THUNBERG V’S BOLT

Opinion Piece

This week a 59- year-old Australian columnist and political commentator Andrew Bolt attacked 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg in one of his columns.

Below is what he said in his column. I only have a photo because to read the article I would have to fork out a subscription rate to read it.

Basically, he said that Greta who is Autistic was in his words

“As the deeply disturbed Greta Thunberg spreads her climate panic, we should ask why so many world leaders are listening to her, writes Andrew Bolt”

He goes onto mock her Autism with these wonderfully comforting words

“No teenager is more freakishly influential than Greta Thunberg, the deeply disturbed messiah of the global warming movement”, the article opens, continuing: “I have never seen a girl so young and with so many mental disorders treated by so many adults as a guru.”

So, who is Greta Thunberg?

Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg

(Born 3 January 2003) is a Swedish activist who, at age 15, began protesting outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018 about the need for immediate action to combat climate change. Her “school strike for the climate” began attracting media attention and she has since become an outspoken climate activist. In response to the publicity, the school strike for climate movement began in November 2018 and spread globally after the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP24) in December the same year.

On 15 March 2019, an estimated 1.4 million students in 112 countries around the world joined her call in striking and protesting. A similar event involving students from 125 countries took place on 24 May 2019. In July 2019, on behalf of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), secretary-general Mohammed Barkindo declared Thunberg, and other young climate activists as the “greatest threat” to the fossil fuel industry.

Thunberg has received various prizes and awards for her activism. In March 2019, three members of the Norwegian parliament nominated Thunberg for the Nobel Peace Prize. In May 2019, at the age of 16, she was featured on the cover of Time magazine. Some media have described her impact on the world stage as the “Greta Thunberg effect.”

And who is Andrew Bolt?

Andrew Bolt

Andrew Bolt (born 26 September 1959)

Is an Australian conservative social and political commentator. He has worked at the Melbourne-based newspaper company The Herald and Weekly Times (HWT) for many years, for both the newspaper The Herald and its successor, the Herald Sun. His current roles include blogger and columnist at the Herald Sun and host of television show The Bolt Report each weeknight. In Australia, Bolt is a highly controversial public figure, who has frequently been criticised for his alleged abrasive demeanour and accused of inappropriate remarks on various political and social issues.

Now I could dissect what was said and the Twitter outrage, but I won’t and here’s why.

This is just what people like Bolt want, they live for the outrage, it’s what they get paid for.

Basically, he’d attack the sun for being too yellow or for the wrong type of leaves falling from the sky in Autum.

He gets paid for his unpopular opinions, and all it does in reality is drive traffic towards the failing newspaper industry’s website as it is now holy reliant on clicks to drive their advertising revenue up. When I say traffic, I mean internet clicks not actual traffic.

To her credit Thunberg did respond (it was very classy and dignified) she wrote on Twitter in response to the article the following

“I am indeed” deeply disturbed” about the fact that these hate and conspiracy campaigns are allowed to go on and on and on just because we children communicate and act on the science. Where are the adults?”

Bolt for his part well he doesn’t give a shit about a 16-year-old Autistic’s view of the world is does he? I mean he’s not out there campaigning for climate change or given a TED talk or spoke a climate summits, no Bolt prefers to stay inside his study, tapping away on his keyboard his unpopular opinions or sit on a chair in a studio in the Sky news building in Melbourne making similar attacks.

And there’s the big difference between the pair.

Thunberg is out there actively making things happen, sparking debate, alerting the world to what’s happening and what can be done and where’s Bolt?

He sits behind a desk inside a studio venting his unpopular opinion to the million plus people that follow his every word on his Sky News Show.

So, here’s what I think.

You’re never going to get people like Bolt to actually listen or respect you for anything that you do Greta, sorry but that’s a fact. If he had a child and that child came first in the Olympics Bot wouldn’t be unimpressed and begin a rant against lefty greenies.

Greta you keep doing what you’re doing. Bolt will be dead by the time any action is actually taken on climate change.

And in the meantime, don’t be drawn into his click bait articles. It’s not worth it.

They don’t mean anything and in reality, he doesn’t care who he upsets as long as the clicks and those articles make headlines then he can sit back and allow a smug grin to spread across his face.

Carry on the Conversation

What did you think of what Bolt said about Greta?

Did you find it offensive?

Do you read his column?

Will you boycott him and his column?

Let me know in the comments section below

As always, I can also be found on Twitter: @AutisticNick9 and at my email autisticnick9@gmail.com

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Thank you for reading and I will see you next time for more thoughts from across the spectrum.