Culture

Greta Thunberg Is Time’s ‘Person Of The Year’, And The Internet’s Worst Pissbabies Are Mad

Well deserved.

by Joseph Earp  12 December 2019
Greta Thunberg is Time Person of the Year

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In August 2018, Greta Thunberg was just a lone student, sitting on the steps of the Swedish parliament. Now, 17 months later, she has been named Time magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’.

The accolade is designed to honour the human being — or beings; never forget when ‘You’ were named Person of the Year back in 2006 — who most shaped culture. And who else so drastically shaped culture like Thunberg?

It’s not just that the activist gave a fiery speech to the UN. It’s not just that she inspired the Global Strike for Climate, one of the biggest environmental protests in history.

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It’s that she changed the way we talk about fighting climate change. Thunberg isn’t interested in mere accolades, or kind words. She wants change — real change. And she will accept nothing less.

In fact, for that reason, it’s somewhat ironic that Thunberg has been given this honour. From the very outset, she has called for activism, not awards, and bestowing her with Person of the Year weirdly undermines the true nature of her project.

But hey, if we’re simply stating the person who most changed the direction of our culture, it’s Thunberg. No doubt about it.

To that end, since Thunberg has received the plaudit, the internet has lit up with messages of support and praise.

She’s been acclaimed by such luminaries as US Presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren…

… Star Trek hero George Takei…

…and actress Elizabeth Banks.

More importantly, she’s also pissed off all the right people. The US political landscape is full of pundits who get their paycheques for denying both science and common sense, and that entire brigade of charlatans has come out in droves to complain.

Because none of these people have an imagination, either, all of their complaints are the same — that Thunberg is too young, that she hasn’t achieved anything, that she’s a liberal shill.

Of course, if these science-deniers don’t like Thunberg because she’s a child, they can always hear the exact same message delivered by the millions of grown-ups who also accept the writing on the rapidly warming wall.