Back in my school days, I had a guardian who used to advise
me on a regular basis that I should never grow up and remain a child. His
argument was simple – “Children only recognize if you’re a good person or a
shit. Adults on the other hand allow their judgement to get caught up in things
like, is he rich or powerful.”
I didn’t appreciate those words and the importance they held
until I read the reactions of a few people to 16-year old Greta Thunberg’s impassioned
speech at the United Nations Climate Action Summit. In that speech the 16-year
old called out the great and powerful of the world for doing nothing about a
serious ecological issue.
It was an emotional but rational speech, outlining the
concerns of a young lady, concerned about her future. It was one of those heartening
moments, to see a young lady confronting the world about an issue that she
cared about. The achievement is enhanced by the fact that Ms. Thunberg has Asperger’s,
which is a mild form of autism and was speaking in her second language. It was
one of those moments when you look this 16-year old and you think “wow – she’s
taking on the world – where was I when I was that age (back in the Mount – my junior
boarding house, looking to get laid unsuccessfully).”
Well, I seem to have missed something here because, some of
the adults in the room decided that it was time to take down this young lady.
The most prominent was the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, who famously tweeted
that he saw a happy child looking towards a bright future. The nicest thing
that could be said about the Occupant’s tweet, was the fact that it proved the
British adage that Americans don’t get sarcasm to be wrong. Given the Occupant’s
inability to pick fights with people his own size (We are talking about the
Commander in Chief of the world’s strongest military who couldn’t get the troops
out of Syria, where they have real guns and the intention to use them on
Americans, fast enough so that they could fight against a caravan of migrants
with the evil intention of cleaning the shit of Americans), I guess this was no
surprise. Here are some of the links on Mr. Trump’s tweets:
What was a little more disturbing, was the fact that people thought
it was appropriate to post pictures comparing young Ms. Thunberg to the
children than were used as propaganda during the Nazi era as you can see from
the picture below:
Mr. Trump was not the only world leader to take on a 16-year
old with Asperger’s. Not to be outdone in the area of machismo, Australia’s
Prime Minister, Mr. Scott Morrison decided to take on Ms. Thunberg for “subjecting Australian children to “needless
anxiety.” The report on Mr. Morrison’s comments can be found at:
As if taking on the US President and the Australian Prime
Minister, Ms. Thunberg had to take on another big name in the world’s great and
good – Singapore’s most prominent blogger, Xiaxue, who described Ms. Thunberg’s
speech as “Damn Cringe.” The report can be found at:
If I were Ms. Thunberg, I would have an immense sense of
pride in getting the most powerful people in the world getting worked up by what
she was saying. That is an achievement. I can help repeating this – I don’t
have Asperger’s and communicate in my first language most of the time and can’t
get people to react to anything I say – she, by contrast is doing it in her
second language and having people like the US President and Australian Prime Minister
crap in their pants. That is an achievement.
The best part about this whole speech is that Ms. Thunberg
should have been more emotional. She has collected the science for her case and
she has said – “Don’t listen to me – listen to the science.”
Yet, we the adults have refused to listen. The evidence that
climate change and its ill effects have been with us for a while. Clean
technologies are getting better (even in hydrocarbon dominated economies like
the UAE are investing in them. I also think its better to invest in clean
technologies that create high value jobs that cling onto the old polluting
stuff) – so why aren’t we doing anything about the problem.
In the last month, I’ve sat in a very wealthy country in privileged
surroundings choking on an environmental issue started in another country. I
look at the brown patches of grass in my neighborhood lawns because it hasn’t rained
for ages and I live in the tropics where rain shouldn’t be a problem.
Come on, it’s so obvious that Ms. Thunberg has a point. Isn’t
it time we get off our arses and do something to ensure we have a vaguely
livable environment rather than drilling our heads into the proverbial sandpit of
happy ignorance and stupidity? Seriously, is the only solution for Mar-A-Lago
to be hit by a tropical storm?
Appeal
Being an independent blogger, taking on and discussing
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