Dear Sir,
I am happy to respond, as requested, to GS of Woodham’s letter of last week in order to set the record straight. I am sorry if my comments about an autistic teenage climate change activist touched a nerve in relation to the writer’s autistic son, but I think the writer has totally missed my point, which is that it is a political stunt to parade young, cute, wronged, autistic Greta in front of a United Nations climate change conference, and have her scowling and snarling through a hate-filled rant at her seniors for causing climate change.
Maybe venting such anger is a trait linked to her autism (she has Asperger’s Syndrome – a milder autism spectrum disorder which affects people in different ways), maybe not, but it’s inappropriate to blame it on the rest of humanity – mankind is not deliberately destroying the planet, and we can’t all hate our ancestors for cutting down trees, burning fossil fuels and eating meat to survive.
GS is mistaken in accusing me of attacking young Greta. My attack was directed at those who put her on a platform and those who hang on her every word as though she is a fount of knowledge and experience, when she is just an angry, inexperienced schoolgirl who doesn’t even attend school.
Another key point missed is the potential harm of followers getting behind such a subversive and threatening message. Only this week some ‘activists’ tried to spray paint over a government building. Such ‘activists’ care a lot less about the environment than I do. Their aim is to cause political unrest. This is despite our government doing more than just about all others to lower emissions already.
It also beggars belief that she should be encouraged to stir up schoolchildren to not go to school, because there’s no point, because the planet is going to be destroyed!
I am sorry GS’s son is autistic but pleased to hear he is wonderful. I have friends and relatives with autistic children and I know how challenging they can be, especially if they are high on the spectrum.
John Snowball
