Mason  🏃‍♂️ ✂️

We *did* actually fail Greta Thunberg We created a situation where a child was so ridden with anxiety about global catastrophe that she stopped eating, and then we praised her for skipping school to vent her anger Her obsession could have made her a scientist, maker, builder https://twitter.com/Education4Libs/status/1180669227931451392 …

We could have mentored a young expert on the problem, we could have connected her to tinkerers instead of politicians, we could have shown her that teenagers are worth more to the world as creators than as victims

Is there not a reasonable argument that solutions to climate change will require collective political action, and so political pressure is a reasonable course of action? It has low barriers to entry!

As an experiment, I challenge you to read over Greta's public statements and see if you can construct even a relatively vague policy proposal from them

Ive not read much of hers, but I agree, I don't think I would be able to! But politics isn't always about policy. Sometimes it's about raising the challenge. There is a role for people who can do that effectively.

I don't expect I'm going to convince you otherwise, but functional politics is actually about policy, and it gets pretty dysfunctional pretty quickly when it becomes about charisma.

I don't disagree with that either! I worked for a politician for years, so know the benefit of sensible policy makers. The question I had was over whether we have failed her, as she wasn't adding value. I think she is adding some value, and she has the rest of her life ahead .