Greta Thunberg Shuts Down Columnist's 'Deeply Disturbing' Insults
Nobel Peace Prize nominee Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old influential environmental activist on the autism spectrum, turned a columnistâs âdeeply disturbingâ insult on its head with a clap-back asking, âWhere are the adults?â
On Wednesday, Australian News Corp columnist Andrew Bolt penned an opinion piece in the Herald Sun titled, âThe Disturbing Secret to the Cult of Greta Thunberg.â He used the space to dismiss Thunbergâs advocacy work and decision to travel to the United States for a climate change summit via yacht to reduce airplane gas emissions as part of her âmental disorders.â
âI have never seen a girl so young and with so many mental disorders treated by so many adults as a guru,â Bolt wrote. âFar more interesting is why so many adults â including elected politicians, top business leaders, the Pope and journalists â treat a young and strange girl with such awe and even rapture.â
Thunberg, no stranger to such attacks from adult columnists, took to Twitter with a retort turning Boltâs words back on him.
âI am indeed âdeeply disturbedâ about the fact that these hate and conspiracy campaigns are allowed to go on and on and on just because we children communicate and act on the science,â Thunberg tweeted. âWhere are the adults?â
I am indeed âdeeply disturbedâ about the fact that these hate and conspiracy campaigns are allowed to go on and on and on just because we children communicate and act on the science. Where are the adults? pic.twitter.com/xDSlN0VgtZ
â Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) August 1, 2019
As Thunberg suggested in her tweet, Bolt is an adult man attacking a child â Thunbergâs eloquence and intelligence donât negate she is still a teenager. In addition, Bolt described Thunbergâs autistic traits as âmental disorders,â âfreakishly influentialâ and âstrange,â attempting to use autism stigma and stereotypes to negate her passion for climate change and science advocacy.
Thunberg earned a Nobel Peace Prize nomination in April for her environmental advocacy efforts. In addition to other events, she staged a massive student walk-out across schools in 112 countries in March to demand government action on climate change. Her efforts sparked a larger, ongoing movement, Fridays for Future. She was also named as one of TIME 100âs most influential people this year.
Since landing in the public eye, Thunberg is no stranger to bullying, nor are other autistic young people. An Interactive Autism Network report found approximately 63 percent of autistic kids between ages 6 and 15 experienced bullying. Bullying, for kids on the spectrum, further isolates them from their peers and becomes a significant risk factor for suicide. Mighty contributor Gemma Wright outlined the major impact this had on her life in the article, âWhen I Was Bullied as an Autistic Teenâ:
Autistic children and adults alike are routinely ostracized, disliked and bullied; some people even fear us. ⌠I know Iâm autistic now â Iâve known for years â but nobody really knew about the difference in the brain wiring back then. And so the bullying began â the bullying that haunts me to this day.
Thunberg is open about being autistic, and she highlighted that her neurodiversity helps her see the world in a different way. She pointed out diverse ways of looking at the world are needed to make a difference, in her case for climate change.
âAnd no, autism (as well as ADHD, ADD, Touretteâs, OCD, ODD etc) is not a âgiftâ,â she wrote in a Facebook post on Autism Acceptance Day. âBut under the right circumstances, given the right adjustments it CAN be a superpower. ⌠Without my diagnosis, I would never have started school striking. Because then I would have been like everyone else.â
Today is #AutismAwarenessDay . Proud to be on the spectrum!And no, autism (as well as ADHD, ADD, Touretteâs, OCD, ODDâŚ
Posted by Greta Thunberg on Monday, April 1, 2019
Thunberg previously announced she will attend the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York in September and COP25 in Santiago, Chile, in December. Sheâll travel using a zero-emissions sailboat.
Good news!
Iâll be joining the UN Climate Action Summit in New York, COP25 in Santiago and other events along the way.
Iâve been offered a ride on the 60ft racing boat Malizia II. Weâll be sailing across the Atlantic Ocean from the UK to NYC in mid August.#UniteBehindTheScience pic.twitter.com/9OH6mOEDceâ Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) July 29, 2019
Image via Creative Commons/campact