Who Stands Behind Greta and Why It Matters

It was amusing to see a plethora of various reaction that a young girl from Sweden managed to spark across the globe, — from teenagers’ rage and anger over the ruthless Capitalism to their pure joy and hope for a better world to a contempt and unacceptable of her politically incorrect commentaries.

There were articles praising Greta for her courage, memes of her doing a thumbs up with Barack Obama, comparisons of her lonely self a year ago and a mass movement she managed to gather today; there were articles looking for “real forces” manipulating a psychologically unstable child to their advantage, articles blaming her for talking empty words while not proposing any real solutions.

Important point here is not Greta or what she embodies. Equally, it makes no difference who stands behind her and what would be the personal consequences of her battle.

The reaction you have to a child saying we fucked it up is very much a reflection of who you are. Therefore, seeing this nonacceptance and violent reaction of so many people I know and respect makes me concerned.

Critical thinking has been embedded in Western modern of education and is considered one of the foundations on which the whole developed world is built. This brought us belief in our individual power, democracy, freedom of speech and the ability to see the fire where there is a smoke, a quality largely absent in Russia or other authoritarian societies.

Nevertheless, the need to dig into the motives of people saying the truth and urging humanity to rethink their rampant consumerism seems to have little sense if you agree with their overall message.

So, let’s get down to this and work with various conspiracy theories that popped up after Greta’s UN speech:

Conspiracy Theory Number 1

Greta is being used by her parents to get fame and money.

Background:

Greta’s parents are both public people from artistic backgrounds. Her mother, Malena Ernman, a Swedish opera singer and her father, Svante Thunberg, is a Swedish author, arts manager and producer, and actor.

Reality:

In fact, I can hardly believe they had absolutely no impact on Greta growing up or had no interference with her climate activism.

Most surely, Greta managed to use their fame to make herself noticed. Even more certainly, her parents actively worked to place Greta at the right place in the right time and helped her to write the messages that would resonate with millions of concerned millennials & Gen Z.

• Did they use her to their advantage? — Maybe.
• Did they help her to become who she is now? — They did, like any other parents would.
• Does it negate the importance of the message and the momentum of global climate movement? — Not at all.

There is no such thing as a lonely hero. What counts is the result, not the preparation. And if a couple of Swedish artists managed to put their daughter in front of UN World Forum, kudos to them.

Conspiracy Theory Number 2

Background:

Greta is being used by NGOs and renewable energy companies to shut fossil fuels and initiate a switch to sun and wind.

Reality:

Horrible, right? Why would we move to carbon neutral wind mills or unlimited sun energy 2 % of which if captured effectively could power our Planet needs for millennia?

Why would we switch from burning coal leading to 1.37 million cases of lung cancer worldwide, not talking about asphyxiation, asthma, heart disease, stroke and chronic respiratory diseases?

Why move from oil that pollutes the air and suffocates millions of ocean creatures and algae?

How dare all these renewable lobbyists use a child to promote their agenda?

Well, it is well possible renewables will be benefiting big time as a result of Greta’s momentum.

It would be only fair if they are helping her fight a current rotten system of endless consumption.

Conspiracy Theory Number 3

Background:

Greta is not a real person and actually she is a crisis actress.

Reality:

If this is the case, I want to meet the director! This person is a genius! If it is Greta herself, — well, bringing so much passion into something you don’t even believe in for the sake of preserving the Planet deserves a little more than an Oscar and a bit less than a Nobel Peace Prize!

Scientists have been talking facts for over 30 years. The only reaction they managed to summon is a “major concern” by the world governments and general public.

Are you concerned about Greta’s message? No, you are not concerned at all.

You either love her or you hate her.

Either way, the goal accomplished. She won hands down. She got your attention.

And if it takes George Soros coupled with green lizards and Voldemort funding Greta Thunberg to make sure I do not suffocate from unbreathable air and die from water starvation I am happy to support her even if she was a puppet from Sesame Street.