a sharks tooth but the sharks tooth was in a small plastic bag. We tried to be good!
Until the grown ups and businesses get it the children won’t.

I think the action of these young people is heartening. It's a beginning; an awakening.

There are still many, as others have said, who think the whole subject is a joke or simply don't think it affects them in any way. The lure of Stuff in this society is what drives it and what motivates it. It's not easy for anyone to try and break free from that, least of all impressionable teenagers whose raison d'etre is to look cool with their mates and that means having all the latest Stuff (and then throw it away). Thankfully many are now realising that there is no Away and never has been.

I think I'd have the same reaction as the OP to be honest, but use this as a starting point. Any tiny inroads you can make to encourage them to question and think outside their narrow cocoon will be a step forward.

If my children were on the demonstrations I'd be completely supportive. We cannot afford to be otherwise. Yes, there are some contradictions, as Eloethan points out, but you have to start somewhere and make small changes which then grow and become big ones.

We don't fly when we go on holiday but I can't claim my carbon footprint is negligible by any means - we take the car on UK holidays and train it in Europe. We are learning all the time about ways in which we can start to make a difference but iof course we need big businesses to commit to global change. I hope it's not too late.

Schooling and education are not exactly the same thing. If my children were still at school now I would be fully supportive of them broadening their education by missing a day of classroom teaching to join in a demonstration against climate change.

Some of the children and young people who demonstrated will not yet have a full commitment to the cause, but they will be observing the passion of those that do and they will be better informed about the situation. Hopefully they will embrace it fully in the future and as a result they will examine their own contributory behaviours - and change them.

It seems to be some sort of a competition to have the most socially aware grandchildren, I think.
Just my opinion, and this demonstration seems to have heightened the need to be able to relay how ecologically informed they are to all and sundry.
Now I'm going to hide!

I was interested in make up and pop music and all those sorts of things when I was a teenager (and still am, to some extent). But I was also interested in current affairs and had strong feelings about various issues of the day - capital punishment, apartheid, the laws re homosexuality, etc. I don't think one has to preclude another.

I don't think I would be horrified but I would be disappointed - and exasperated at seeing such indifference to important matters. Maybe their parents don't discuss these sorts of issues. I think children who aren't interested in books and ideas and current affairs sometimes come from homes where nobody else seems to be interested in them either and such matters are never discussed.

They were talking on the Jeremy Vine Show today about the children demonstrating. Several people thought they should have stayed in school because their education is more important. What is more important than the destruction of our environment and ultimately the possible destruction of all living things on our planet? One of the panellists spoke witheringly about a girl who'd gone on the march who'd then flown to Switzerland on a skiing holiday the next day. I thought it was a bit of a cheap shot. There must be many adults who care about environmental issues who still fly away on holiday sometimes - me included.

Grannygravy I'm not quite understanding why you perceive my post to be "stereotypical". Could you explain please.

OK lemongrove perhaps 'horrified' is a trifle strong, but let us not get snooty over semantics. 'Appalled' 'shocked' 'dismayed' then! I was merely trying to express the strength of my disappointment.
On the contrary, I was very interested in current affairs at the age of 14/15, and given that many youngsters engaged in the march, it's unfair to lump all 'teenagers' into a catch all stereotype.
These DGC's of mine are (along with many of their pals) indolent, unmotivated, unambitious; but avid consumers of gadgets, gizmos, cosmetics and junk food. I wish I too could blandly excuse their indifference, but it saddens me to see that they are unaware of their environment and the impact of climate change. And the most disheartening thing is that I, unlike my own grandparents, cannot attempt any influence for fear of accusations of interference.

It would be nice if the OP would come back to this thread.

So pleased that children marched, they have more future to save than the generations who have let this abuse of the planet gradually increase. They are clearer sighted and prepared to act.

Most schools I have been in have Eco Councils that check the school is considering its 'footprint' , considering sustainability. Kids I know are interested! I know kids who were marching in London.

Join that kid up to the Scouts. (11 year old)

Parents and grandparents who take their children out into the countryside and explain to them about ecology...how trees, plants and animals interact and affect our environment are teaching a vital lesson. Those who seem to have no interest in such things and think it's the school's responsibility, shouldn't be surprised when said children show no interest in the natural world.

My grandson was demonstrating with the rest of them but he would give a two finger salute to any politician.