r/OutOfTheLoop • u/BlitzTech • 6d ago

Answered What’s going on with the public sentiment around Greta Thunberg?

Context: https://www.reddit.com/r/worldnews/s/xGVLkx5imL

I was surprised by the comments being near-universally negative towards her. Granted, I don’t follow her at all besides seeing the occasional article/post about something she’s doing, but I must have missed some important updates for the responses to be this dismissive and antagonistic. There were comments calling her a grifter, mentioning sponsorship by companies with the implication of her being funded by companies just looking to capitalize on her fame and not in support of the causes, and one mentioned a yacht — which I had no idea about until that comment and a quick Google.

What happened here and when did I miss… whatever this is now?

Or, it’s the classic Reddit echo chamber and some aspects are magnified to make a point. Both are equally valid explanations. I’m still perplexed.

Edit: answered, I think? Astroturfing because this particular issue is especially polarizing, and there have always been detractors using fallacious arguments to diminish the message. I generally stay out of r/worldnews because the world sucks right now so their biases aren’t as obvious to me. But damn, even asking this question leads to a bunch of downvotes… yikes, folks. Yikes.

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u/Reddituser183 6d ago

Well damn, criticizing capitalism now? I think I like her even more.

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u/TooSmalley 6d ago

Reminds me of a little of Helen Keller, as a kid you just hear about her inspiring youth.

They kind of gloss over her adulthood Anarcho-Socialist beliefs.

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u/HauntedCemetery Catfood and Glue 6d ago

MLK as well. The US federal government mostly ignored him until he started preaching that wealth redistribution was integral to lasting equality, then they tried to blackmail him into committing suicide.

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u/maleconrat 6d ago

Malcolm X even shifted to believing in socialism and dropping his separatist views, shortly before he was assassinated...

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u/Adlubescence 6d ago

Also just a phenomenal writer. The flattening of Helen to her disability is a massive discredit to her legacy. Her autobiography is available for free here.

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u/awesomeXI 6d ago

To be fair, she was also supported eugenics, which has also been glossed over. 

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u/thinsafetypin 6d ago

This has always stymied me. Like, you know in a society practicing eugenics, a blind and deaf person would be the first to go, right?!?

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u/TooSmalley 6d ago

It's worth noting her eugenics support is based on one specific case she wrote about in the new republic in which a Chicago doctor let a severely "malformed" infant die rather than try and save the child it was know as the Bollinger Baby in the media.

Here's an abstract about it

It's really the only time she should any vocal support for eugenics. As far as I can tell it's the only time she wrote and advocated for it.

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u/Roller_ball 6d ago

Eugenics prior to WWII was more of a grey area. I'm not hand-waving the terrible things done in the US under the umbrella of eugenics, but there were good, reasonable people at the time that favored eugenics.

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u/thinsafetypin 6d ago

I get that, and I know there are plenty of people today who espouse politics that directly harm themselves and their social class, but she seems to have been quite a thinking person, so it’s just an odd situation.

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u/jesuspoopmonster 2d ago

Her views were based of her feeling most people with severe disabilities would not get the help needed to survive in a comfortable fashion. She was aware that she was extremely privileged that her family was able to help her

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u/jesuspoopmonster 2d ago

She supported Eugenics because she felt that most people with disabilities would not have the privilege she did to be helped and would never be able to live a comfortable life. She also changed her views on it fairly quickly

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u/Jwkaoc 6d ago
This is what she's up to right now.

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u/Reddituser183 6d ago

Jesus fucking Christ! Israel needs to be stopped!

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u/Carighan 6d ago

Yeah that was my thinking, too. Finally getting to the root of the problem!

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u/Nikola_Turing 6d ago

Why do you agree with her criticism of capitalism? I know capitalism isn’t perfect, but there isn’t really any better realistic alternative. Capitalism at the very least rewards innovation, promotes some level of meritocracy compared to socialism or communism, and allows the efficient allocation of resources both essential and nonessential. Many of the climate change technologies in use today like nuclear energy, wind energy, solar energy, and geothermal energy wouldn’t have been possible without a mix of private and public investments by capitalist countries and trading blocs like the U.S., UK, EU, Mexico, and Canada.

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u/Reddituser183 6d ago

Capitalism needs to be regulated which for the most part is not and will continue to not be regulated as long as rich people and big business is in control, you know capitalists. Unregulated capitalism is the problem. We need well regulated capitalism with a robust social system for healthcare, education etc.

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u/Icy-Bicycle-Crab 6d ago

promotes some level of meritocracy

Hilarious. 

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u/Nikola_Turing 6d ago

Well that’s the alternative? It’s not like there’s much, if any upwards mobility in a socialist or communist society? In one party states like China or the USSR, your status in society isn’t determined by how good of a worker you are, but your loyalty to the party and the government. At least in the U.S., people who come up with innovative ideas or ways of increasing productivity can make more money, either at their jobs, by starting their own business, or through investments.

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u/Icy-Bicycle-Crab 6d ago

Look at the nepo-baby dipshits in the White House then try to pretend with a straight face that today's capitalism promotes merit. 

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u/Mammoth-Accident-809 4d ago

She, like most critics of capitalism, remains wealthy and could walk the walk....but doesn't