In this week's post I am discussing my opinion on Greta Thunbergs controversial chant from a public relations perspective, exploring the positives and the negatives of her participation with the crowd in Glasgow.
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About Greta and the chant:
Greta Thunberg is an 18 year old environmental activist who has campaigned since childhood for change. She recently joined a large crowd in chanting “You can shove your climate crisis up your a***” in Glasgow. It is a rather shocking chant which has summoned media attention.
The meaning of the chant:
The chant was directed at world leaders who despite declaring a “climate crisis” are failing to act fast enough or at all.
Why could this chant be an issue from a PR perspective:
From a Public Relations perspective the message is confusing without context. The chant alone could appear to contradict Thunbergs movement known as Fridays for Future (also known as School Strike for Climate). At first glance the chant seems to cast a negative shadow on acknowledging a climate crisis. Once I understood that the chant is in relation to world leaders declaring a 'climate crisis', whilst maintaining unacceptable inaction, the chant made more sense. Greta and crowds aim was to criticise the leaders and their aims of completion by 2060, which is too late.
The other side of the argument:
I think it is important to acknowledge that there is not only a negative position on this chant. The shocking nature of the chart and a swear word from someone known for being young, has drawn in news and social media attention and encouraged people to engage with the issue. This has likely prompted people to read the article in more depth and understand that the chant is trying to prompt world leaders to be proactive and rapid before it is too late to save the planet. If you’d like to show support on social media for Thunberg and the climate emergency in a positive way, use the hashtag 'UprootTheSystem".
The topic of today's blog post has drawn out a range of opinions amongst my peers. Please feel free to comment your opinion. Do you think the media attention is worth any misconception around the chant?