As a high school student, I agree with Radjeep Seth's letter in the Sept. 27 edition, "Young Greta gets climate outrage right at U.N." Greta Thunberg is an inspiration to other environmental activists. She has taken the world by storm with her passion to save the world from climate change and stands up as the representative of the younger generation that wants to save the world from the mistakes of previous generations.
The people who support Greta see a youngster fighting to get her voice heard so that people can come together and save the world from an imminent crisis. With her level of perseverance, there might be a chance that she can achieve the impossible.
Her climb to fame started a year ago when she decided to go on a school strike and protest about climate change in front of the Swedish parliament. This alone was a very brave move as she has autism and Asperger's syndrome. People should not be hating on a young 16-year-old girl who is trying her best to pursue her dream and express her opinions to the world.
However, there is always hate and bullying on the internet. The now viral video of her speech "How dare you" at the U.N., aimed at making world leaders feel ashamed for not helping the environment, was turned into an internet joke within hours of it being broadcast. She was even mocked by U.S. President Donald Trump himself. A guest on Fox News called her "mentally ill."
She is a 16-year-old struggling against world leaders to spread awareness about the destruction they are causing to the climate and future generations. Although there will always be criticism for any event that goes viral on the internet, many are being very harsh with their words and using language that would be inappropriate for Greta to see. These comments are not welcome and are very disrespectful. People should support these brave individuals who have a burning passion in what they are doing and are leading civilization, as a whole, to a better future.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.
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