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Trolls Are Swarming Young Climate Activists Online

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Re: Trolls Are Swarming Young Climate Activists Online

#81

Post by authoritarian »

RcouF1uZ4gsC wrote: post #11

>mom of 8-year-old climate activist Havana Chapman-Edwards Is it just me, or is there something disturbing about an 8 year old activist for anything? I cannot see anything good coming from turning young children into activists. Kids that age need love and stability, not the fear that the world is going to end unless they do something.

>I cannot see anything good coming from turning young children into activists

Kids get more reposts/retweets/shares so the parents can rake in that ad/sponsorship money by making them public figures

Re: Trolls Are Swarming Young Climate Activists Online

#83

Post by buboard »

iron0013 wrote: post #40
buboard wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No just dont amplify them so incredibly much. They are children in the end, they deserve protection Trolling is a fundamental right , not being trolled is not

They would be protected by meaningful government action on climate change. A comfortable childhood will mean nothing to these kids if their adulthoods are ruined by the consequences of the inaction of older generations, and the kids know it and want to do something about it.

this rhetoric is going a bit too far. The UN children's convention protects children . When (and if) climate change will affect these people they will be adults.

Re: Trolls Are Swarming Young Climate Activists Online

#84

Post by iron0013 »

crazynick4 wrote: post #52
freeone3000 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you listen to the transcripts, this is essentially what they're campaigning for - for the adults to take charge. And these kids are being congratulated for speaking out while the contents of their message are ignored. It's frustrating to watch.

I guess what I'm trying to say that is that kids, whether they're right or wrong, aren't really qualified to promote a public opinion on any issue. You also have to remember that they're being allowed to skip school to do this. When I was a kid, I would have gone to practically any rally if it meant skipping class..

Anyone who's going to be affected is qualified to express their opinion, it seems to me, and children are going to be affected by climate change long after the rest of us are gone.

Re: Trolls Are Swarming Young Climate Activists Online

#85

Post by cmorgan31 »

jakelazaroff wrote: post #41
nostromo wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I did not blame the victim. I specifically blamed the many adults and organizations using her to try and score political points.

I'm not sure why you wouldn't blame the trolls? There are clear antagonists here.

I have no idea either... this train of thought is rampant in this thread and other forums. Condemn the use of props in politics without a single thought towards the disgusting behavior of everyone involved who attack children and their parents. Did everyone forget how every politician takes photo ops with babies? The token appearances at disasters? Props are not new to politics but direct harassment of individuals under the age of 18 is thanks to the double-edged sword of global connectedness.

Re: Trolls Are Swarming Young Climate Activists Online

#86

Post by 52-6F-62 »

thrower123 wrote: post #61

It would be slightly less hypocritical if some of the same people that are wringing their hands about people being mean to Greta Thunberg weren't egging on awfulness against the Covington kids. I'm not sympathetic to those who are moralizing about trolling this child they like, when they just put down the torches and pitchforks they had out for a different child they don't like.

I'm sorry, but I wouldn't equate a young person standing up for protecting our environment and actually making real changes to a young person who decided to take his trolling public and stare down an elder aboriginal man...

Re: Trolls Are Swarming Young Climate Activists Online

#87

Post by authoritarian »

daenz wrote: post #79
yogthos wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So they should just sit there and wait to die is what you're saying?

Imagine telling that to your young child every day and then wondering why your child has anxiety disorders and social problems. Part of being a responsible parent is shielding your children from the horrors of the world, so that they can develop in a stable and sane environment.

It can go the other way as well. My parents were helicopter parents that thought they were doing their best by shielding me "from the horrors of the world" and I suffer from related anxiety orders and social problems. I would've rather been exposed to more and had the ability to form my own opinions

Re: Trolls Are Swarming Young Climate Activists Online

#88

Post by authoritarian »

scarmig wrote: post #57
AlexB138 wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> surely you'd agree that someone trolling kids online ... should be ashamed of themselves and driven out of polite society, yes? I think pretty much everyone involved here, aside from the children, ought to be ashamed of themselves. I don't buy into the idea that people ought to be driven out of society though.

So parents are just as bad for letting children engage in activism as the people threatening to murder and rape them?

I'd be curious to learn how many of these children actually decided to engage in activism themselves. If there's anything I learned while in competitive sports, it's that parents have no problem forcing their kids into things the kids don't care about because they want their kids to be famous professional athletes and I imagine this situation is similar.

Re: Trolls Are Swarming Young Climate Activists Online

#89

Post by Stronico »

gatherhunterer wrote: post #47

Of course the trolls are wrong for trolling, but trolling is a fact of life on the web. When I was a kid I was told to never link any online account with my real identity and to always regard every person encountered on the web as a potential bad actor. The article begins with the story of an 11-year-old whose identity is linked to a public Twitter account. There is a distinct lack of recognition for the failures in…

My first thought is that it's like taking children to a strip club. Twitter and the online political world are just inherently unfit for children.

It would be one thing if the kids were doing original research and social media were the only way to distribute the research, but neither of those are true.

Re: Trolls Are Swarming Young Climate Activists Online

#90

Post by daenz »

authoritarian wrote: post #87
daenz wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Imagine telling that to your young child every day and then wondering why your child has anxiety disorders and social problems. Part of being a responsible parent is shielding your children from the horrors of the world, so that they can develop in a stable and sane environment.

It can go the other way as well. My parents were helicopter parents that thought they were doing their best by shielding me "from the horrors of the world" and I suffer from related anxiety orders and social problems. I would've rather been exposed to more and had the ability to form my own opinions

I'm sure we can agree there is middle ground. I don't think instilling in them that they are just "waiting to die" unless they skip school and march in the streets counts as that middle ground.
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