Greta Thunberg has arrived in Greece following her deportation from Israel, after the Gaza aid flotilla was intercepted. Thunberg, along with hundreds of oth...
On the flip side, imagine yourself being praised worldwide as a hero, feeling somewhat uncomfortable about it, and wanting to make sure attention is not derailed from the cause. What are you supposed to say?
“I’m fully aware I’m the bravest person on earth, but that’s not the point here”?
If she is in a privileged position it’s more than anything the privileged position of moral authority, and it can be a double edged sword. I think she’s manageing well.
Again, that it is a pattern in her rhetoric is part of the concern - and that it is a common issue with many other middle-class leftist activists suggests that it is not some extreme abnormality that should be just ignored.
And again, like I said, Greta Thunberg is doing legitimate good in the world, and a hell of a lot more than I probably would manage in her position.
It is certainly a double-edged sword that she has found herself wielding, and a broad condemnation for being imperfect would be unfair, especially as she’s still at college age - fuck, the number of unfortunate implications in my own words at that age would shame me, not for malice, but simply for lack of exposure to why they had shitty implications. At the same time, the refusal of many left-wing audiences to acknowledge problems with this style of rhetoric, and with anything Greta has said or done in particular, is a problem. Speaking from a position of privilege to a largely unprivileged audience is a very delicate position, and online communities trying to paper over any raised eyebrows with “You’re just jealous” is the kind of lunacy results in echo chambers and a detachment from the actual conditions and opinions of the general population, which is key to rational and effective political action.
On the flip side, imagine yourself being praised worldwide as a hero, feeling somewhat uncomfortable about it, and wanting to make sure attention is not derailed from the cause. What are you supposed to say?
“I’m fully aware I’m the bravest person on earth, but that’s not the point here”?
If she is in a privileged position it’s more than anything the privileged position of moral authority, and it can be a double edged sword. I think she’s manageing well.
Again, that it is a pattern in her rhetoric is part of the concern - and that it is a common issue with many other middle-class leftist activists suggests that it is not some extreme abnormality that should be just ignored.
And again, like I said, Greta Thunberg is doing legitimate good in the world, and a hell of a lot more than I probably would manage in her position.
It is certainly a double-edged sword that she has found herself wielding, and a broad condemnation for being imperfect would be unfair, especially as she’s still at college age - fuck, the number of unfortunate implications in my own words at that age would shame me, not for malice, but simply for lack of exposure to why they had shitty implications. At the same time, the refusal of many left-wing audiences to acknowledge problems with this style of rhetoric, and with anything Greta has said or done in particular, is a problem. Speaking from a position of privilege to a largely unprivileged audience is a very delicate position, and online communities trying to paper over any raised eyebrows with “You’re just jealous” is the kind of lunacy results in echo chambers and a detachment from the actual conditions and opinions of the general population, which is key to rational and effective political action.