Greta Thunberg is a Pain in the proverbial

Most of us grew up either walking or using public transport, rubbish was put in a metal bin (half the size of today's black bins), no central heating (I for one often woke up to ice on the inside of windows), clothes were worn and mended and then worn again, what is now called "upcycling" was common place, yet it is our generation which is blamed for the state of the planet.

Many young people are genuinely concerned about climate change, as are many "older" people. My concerns with Greta Thunberg is that I believe she is being manipulated by older people with hidden agendas, also who is financing her? She is 18 years old, has never had a job but is estimated to be worth over 1 million dollars

I think she’s a great young lady with a true message that she’s not afraid to voice
If our children and grandchildren are throwing stuff on the floor or getting driven to school who has taught them, who’s driving them ? Who has shown them this way???
I don’t recognise this in any of my grandchildren do you? or is it always someone else’s kids?

I m glad she’s revving the young people up and yes they can show us the way
elless you may not have been driven to school when young but have you driven since? The children only have the choice of being driven if the parents take them They aren’t born with a car seat on their bum

She won a million pound prize and has donated it all to ecological causes
If she can rev up the young to care more than our generation and our children’s generation then she has done a brilliant job

If the children of today are spoilt, untidy, uncaring kids , who taught them ….our children ! and who taught them ???

Golly, some breathtakingly rude posts on here about a teenage girl, some of you should be ashamed of yourselves, especially comments about her appearance which has no relevance at all to her message. So, all of you Greta haters; is the same message from Sir David Attenborough ok?

JaneJudge

She may come across as rude because she has a communication disorder has tolerance of other people's difficulties died on Gransnet?

You beat me to it

Yes, she is annoying. But that's great!

It's what the world needs - somebody to keeping pricking consciences like an irritating needle. She has every right to fight for the planet and I hope she continues.

The only time I thought her hypocritical was when I heard she wasn't going to attend COP26 because of Covid. I wondered where her principles had disappeared to - surely she thought the climate change challenge was more important. But, here she is; perhaps I was merely misinformed .

got to love this girl ,she has brought the climate issue to the generation it will affect the most .Want to hate someone? Look at the fat cats in WM, Johnson and who are letting YOUR rivers run with sewage etc.They pay lip service to climate issues and then hop on planes like most use busses .I always thought with age came wisdom ,but some posts on this site certainy dont show that to be true.

Private Eye refer to her as ‘the diminutive doomster’
I like her face a lot
I’m generally a Greta fan, but what she said yesterday was a bit on the negative and repetitive side

She comes across as a disturbed, unhappy child, and if I was her parent I'd be concerned for her mental welfare. What sort of a life can she look forward to when she's constantly angry and on edge. Will she have a happy contented family life when she 'grows up'?
I feel very sorry for her.

Gill, David Attenborough puts the message across extremely well, politely but firmly. He is never rude or patronising but sober and encouraging.

Oh well, you are all stuck with her months now as she has to wait for the tide to turn before she returns to her home country

Germanshepherdsmum

*Gill*, David Attenborough puts the message across extremely well, politely but firmly. He is never rude or patronising but sober and encouraging.

I'm not sure a 95 year old has much cut through with teenagers.

Although I think he's amazing.

She's a terrified young woman who doesn't appear to have any belief in human ingenuity and ability to adapt. In a way I feel sorry for her and others like her. It can't be nice to feel so negative about the future.

Excellent post Baggs, very interesting

I thought it was great when she stood up to be counted when she was 13 or whatever but she hasn’t moved on. There is no nuance, no acceptance that change can’t be instantaneous or we’ll be back to the Dark Ages. I would have hoped that as she got older she would recognise that just shouting and being rude were not constructive but her Aspergers traits seem to be getting worse.

I admire her very much. She’s a crusader. What an unpleasant set of posts on here.

Well you need to feel negative about the future baggs it’s NOT looking good thanks to us aND our children that we taught !!
timetogo you should be ashamed of yourself and your post rude very rude just because you don’t like to hear the truth from a young girl it’s you with the problem, not her To call her an angry cabbage patch doll is disgraceful

My husband and I think she’s a real brat, always scowling and being so rude. My husband thinks she should try going to China to protest, the chances are that’s the last we would hear of her and this is disgraceful too

I can’t believe the nastiness to a young human being with passion for a subject is truly eye opening and pretty dam bad
Shame on all you haters of a young girl with a passionate causev

There are several charitable organisations I would donate a lot more too if I had the money Callistemon.

I feel sorry for her too Baggs. I think she's being manipulated by others including her parents, but that doesn't stop me finding her a pain in the proverbial.

I haven't seen anyone they say hate her BlueBelle.

Y'know..... I just look at her and feel sad. What a waste of a potential carefree and lovely childhood. I do tend to ignore her in general but, having said that, I was decidedly impressed by her on Andrew Marr last Sunday. He even allowed her to speak without his constantly wretched rude interruptions.

Greta knows, respects and has worked with Sir David Attenborough, they worked together on her documentary.
I feel embarrassed to read some of the views on this thread. This young girl has got tremendous guts and drive to stand up for what she believes is right. It doesn’t matter if you like her or not, she deserves respect for what she has achieved - and she won’t be going anywhere, so it’s time to get used to her (even listen to what she has to say) because she will be a lifelong battler for the planet. Most importantly young people respect her and that will drive change.

I know, what a waste. She could have been at home playing with her dolls and her lego instead of changing the world and becoming a leadership figure for young people. What a pity.

Some teenagers aren't carefree, for lots of reasons. It doesn't mean they don't have lovely childhoods. There seems a lot of projection going on

Me and my Mum have this conversation a lot. People are scared of strong women

Greta's campaign highlights the lack of adult leadership on this subject, I applaud her.

Alegrias1

Just listen to yourselves.

The older generation. She has a point.

I agree Alegrias1

... haven't any of us been young and idealistic? I know I was.

It's the job of the young to question the status quo, to question the world we are leaving them. It's the world THEY will inhabit.

As for her 'style', yes, she does scowl and remonstrate, but she does have a 'communication' problem and is I believe on the spectrum.

The point is whether she is right - she should not be condemned because she is young... and daring to have an opinion. I bet half the grans on here had one at her age.

It's so easy to be critical of the young, so easy to lump them altogether as 'entitled snowflakes' or slobs who leave litter all over the place. They are, like us, not a homogenous group, and I for one will not take part in this 'youth bashing'. I've met too many nice young people and, frankly, the world they are inheriting is not going to be an easy ride. Let them speak.

... and if anyone is really upset by Greta - they can always simply just not listen to her, or read articles about her. She will make mistakes like the rest of us did (and still do), but she has inspired young people to engage with environmental issues. Good for her.

I don’t warm to her style, that doesn’t mean I disregard her beliefs.