Greta & Friends Wanted, Denied Martyrdom

Greta Thunberg, a Swedish celebrity pretending to be a political activist, is a textbook example of what we in the psychology field would describe as a parentified or adultified (as dubbed by Israeli-born psychologist Samuel Vaknin) person. These individuals were what we also call ‘instrumentalized’ by their parents from a young age, either to treat them as children, or to meet their unfulfilled aspirations. Thunberg, of course, falls into the latter category. Such traumatized individuals, consequently, never properly grow up to become fully functioning and responsible adults. Hence, we have Greta Thunberg.

In this world where pop-psychology emphasizes and fetishizes mental health jargon like “self-care” and “self-harm,” especially when discussing political issues from an extreme liberal point of view, how interesting that very few or none have described Thunberg’s latest stunt as a grandiose act of self-harm. Regardless of one’s view of the situation in Gaza, boarding a small yacht to sail across the Mediterranean in order to “attempt” to break a military blockade of an area where Israel is currently at war with an unscrupulous foe is nothing short of delusional suicidality. Even if one stepped into the shoes of those who say Israel is an apartheid state, there would still be more productive ways of increasing political pressure on the Israeli government and other governments without needlessly sacrificing one’s life in such a way that’s almost guaranteed death, if not serious physical harm. Afterall, the Apartheid Regime of South Africa wasn’t brought down by adventurist Europeans.

We are therefore left with no other conclusion other than that Thunberg and any other similar Europeans on the “flotilla,” in a deep sense, wanted to go down as ‘martyrs’ for the cause celeb of their generation. Thunberg’s generational contemporaries in Israel who are also 22 years of age, by contrast, are on a completely different–pardon the expression–boat. A 22-year-old Israeli young woman by this point will have received military training in the IDF, have worked at least a couple of meaningful and responsible jobs and careers, and may be on her way to marrying and beginning a family or a business. Is it even possible to imagine any well-formed and well-adjusted 22 year old young lady anywhere in the world, who has a good head on her shoulders, to ever envy the life of Greta Thunberg? Nothing is to envy.

Possessing a secret death wish, mixed with extreme narcissism, helps explain at least in part some of the motivations behind this stunt. Let’s take a moment to wander into the dark and sinister minds of Greta and her friends, a rogue’s gallery of EU politicians, “journalists” and reporters for Qatari and Turkish state television.

Wouldn’t being sunk by the “Israeli occupation forces” while “delivering humanitarian aid to the starving Gazan people” have been the most heroic thing, in the eyes of people who think like them, that could’ve happened? Or how about getting captured, beaten, and harassed and so on by the “occupation” forces? That would have at least given them lots of street cred amongst their own. But no, rather than fulfilling their wish for martyrdom on the high seas against a force whom they view as the greatest enemy of humanity, those who boarded the Flotilla–or since many are having fun with their own dubbing of it, perhaps we might call it the Flirtilla, given the big smile dawned by Thunberg upon being fed by the army she claims to be starving the people of Gaza–were instead and humiliatingly given blankets, water bottles, and sandwiches.

One might imagine Greta saying, “How dare you?”

This brilliant response by the Israeli government to not give Greta and her friends what they wanted, and then to add the stroke of genius in making them watch Hamas atrocities on the big screen, will live forever alongside other clever operations like the pager incident in Beirut. Let’s rest assured, however, that the former child star and co will no doubt describe being made to see Hamas atrocities as some kind of “psychological torture” and so on. My only suggestion now is that the government go all the way by also making them attend some Torah readings, followed by a Purim-style feast and chaims at a Chabad.