Wasn’t she on those topics pretty much from the beginning? I think it really just boils down to the media (and people in general) just moved on to the next story. Greta’s initial appeal was that she was a kid who was effecting change and reactions. These days she’s just another 20-something that shows up at protests and people upvote on social media.
A lot of people in the comments are talking about Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. as comparisons, but where they differ from Greta is that they started with protests but were able to successfully fold that into movements and action. X and King didn’t just protest, they didn’t just yell at the walls of the establishment and demand change. King was the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference which organized protests, but also helped mobilize voters, lobbied congress, and helped to draft legislation. X was part of the Nation of Islam which was a particularly powerful group in the 1960’s which challenged Civil Rights issues in the court system.
For a long time Greta really hasn’t had much to add to the discussion on climate change other than to say stop doing what we are doing. She’s not part of some powerful organization, she’s not lobbying governments, she’s not challenging issues in the courts, and she’s not proposing solutions, she’s just pointing out the problems everyone already knows exists and powerful governments are already ignoring.
Wasn’t she on those topics pretty much from the beginning? I think it really just boils down to the media (and people in general) just moved on to the next story. Greta’s initial appeal was that she was a kid who was effecting change and reactions. These days she’s just another 20-something that shows up at protests and people upvote on social media.
A lot of people in the comments are talking about Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. as comparisons, but where they differ from Greta is that they started with protests but were able to successfully fold that into movements and action. X and King didn’t just protest, they didn’t just yell at the walls of the establishment and demand change. King was the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference which organized protests, but also helped mobilize voters, lobbied congress, and helped to draft legislation. X was part of the Nation of Islam which was a particularly powerful group in the 1960’s which challenged Civil Rights issues in the court system.
For a long time Greta really hasn’t had much to add to the discussion on climate change other than to say stop doing what we are doing. She’s not part of some powerful organization, she’s not lobbying governments, she’s not challenging issues in the courts, and she’s not proposing solutions, she’s just pointing out the problems everyone already knows exists and powerful governments are already ignoring.
I think she’s closer to Rosa Parks - she’s a symbol fighting the good fight, but not the leader of the movement
FWIW Rosa Parks was part of an organization with a plan to achieve its goals. I wish the same were true of Greta.
True, the whole bus sit ins were planned. She wasn’t even the first one to do it.
That’s a great comparison.