Just when you thought it was safe to visit Picadilly Circus: On Thursday, none other than the Doom Pixie Greta Thunberg appeared in London, dressed warmly against the British chill, to answer "public order" charges in London's Westminster Magistrates' Court. As per her usual practice, she wasted no time in deflecting the blame for her disruptive protest, claiming that she isn't the real enemy - we are.
Greta Thunberg said on Thursday people should remember who "the real enemy is" after she and four other environmental activists appeared in court charged with a public order offence at a protest outside an oil and gas conference.
Thunberg, who became a prominent campaigner worldwide after staging weekly protests in front of the Swedish parliament in 2018, spoke after the first day of the hearing at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court.
All five defendants, who are aged between 19 and 59 and have pleaded not guilty, are accused of failing to comply with an order by senior police officers to move their protest to a designated area near the conference last year.
If convicted, they would face a maximum fine of 2,500 pounds ($3,160) each.
Climate change or no climate change, it's clearly chilly in London in February. Check out how warmly dressed they all were:
Greta Thunberg anlände nyss till rätten i London.
— Erik Nieroth (@ErikNille) February 1, 2024
Greta står åtalad för "störande av allmän ordning", och om hon döms riskerar hon att få drygt 30 tusen SEK i böter.
Vi håller tummarna för att hon blir dömd! 👍 pic.twitter.com/0lAuJduBCo
The trial is being conducted by a judge with no jury and is expected to conclude on Friday.
It matters little, of course, what the outcome of this trial is; Greta Thunberg and her supporters aren't about to be deterred by a fine, and honestly, a fine is about all we can expect from this case. Candidly, that's probably appropriate; Pippi Longschpeiling and her companions didn't deface any works of classic art, after all - this time. They were, however, blocking the entrance into a major gas and oil conference - a legal gathering of people gathered to discuss a legal business, oh, and one on which, by the way, the economy of the entire civilized world depends.
Related:
Greta Thunberg Gets Arrested for the Simple Offense of Protesting Gas and Oil Conference
Greta has plenty of supporters who will pay her fines. She'll be back. And on Thursday, the activist had something to say:
Thunberg, 21, spoke outside court alongside two other defendants after the end of proceedings on Thursday.
"Even though we are the ones standing here and climate, environmental and human rights activists all over the world are being prosecuted, sometimes convicted and given legal penalties for acting in line with science, we must remember who the real enemy is," Thunberg said.
Here's a news flash for you, Miss Thunberg: You and your activist friends are being prosecuted for good reasons. You seem to be limiting yourself to waving signs on sidewalks, giving long-winded interviews to fawning leftist journalists, protesting at airports, and so on, your fellow climate change activists are throwing soup on priceless, historic works of art and blocking roadways. That's not a "peaceful protest." That is interfering with lawful commerce and, in the case of blocking public streets and roads, could cause loss of life in the event an emergency vehicle was prevented from answering a call.
You, Greta, are the enemy. You and your friends are the enemies of our modern, technologically-based way of life. You are the enemy of the people who produce the smartphone that you use to coordinate your protests, many parts of which are built from plastics made from petroleum by-products. You are the enemy of modern medicines, including many synthetic drugs that are made from precursors that are petroleum by-products. You are the enemy of the modern way of life, Greta; own it.
Greta may well get a fine for this, and to her followers, it will be seen as a species of minor martyrdom that she had to appear in court; there is literally nothing the Doom Pixie could do to deter the climate crazies, save perhaps buying an SUV. Apparently, it's even acceptable to be antisemitic, as long as you're "correct" on other causes.
See Related: Did You Notice This About Greta Thunberg’s ‘Stand With Gaza’ Picture?
WATCH: Greta Thunberg Takes the Mask Off Fully, as She Chants to 'Crush Zionism' at Disturbing Rally
Greta and Friends almost certainly haven't given too much thought to the implications of their proposals. Frankly, it's doubtful any of them have given too much thought to, well, anything. But their protests don't change the fact that climate change, yes, is real, and has been for billions of years, and will be for billions more. We humans are a small part of it, and nothing the green protesters can bring to bear is worth destroying our modern lifestyle over.
Frankly, we could use a little climate change here in the Great Land. It was -30 here this morning. Even by Alaska standards, that's cold.
