Greta Tankberg countdown:
Edit: 170 comments
Having met Greta through our respective autism support communities, it feels weird that I still think of her as a kid. She can buy alcohol now!
I had a good feeling she'd end up a comrade.
She's been able to buy alcohol for three years
ShowYeah I've heard good things about her from people who have met her too, glad to see it reflected here
She's amazing.
Has she ever pointed out that the main economic reason that the US needs Israel is to destabilize Middle Eastern countries with large oil reserves? I think that's a really powerful argument for her audience and I'm a little sad not to see her explain that connection here.
Honestly, I'm glad to see a change. For all my life, I've heard "oil oil oil" behind every US action, and while that might be part of the thing, it's far from the whole picture and her tweet calling imperialism by its name is kinda what we need if you ask me
True, but imperialism is a pretty abstract concept and a general audience always does better to understand what it means concretely. Most people think imperialism means any kind of military conflict between a big country and a small country, not the monopoly stage of capitalism.
There is no doubt that one of the candidates - Trump - is way more dangerous than the other
In no way judging Greta here, but I have doubts
Dick Cheney scares me far more than Donald Trump does. Cheney has caused far more death and destruction, and is much more effective in his evil deeds. When both candidates are pro-war and genocide, I think the side with Dick Cheney’s endorsement scares me more.
This is compounded by the fact that Republicans face more opposition than Democrats when they do evil things, and Trump more than the average Republican. Do you think the George Floyd protests would’ve been nearly as big if Biden had been president at the time? Absolutely not. Both at an institutional and public level, Trump, by nature of being icky, pisses people off and it makes his schemes harder to pull off. When Biden does the exact same things, he does them to thunderous applause.
Roe was overturned under Biden. More people have been deported by Biden. Biden ended covid protections, and more people have died from covid because of him. And most importantly, Biden is the architect of the Gazan genocide.
I’ve said before that voting for Kamala over Trump is voting to re-elect Hitler to prevent Goebbels from getting into office, but I’m starting to think it’s more like voting for Hitler to prevent Kaiser Wilhelm from getting back into office. Like yeah, he sucked dick and did a bunch of evil shit, but Hitler is currently doing the Holocaust.
I don't really get the idea that people are somehow going to be 'more against' the genocide in Gaza because Trump is in office. Sure, people protested for George Floyd. You know what they didn't protest at all? The killing of Soleimani. In fact I can't think of a single foreign policy initiative that liberals protested other than the visit with Kim Jong-Un, the only good foreign policy thing that Trump did during his presidency.
The people that are currently protesting the Gaza genocide will continue to protest no matter who is in office. The people who are not are not going to have some sort of come to Jesus moment because the cheeto got elected.
The killing of Soleimani. In fact I can't think of a single foreign policy initiative that liberals protested other than the visit with Kim Jong-Un, the only good foreign policy thing that Trump did during his presidency.
yes
glory DPRK
If history is any guide, at best they’ll protest the procedure of Trump’s support of the genocide. Trump won’t follow some meaningless rubber stamping process of the shipping of arms to Israel and then the libs will say “this is wrong we’re against this” but not because of the genocide but because Trump didn’t follow the by-laws of supporting a genocide.
but because Trump didn’t follow the by-laws of supporting a genocide.
Current administration also don't, Biden pushed arms shipment around procedures and Blinken completely lawlessly blocked recognition of human rights violations (mildly speaking) which would automatically stop weapon shipments.
Oh yeah to be clear I do not think it will change the math on Gaza that much. I meant all of the issues generally, but immigration is the main one I think Trump is actually the lesser evil on.
Biden deported more people than Trump. They’ve managed to actually implement Trump’s immigration policy, which when Trump attempted to do he was unable to, due to opposition from both Dem politicians and the general public. I think Dems have greater freedom to be strict on immigration than Republicans do, because when Dems do it everyone falls in line.
Yeah fair on immigration especially. I have doubts that Trump would be able to ram through some of the policies that Biden has gotten through, especially if Democrats take control of the house.
ETA: I generally have the opinion that Trump winning and the Democrats taking control of the house is the "best" thing that could happen, but I have zero faith that anything will change foreign-policy wise no matter who wins this election.
I fully agree, Trump president with Dem Congress is absolutely the least bad option
They’ve managed to actually implement Trump’s immigration policy, which when Trump attempted to do
When it worked for "we actually built the wall that Trump promised", why wouldn't that repeat with "we actually did the mass deportations that Trump called for"? Lesser evilism doesn't work either way, things get worse from legislature to legislature under either party. Republicans are more adapt at pushing boundaries, Democrats are more adapt at technocratic efficiency. These things are not at odds with each other, they tie into each other and are both part of the same machinery.
The war is gonna escalate, and under Trump the liberal media is gonna be allowed to criticize his handling (under Biden they aren't allowed). That's enough for quite a lot more Gen X and millenials who get their news from the TV or from the NYT to feel a leftwards push.
People were going mad about kids in cages too, and the drone bombings for a little while. Not to mention civil rights. But yeah the one time he was "presidential" was when he dropped a big bomb in the middle east.
I still think he's better though, but that's because he's a buffoon and an isolationist. I think we'd still be in Afghanistan if it hadn't been for him
Some lib told me that Biden ended the drone war and I shot back "why are there burning MQ-9s all over Yemen" and they picked up the goal posts and started sprinting with them.
The people that are currently protesting the Gaza genocide will continue to protest no matter who is in office.
Absolutely, but Trump will spend more time demonizing them as antisemitic terrorist supporters. He's always been rabidly zionist and has always loved using leftist grassroots movements as a bogeyman, he's not gonna pass that opportunity up. Idk if that would translate into more actual repression against them, but islamophobia dressed up as fighting terrorism traditionally has a lot of traction in the US, and i do not see the Dems pushing back against that even if they would control both houses after the midterms, genocide support is a bipartisan issue after all and they will falter when Trump links the Dems to the protests like he did with BLM. It's also possible that Trump lays the ideological groundwork for more effective anti-left policies under a Dem presidency from 2028-2032. He's good at normalizing atrocities, and the Dems have shown to be eager to then implement that (see also: deportations and the Dems bragging about how they actually built the wall that Trump promised). There can absolutely be a ratchet effect in this regard.
I could also see Trump being more supportive of the genocide itself. More bombs, more open endorsement, more troops on the ground. Biden has already sent missile defense crews there, i think this still has potential for escalation, as hard as that is to imagine for many people here.
Mind you, i'm not doing a lesser evilism here, it's the morally correct choice not to pick between hand-wringing and enthusiastic genocide, but to treat this as a line that can't be crossed either way. But it's absolutely possible that things will get worse in this regard under Trump.
I agree. I think the main type of people who think Trump is worse than Biden/Kamala just dont want to see the huge power of imperialism focused back in on itself. Theyre a kind of racist chauvinist that doesnt value the lives of brown people anywhere else unless they are here.
100%. This is the attitude of 90% of Americans. It’s exceptionalism all the way down.
True, the side with the backing of the deep state is always the most dangerous in imperialist states.
In the comparing of candidates. I feel like it not that deep. Like there is something very viscerally repellent about the manifestation of Cristo fascism on the American right.
Like I think of the liberal canard of 99% Hitler retoric and like my rejection of it is on the basis that I wont vote for any% Hitler rather than the premise that they are equal. Idk maybe this is a vestige of my liberalism.
See, I’m not above voting for the lesser Hitler. If I felt confident that Kamala would lead to solidly less-bad outcomes, I would go vote for her.
I don't think either Kamala or Trump believe in much of anything but I do think the Republicans are straight-up cartoon villains and more evil than the Dems. Not because the Dems are good, they're horrible, the Republicans are just that comically vile.
I do believe the republicans are more evil, but I also think they’re a less competent evil that by being so comical provokes a lot of pushback.
The Republicans aim to do 100% evil and only manage to do 75%, the Democrats aim for 90% evil and succeed.
Well I'll be goddamned. I genuinely didn't think she'd ever have it in her to get even this far.
Well, the autism is a bit of a boost in actually getting to the root of the problem rather than getting stuck in the neurotypical bounds of respectability and milque toast solutions.
Malala became the worst sellout and Greta became an actual activist.
I never thought that would be the case, but hindsight is 20/20.
Other way around. She started out as a communist, and used her platform for promoting that for some time, but she ended up submitting herself to the consultancy insustrial complex so now she's just an NGO ghoul.
Do you know if she still organizes with any communists though? Because AFAIK, for the most part, since starting her foundation it's just been UNICEF and the sort of UN affiliated NGOs that do good work (maybe inappropriate to call her a ghoul) yet do not stand a chance to change material reality in a meaningful way.
She was an Afghan girl who was shot in the head by a member of the Taliban and then rescued by the US and was intended to be used for propaganda purposes, until it turned out she wasn't the average American and had an actual brain in her head; She called the US' presence in Afghanistan an occupation and revealed she's actually a communist. After that no one would talk to her.
No idea how she sold out though.
until it turned out she wasn't the average American and had an actual brain in her head; She called the US' presence in Afghanistan an occupation
that sounds based
but I read her wiki and it says she was silent on Gaza until she was criticized by contemporarieswhich to me is something no communist would do
I appreciate that post Oct 7 many people have been radicalized in Palestine's favor, but anyone considering themselves a Communist and not being pro-Palestine is absolutely a comprador, pre or post Oct 7 alike. The genocide in Palestine has been going on for more than half a century, there has been more than enough time to see.
but anyone considering themselves a Communist and not being pro-Palestine is absolutely a comprador
that is what I am sayin
no serious communist" is against righteous national liberation movemnets
Yeah that's because over the last few years she became more liberal. She only focuses on education and women's rights, but through Western NGOs instead of something more revolutionary.
Pakistani, she and her dad made a speech at Trot IMT's Pakistan branch before the Taliban incident. Yep, the Western elites dropped her fast when she was more radical than they liked, last I heard she was studying in the West?
She went to Oxford, on a scholarship I believe.
And yes, she sold out bc over the years she's shown herself to be a liberal that uses NGOs and pretty much hasn't been heard of at protests.
The key is this: Pakistanis all over twitter and TikTok have been skeptical of her since she was first known.
Greta progressively getting more based is fun to see, maybe the kids are alright?
As a youth who realized I’m mostly so based (and scarcely compared to her) because this area is my autistic special interest, I’m afraid we’re in a similar boat as non-representatives. Still, I remain hopeful and we are slowly radicalizing as conditions worsen.
I have noticed that many people who are disabled (such as myself who is AuDHD) or GSM/trans are usually the first to be radicalized as MLs (or at least anarchists).
Just as proletarians are more likely to support leftist ideas, so too are other oppressed groups of people. It's a matter of survival, the system is actively hostile towards people who aren't cishet male
It's also why intersectional theory is so important.
Maybe it’s just my manner of talking but I have radicalized in part a decent amount of people - all ADHD and/or autistic. I have also met other leftists that are almost all neurodivergent. I feel like the strong interests, neuroatypical empathy, and feelings of justice play a role beyond the explanation of oppression/disability.
Yes, the establishment likes to call this "justice sensitivity" like it's a pathology.
I definitely believe the deep empathy that neurodivergents are usually better at plays a key role, along with the obsessive interests and experience of oppression/discrimination. Most autistic people struggle with keeping a job for two years, so the financial and time management struggle I believe pushes us to the left quickly.
In addition to hyper empathy, the tendency to not be too attached and defensive of an in group (NT empathy) and instead extend rational concern broadly.
I get told I have a strong "sense of right and wrong" due to my ADHD and I don't really feel like that's related. I feel like I might just notice things more because I diverge in some ways, so I notice wrongs. Having wrong done upon oneself then makes one more empathetic to fighting wrongs in general. Also depressed. But ey, whatyagonnado eh
I'm the same age as Greta, and she was a massive inspiration to me when she started. I was a communist first but she has done massive amounts of good, getting young people invested in climate change action, and also seeing how useless liberal protest is
Oh, absolutely, she's always been a great vector for radicalization for the youth, and her continued growth has only helped.
She had the same effect that Bernie did for a lot of people, but she turned out a million times cooler than him. I would love to meet her some day and just tell her how much I respect her
Waiting for the inevitable "Greta is a Russian assett" think piece.
Or in a more infantilizing way "Has been influenced by Russian propaganda"
Champion, this is pretty sad. The post reply tells Greta to vote for Harris, something she clearly cannot do.
Comment edits are public. Everyone can see that you're full of shit. You aren't saving face, you're just acting like a toddler caught doing something wrong.
Nice edits after the fact to both comments lol.
You realized you're wrong.
And I will have a wonderful day, thank you.
Are you Israeli?
Nobody is an israeli. Israel doesn't exist. It's a made up concept only made material by way of endless piles of money and guns. As soon as the supply runs out we will return to rationality.
You're also doing a bad job conflating the concept of "having an opinion" with "being able to vote"
sitting this election out by voting third party
Voting is actually not voting you see, but also not voting is actually voting
Incredible, all of the lib talking points, complete with a promise to stand by and watch
Someone in the replies called her a selfish white supremacist and got (as of now) 34 likes for it. Her copey ass response to it got much less than that, so that's something.
ShowPalestine is suffering, yes,
White Supremacy. These motherfuckers have no solidarity, and will use LGBTQ and POC as a cudgel to maintain Empire. Rainbow Imperialism in a nutshell.
Dear yankees? Didn't your ruling party, the dems, not do anything to protect those basic rights while in power? Seems like neither of your two big parties gives a shit about you.
This is why I say the two parties are american-supremacists vs white-supremacists.
This person fundamentally believes that american lives are more important and valuable than anyone else's lives around the world. They are an american-supremacist without self-awareness.
Auto-Crypto-Fascism is the default ideology in america. They all tell themselves they are "decent people who want liberty, equality and justice for all... but only if you are a legal citizen... and not
blackimean ~a criminal~~ umm poor." They recognize the horrific things done by their ancestors and the systems that their ancestors built but they refuse to right the wrongs or change the systems that continue to perpetrate those same racist colonial crimes.They are fascists that don't just hide it from others, they can't even recognize it about themselves.
The font is based, so you definitely have bad taste. (Good rhyme!)
I used to use dark mode, but I switched to light mode on both my PC and phone because my main room light doesn't work anymore, so it helps give added brightness when I need it, and that's a lot more often without my light now.
Hey man different strokes for different folks it’s all good. It’s also cos I just woke up so any light is blinding 🫠
You make effortposts about video games. I blow up pipelines and get arrested. We are not the same.
I live in sweden and the divide on Greta is hilarious. On one hand you have reactionaries who STILL put stickers like "fuck you greta!" on their shitty cars, on the other you have lib climate activists who seem downright scared of her more based activism and talk about her "having gone too far" in hushed voices. Only ppl I've met that like her now are either MLs or hardcore anarchists. Imagine if she would join a marxist org
Shit, Hexbear is old. I remember people here discussing how we shouldn't be too critical of her because she was still a child. Now she's a young woman and we still shouldn't be too critical of her because she's right. I hope the rest of the generation tries to emulate it.
I was like kid Greta as kid, but then turned into a lib as I got older. Glad she didn't make that mistake.