Greta Thunberg Is the Embodiment of Progressive Vapidity

By David Harsanyi

Tuesday, June 10, 2025

 

Professional leftist Greta Thunberg was brought to Israel this week after the “selfie yacht” she was traveling on attempted to break through a naval blockade of Gaza. The “Madleen” was part of a “flotilla” pretending to deliver aid to alleviate an imaginary famine. The same day, 62 Israeli trucks carrying food entered the Gaza Strip.

 

The 22-year-old was given food and shelter and sent home by the Israeli government, which she accused of “kidnapping” her. All the usual suspects went along with this predictable framing.

 

If Thunberg really wanted to better understand the concept of an abduction, she might have asked Hamas to visit the Israelis still being tortured in a dank basement somewhere in Rafa. But the “human rights activist,” which is how the media unironically describes her, has never once called for the release of the hostages taken by Islamists. Indeed, the flotilla effort was reportedly organized by a “Hamas operative.”

 

“[The Israelis] tried to make us watch all kinds of propaganda videos,” Thunberg told reporters after landing in Paris, “but I didn’t watch. This is nothing compared to what is happening in Gaza, which is in desperate need of humanitarian aid.” Referring to GoPro videos made by Palestinians that document the slaughter of women, children, and the elderly as “propaganda” is a bold accusation coming from a cosplay revolutionary whose biggest problem was getting a vegetarian meal from her hosts.

 

Why is she in the news at all?

 

Thunberg was named Time’s Person of the Year in 2019 after dropping out of high school and “raising awareness for climate change.” It was quite a historic accomplishment. No one was talking about global warming before Greta came around, apparently. Me? I tend to think the kid who stays in school and learns a thing or two about biology before lecturing me about science is the real hero. But we live in a time where emotionalism and vapidity are often confused with decency and wisdom. Thunberg is the embodiment of this trend.

 

Thunberg’s most infamous moment was a frivolous emotional outburst at the United Nations, where she screamed at those who had bequeathed her with unprecedented wealth, safety, and freedom: “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words,” she claimed. But really, her dream was to be famous. Or, maybe, it was first the dream of exploitative parents who persuaded their child that the world was on the precipice of Armageddon.

 

Since her Time magazine cover, Thunberg has achieved nothing. Her native Sweden has turned back to fossil fuels. Europe, as well. The Earth is still here. Subsequently, Thunberg has moved on to champion other trendy leftist causes, such as Black Lives Matter, and now “Free Palestine.” The only thing she understands less about than climate science seems to be the Middle East.

 

As far as I can tell, Thunberg has never once said anything remotely compelling or witty or smart. There are millions of young people more worthy of attention. For years, youth shielded Thunberg from criticism. Even now, journalists never ask her a serious, in-depth question about the issues she champions. Well, Thunberg is now a young woman, and so we can freely point out that she’s always been an extraordinary imbecile. But now, she’s also a useful idiot for terrorists. For that, there is no excuse.