As the campaign to somehow discredit climate campaigner Greta Thunberg intensifies, so does the level of desperation involved, and when it comes to desperation, there is no finer exponent of the art than the loathsome Toby Young. After reading another product of desperation - a post from the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog “revealing” that Ms Thunberg’s mother was a singer - he was off and away.
In fact, Ms Thunberg’s mother had once represented Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest, which in the eyes of The Great Guido qualified as “privileged”, although not perhaps as privileged as being part of the Pundit Establishment, and in the Fawkes case, part of the press establishment, especially that part of it controlled by the Murdoch mafiosi.
No matter. It was enough for Tobes, and he duly hit the Tweet button from within the Fawkes post. And so was created the resulting Tweet: “Greta Thunberg Is Privileged Daughter of Sweden's Eurovision Star”. Two things here. One, being the daughter of a Eurovision entrant does not make Ms Thunberg “privileged”. And Two, this is coming from Toby Young, son of Michael Young, Baron Young of Dartington. Er, hello?
The adverse comment was not slow in arriving, with Sue Searson in the vanguard. “And you're the son of someone who had to phone up Oxford Uni to get you in”. Quite. And that really is privilege. Hadley Freeman of the Guardian took a more measured view, but arrived at the same conclusion. “Bold of him to think familial connections should be used as a weapon against people”. So Tobes had another think. He need not have bothered.
“To create the tweet below, I just clicked on the Twitter button beneath the article by @GuidoFawkes. But because of the way Twitter works, everyone thinks I’m calling out the saintly Greta for being ‘privileged’ - me, the son of a bloody Baron! So, of course, I’m trending again”. No, it’s because everyone thinks you’re a witless cockwomble, Tobes.
The Tweeter known as Shy Philosopher mused “Yeah ... it's as though people think someone tweeting an article means they want to share it with a wider audience, either because they agree with it or want to add their own counter-argument”. Tobes did not put a counter argument. So it has to be assumed he agreed with the Fawkes post.
Especially because, as Rupert Myers tried to tell him, “It does show you the draft tweet before you click tweet though, doesn't it?” Indeed it does, and indeed it did. Tobes was shown what would appear in his Twitter feed, and he clicked to confirm. Bang to rights.
It was just left to James Felton to conclude “I was scared when all the scientists said the planet is on fire, but it turns out one child’s parent is rich so we can dismiss everything she says for some reason. That was a close one”. Quite.
The increasingly desperate attacks on Ms Thunberg have revealed rather more about the inadequacies and insecurities of her attackers than they have about her. Especially those coming from the already privileged Pundit Establishment.
As for Toby Young, we now know why he’s called Captain Bellend. Because he is one.
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2 comments:
"So, of course, I’m trending again”.
He can hardly contain his excitement. What a sad little knobhead. (And with a head that shape, he really should avoid drawing that comparison).
Poor Tobes, since he lost the Office for Students gig, he's descended into bitterness.
Poor fella, can't catch a cold..
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