70 thoughts on “Gretatude”

  1. Rob_G

    How do people not think that this won’t come back to bite them in the botty – of course of the transport company is going to fact-check the claim, their reputation is at stake. The same thing happened to Corbyn about two years’ ago.

    1. Rob_G

      Well, when she posts of a photo of herself sitting in a corridor saying it was an ‘overcrowded’ train, I (and I imagine, other people) would deduce that she hadn’t been able to get a seat for this service, whereas apparently she actually had.

      I think it’s great what she’s doing, but she didn’t need to throw Deutsche Bahn under the bus (so to speak) to heighten the drama of her journey home.

      1. Cian

        I believe she was on multiple trains across Germany. One was full, the other she got a 1st class seat.

        Hence their wording “It would have been even nicer if you had also reported…” (my emphasis)

        1. Rob_G

          Fair enough, difficult to pick up on that nuance from DB’s tweet.

          I can kind of see where they are coming from – fair enough.

      2. going going gaagaa

        No – only you.

        I imagine other people would read up about the story and acquaint themselves with all relevant facts before traducing their own reputation making ill-informed catty little comments

      1. Clampers Outside

        And 14 1/2 hours between the “tragedy” of the first tweet and the eventual update.

        The first was clearly intentional “tragedy” play, and the update an an attempt to cover when called on it, on the lack of detail, in the first.

        It’s just marketing.

        1. Nigel

          It was not ‘clearly a tragedy play.’ This is a deliberately uncharitable, hostile, bad-faith reading of the tweet, just as the manner in which Broadsheet posted the story was also in bad faith. Even now it’s two screenshots versus a link.

        3. GiggidyGoo

          I’ve travelled on the german trains. When you buy your first class ticket you are allocated a seat number. If someone else sits in it, then you call THE MAN and he gets the cuckoo removed.

        4. george

          Who are you quoting when put quotes around “tragedy”. It is your word, nobody else used it.

          Giggidy Goo, I doesn’t say she had a first class ticket. She may have been offered a first class seat by staff because there were no others. Possibly after they recognised her.

          2. Ambivalent Gendered Brit

            You seem like a nice guy overall but my bet is the wife hardly ever talks to you any more. Am I right?

          3. Cian

            isn’t fair, my precious, is it, to ask us what it’s got in it’s nassty little bag? handsess perhaps?

  4. Mike

    To DB, DonaldT and others…
    1. This person has captured the imagination of the world, regardless of your stance or what may be the truth. Do not doubt that the opinions she represents are very real next-generation customers and voters.
    2. Greta’s followers literally do not care about your opinions (DonaldT) or clarifications (DB) – zero appetite for millionaires to be calling out a child.
    3. Bite your lip, you cannot win this one, it simply doesn’t matter if you’re right If in doubt, re-read point three.
    4. How are your PR people letting you do this to yourself? You need to pivot to the position that she’s Rosa Parks 2.0 and start from there. The DB comment has a bang of sneery teenager about it…”Actually, I saw you in first-class, so there!”

    I applaud her determination, she’s a better role model that 99% of social media influencers – but taking her on will probably mean you’ll end up looking like a pillock.

    1. george

      You’re wrong though. The seat was offered for one third of a six hour journey so DB’s response isn’t a clarification. Also did they offer her a seat in first class when they recognised her? Because that doesn’t mean the train wasn’t overcrowded.

    2. Rob_G

      I don’t know if either Deutsche Bahn or Donald Trump enjoy the hot-takes of Broadsheet

      (and even if they do, I doubt they read as far as the comments. But on the off-chance they do – “hello!”)

  5. Cloud

    Uncharacteristic misstep by Greta and her social media people there; that said, the train co’s reply has a bang of someone who kinda has it in for her anyway,

      1. Steph Pinker

        Very true – not to mention that IÉ with permission from homeless minister Murphy could easily house three families in between each carriage at off-peak times – and they’d have a lovely view of the countryside every day, night, day, night, day, night…

  7. george

    Please post the additional response form Thunberg which was made yesterday. No excuse for admitting this. She was on a 6 hour train journey. She had no seat for 4 hours of the journey before she was offered a seat for 2 hours. Sounds like the train was crowded to me.

  8. bisted

    …I happened to see several of her tweets on her long journey home including where she had suggested that some people had been put against the wall…she quickly pointed out that this meant something quite passive in her First language…I have always found her completely without guile…her actual tweet at this time was to be pleased that the trains were so crowded because more people must be using them…never mind the begrudgers Greta…

  10. fez

    surely if the train wasn’t crowded it wasn’t as environmental as it could be, she should be glad that trains are optimally packed.

  11. going going gaagaa

    This is the real spirit of Irish Christmas

    A bunch of people are getting their red, frilly, lacey Santy panties in a twist because a teenage girl tweeted something on a website

  13. Clampers Outside

    14.5 hrs to script a follow up tweet?

    Because 1st class won’t get sympathy like sitting on the floor.
    Morketing 101.

    1. Nigel

      You’re criticising her becasue she took too long to respond? Also, still insisting that this was a play for sympathy, even though it was just a cool photo of someone on a long journey? I’m sensing this is a lose-lose for her with you no matter what she says or does.

      1. Ambivalent Gendered Brit

        Probably also a lose lose situation for you and Clampers in fairness – not to mention all the other commentators

    2. Fee @

      Dude, if you’re the kind that compares time stamps on tweets to bolster some conspiracy about a 16 year old girl, then married life is even worse than its cracked up to be. Mind the gap.

      1. Clampers Outside

        Nah, i just see it as marketing, no biggy. You seem to be somewhat incensed by that. You too mind that gap fellow commenter.

        1. Nigel

          In fairness the sight of a grown man desperate to pwn a sixteen year old girl is a fairly appalling vista.

          1. Gearóid

            Note the I’m-not-getting-worked-up “no biggy”. Soon it’ll be smileys, because HE IS NOT EMOTIONALLY INVESTED IN SHOWING HER UP!

          8. Termagant

            Let’s not pretend for a second this is actually about the 16 year old girl in question. It’s about the enterprise surrounding her.

          9. Clampers Outside

            That’s so cruel of you, it’s All her doing, and anyone who says it’s not is a big bully of kids, so there.

          10. Nigel

            My God you’ve seen right through the whole thing! A sixteen year old girl did not travel halfway around the world and back on an exhausting campaign to save the world completely on her own without the help and support and protection of the adults in her life. That means it must be a sham! Clinate change is fake!

            You utterly useless tossers.

  14. Liam Deliverance

    I read it as just a “I’m on a long trip home for Christmas” type message, grateful to be heading home with an air of optimism, overcrowded was mentioned as she is sitting on the floor – where most people would be after an hour or so on a 6 hour train ride, I doubt she cares that she has to sit on the floor, probably just grateful to be headed home for RnR after busy speaking schedule. If I was the DB Twitter guy I would have re-considered that tweet and said nothing.

  16. Jake38

    If Greta had been heading home on Iarnrod Eireann the first thing she would have done on arrival would be to buy a car.

  17. Lilly

    That looks positively spacious. Had it been the Westport train, she’d be in Tullamore before she could dream of taking the weight off her feet in the corridor.

  21. Scundered

    Probably drugs, like who on earth would stop and question her and risk getting some laser eye treatment?

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