Canadian journalist Donna Laframboise. Former National Post & Toronto Star columnist, past vice president of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
If you’re trying to change people’s minds, insults and accusations are counterproductive.
4 excruciating minutes
A 16-year-old who looks like a 12-year-old is invited to address the United Nations. She scolds, insults, and accuses. She calls grownups immature, using the phrase “how dare you” four times.
She claims to speak for the world’s children. By what process was she elected to that role? What percentage of children were consulted before she decided that her analysis is identical to their analysis, that no other perspective deserves a mention?
This child said certain things aren’t “acceptable to us.” She employed threatening language. If adults don’t do what she wants:
We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not. [full text here]
The New York Times described this speech as “forceful” and “pointed.” Canada’s Global News called it “powerful,” “emotional,” and “stern.” The BBC called it “passionate.”
I call it something else. Rude. If you’re throwing a temper tantrum, insults and accusations may be par for the course. But if you’re trying to change people’s minds, insults and accusations are foolish. They’re counterproductive.
We need to talk about Greta Thunberg. We need to think carefully about why this child was propelled onto the world stage. What words she uttered. How journalists reported this event.
Diverse perspectives are always valuable. They help us decide what we, ourselves, think. Here’s my suggested reading list:
Save Greta: Forget saving the planet – we need to save Greta from the death cult of environmentalism
The deification of Greta Thunberg shows our culture at peak panic
Greta Thunberg – Patron Saint of the Age of Stupidity
Hillary Clinton on Greta Thunberg’s U.N. Speech: ‘Required Viewing for Every Lawmaker’
Self-Harm Versus the Greater Good: Greta Thunberg and Child Activism
Everything wrong with Greta Thunberg’s UN temper tantrum (video)
Politics is Crowding Out Culture and Childhood
Girls, Groupies, and Grim Reapers: The Religious Politics of Mass Response
Think Globally, Shame Constantly: The Rise of Greta Thunberg Environmentalism
Greta Thunberg is the first saint of our cruel new environmental religion
Catastrophic Thinking Without Solutions
Climate Hysteria Is Harming Our Kids
Greta Thunberg To Poor Countries: Drop Dead
Greta Thunberg is wrong: economic growth is friend to the environment, not foe
Ingratitude of spoiled brats: why children should not skip school
Greta Thunberg, child sacrifice
The world may be getting hotter, Greta Thunberg…but having a meltdown isn’t going to help
Climate change discussion needs to get back to science
The apotheosis of St Greta: The Thunberg phenomenon is apocalyptic religion for rich whites
Greta Throws Journalists Out Of Climate Summit
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