Greta Thunberg seems to have found her calling. She first became famous for skipping school to protest climate change. Since then, she’s expanded her activism to Gaza and other political causes. Earlier this month, she appeared outside a high school in France, joining students protesting poor school conditions.
At this point, Thunberg has become something of a professional protester. These days, she seems to find a way to make just about every cause part of the same fight.
As a psychotherapist, I find something familiar about all this. Many of today’s protests remind me of giant group therapy sessions that go nowhere. People show up angry, find hundreds of others who agree with them, chant for a few hours and go home feeling better.
It’s cathartic. They feel heard, understood, and part of something bigger than themselves. Everyone gets to vent. Whether anything gets fixed is another matter.
In France, Thunberg explained that various protest movements are connected because they’re fighting the same system. She described them as having a common enemy. Climate change, the war in Gaza, and underfunded French schools are very different problems, involving different governments, circumstances, and possible solutions. Yet Thunberg manages to turn them all into one big fight against “the system.”
Once you divide the world into oppressors and the oppressed, good and evil, everything becomes simple. You don’t have to worry about the details. Just identify who’s supposedly being oppressed and you’ve found your side. And when everyone around you sees things the same way, who’s going to challenge you? The problem is that real life rarely divides so neatly into good guys and bad guys.
Thunberg has built a reputation for demanding action, expressing outrage, and scolding those in power. But getting angry and demanding change isn’t the same as knowing how to bring it about. Her supporters might argue that her job is to draw attention to problems, not write legislation or negotiate policy. Fair enough. But when you become an international symbol of activism, it’s reasonable to ask what exactly you’re accomplishing.
In therapy, I sometimes see people who are very good at explaining what’s wrong with their lives. They can spend an hour talking about it and leave feeling better. But if they don’t follow through on what we’ve discussed or make any changes, we’ll be having the same conversation the following week.
Some protests seem to work the same way: People get together, express their frustrations, and leave feeling as though they’ve accomplished something. Meanwhile, the problems that brought them together remain. The distinction between feeling better and getting better matters in therapy, and there’s a similar distinction between feeling politically empowered and producing actual change.
Of course, protests can accomplish something. They’ve played an important role in bringing about social and political change, and the French students have legitimate grievances. They’ve complained about teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms, and deteriorating buildings. Some schools reportedly have rats, collapsing ceilings, and students going without teachers in essential subjects. These aren’t imaginary problems.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg waves from a boat taking part in a civilian flotilla bound for Gaza, aiming to break the Israeli blockade and deliver humanitarian aid, in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
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Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg waves from a boat taking part in a civilian flotilla bound for Gaza, aiming to break the Israeli blockade and deliver humanitarian aid, in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
But that’s precisely why Thunberg’s involvement raises an interesting question. The students have specific complaints and want specific changes. They need teachers, functioning classrooms, and safer buildings. What does it accomplish to turn those demands into another chapter in a worldwide struggle against oppression? How does fighting a common enemy help a student who needs a math teacher?
For some people, protesting becomes their social life. It’s where their friends are, where they get attention, and where they feel important. Eventually, they may need the movement as much as the movement needs them. And if your identity becomes tied to activism, there’s always the temptation to look for the next cause.
There’s also a certain comfort in having an enemy. It gives people someone to blame and a reason to keep fighting, even when it’s not clear what winning would look like. In my practice, I’ve seen how people can become so attached to their grievances that letting them go feels threatening. Their anger gives them a sense of purpose, even as it keeps them stuck.
Thunberg has called for an end to fossil fuel dependence, so it’s not as though she’s never proposed a course of action. But what does her climate activism have to do with a French school that needs more teachers? Calling everything a fight against oppression may draw a crowd, but it doesn’t explain how either problem gets solved.
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Greta Thunberg has become very good at protesting. Wherever there’s a grievance, she seems to find a reason to show up. But at some point, it’s fair to ask what all that protesting accomplishes.
In therapy, I encourage people to move beyond talking about their problems and start doing something about them. Perhaps the world’s most famous protester could benefit from the same advice.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
