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Sad to see. Although, honestly, the parents shouldn't have allowed their kids to put themselves in these 'activist' positions to begin with. What did they expec
by crazynick4 7y ago
Sad to see. Although, honestly, the parents shouldn't have allowed their kids to put themselves in these 'activist' positions to begin with. What did they expect? And also, a 16 year old girl speaking at the UN? Is that a joke?
I fully support protecting the environment but this is child exploitation for political purposes. These movements should be led by scientists, not children. Is it any wonder people are still skeptical?
- scarmig 7y agoThe movement has been led by scientists for decades. They have been ignored. If it's shameful that a 16 year old is being forced to lead a movement, the shame is on society and the older generations for not doing anything about climate change despite manifest urgency.
- cal97g 7y agoAll it's likely to do is irritate people and that really won't help the cause at all.
- sieabahlpark 7y agoThe girl is autistic (no really, she is) and they're just taking advantage of her. It's just the new David Hogg.
- crazynick4 7y agoSo the idea is that children will succeed where the scientists have failed? It certainly doesn't seem to say much for the scientists.
- scarmig 7y agoI agree, though I wouldn't single out scientists. It doesn't say much at all for the generation that's ignoring the issue.
- buboard 7y agoWhat makes you think that this child abuse is good for the cause? I see a lot of negative reactions
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- faissaloo 7y agoClimate change is a much more important issue than what can barely if at all be termed child abuse.
- StreamBright 7y agoExactly. This whole child thing was invented by the Nazis to gain popularity. Now they use the same tactic for climate in the UN. Madness. That child will grow up and must face the consequences of the action of her parents.
- pistoriusp 7y agoWho are "they" here?
- StreamBright 7y agoWhoever putting children on the stage. Do you think that a 16years old gets up one day and says I am going to go the UN! Think again.
- NeedMoreTea 7y agoNo. She gets up one day with an opinion she's felt strongly about and goes alone with a hand made sign to sit outside her government's office. Next day others joined. Then it kept escalating. Kids have strong opinions. Teenagers can have especially strong opinions. Of course it has to be a conspiracy with someone behind the scenes pulling strings.
- rdtwo 7y agoOr more specifically a very well funded organized movement made her their figurehead after she was “discovered”. Same way Disney discovers their talent
- NeedMoreTea 7y agoWhich very well funded movement is that, and what evidence is there please?
- dragonwriter 7y agoNo, going to the UN is there outcome of a movement that started out as a one-person protest at a national parliameny, something that's a lot more plausible for a teen. Still, not common, but there are enough teens in the world that there are substantial absolute numbers that are deep into the tails of any distribution. Not everyone is average.
- SomeOldThrow 7y ago> Although, honestly, the parents shouldn't have allowed their kids to put themselves in these 'activist' positions to begin with. Oh, fuck you. Greta is taking better care of your kid than you are. Ppl ignored the adults. This is what you get.
- dang 7y agoIf you keep breaking the site guidelines like that, we're going to have to ban you. Would you please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and stick to the rules?
- freeone3000 7y agoIf you listen to the transcripts, this is essentially what they're campaigning for - for the adults to take charge. And these kids are being congratulated for speaking out while the contents of their message are ignored. It's frustrating to watch.
- crazynick4 7y agoI guess what I'm trying to say that is that kids, whether they're right or wrong, aren't really qualified to promote a public opinion on any issue. You also have to remember that they're being allowed to skip school to do this. When I was a kid, I would have gone to practically any rally if it meant skipping class..
- daenz 7y agoI'm reminded of a quote: people don't want a democracy, they want a dictatorship that they agree with. I think a similar idea applies here. They don't really care that the child isn't qualified and their brains are still forming; if it's an idea they agree with, they'll use them as political figures to achieve their own goals.
- iron0013 7y agoAnyone who's going to be affected is qualified to express their opinion, it seems to me, and children are going to be affected by climate change long after the rest of us are gone.
- crazynick4 7y agoLet me put it a different way - the kids campaigning for climate action are not convincing anyone who wasn't already on board. It's literally just a show that's riling up the people who are already supporters. It's harmful to the kids and not accomplishing much else.
- iron0013 7y agoAn utterly baseless assertion. I mean, I guess it’s obvious she’s not changing your mind.
- pistoriusp 7y agoThat's the whole idea. Adults, and politicians, are not doing what we should be doing. The "kids" will inherit our poor decisions so they're making a stand.
- crazynick4 7y agoAnd the 'whole idea' amounts to child abuse. A kid her age is not prepared to be a public figure and all the pressures that come with it. She shouldn't be up there period. And everyone who says that 'the adults aren't doing anything so the kids have to', why aren't the adults who use this argument doing something then?
- jakelazaroff 7y ago> Although, honestly, the parents shouldn't have allowed their kids to put themselves in these 'activist' positions to begin with. Why? If your child is passionate about something, why would you disallow them from pursuing it?
- crazynick4 7y agoShe can pursue it, but I wouldn't let my child skip school to do it.. Also, if it's related to politics there is a ton of misinformation and a child can easily be manipulated into landing on the wrong side of the fence.
- faissaloo 7y agoSchool is grossly overrated, especially in the information age. Ensuring your generation still has a future is measurably more important.
- crazynick4 7y agoYes, in the age where you need more knowledge than ever in order to have a living wage, where menial labor is being automated faster and faster, we need less education. Good point.
- faissaloo 7y agoSchool is not equivalent to education
- makerofspoons 7y agoPeople didn't listen to Carl Sagan, James Hansen, or other big-name scientists who spoke up. Putting another scientist up there will just get them dismissed like all the others, because at the core of the issue is that we have a huge voting block that doesn't want to change and doesn't want to listen, and will contort whatever any movement leader says so that they can ignore it.
- claudeganon 7y agoIn a world where most “adults” seem self-serving, complacent, or corrupt, I think we should be thankful that our young people are unwilling to embrace this nihilistic state of affairs and demand change. And they’re among the few that are listening to the scientists instead of their narrow self-interest.
- 52-6F-62 7y agoI'm reminded of this rather dark few lines from Naked Lunch: “In lifeproof houses they hover over the young, sop up a little of what they shut out. Only the young bring anything in, and they are not young very long.” ― William S. Burroughs
- RcouF1uZ4gsC 7y ago>but this is child exploitation for political purposes. These movements should be led by scientists, not children. Is it any wonder people are still skeptical? I know climate change is a huge problem, but using young children like this feels creepy and cult-like.
- pound 7y agoOn the other hand - that kid will draw more general public's attention than even the most famous and accredited scientists. Just reality we're living in - unless it's a public show it will be ignored, no matter how serious issues are.
- jakobegger 7y ago> And also, a 16 year old girl speaking at the UN? Is that a joke? The real joke are the adult idiots who'd rather destroy our planet than listen to someone speaking uncomfortable truths.
- rdtwo 7y agoTelling someone there is a problem does nothing to drive the solution. Especially when the problem is known but the solution is incredibly complex.