Greta “How dare you?” Thunberg recently came into criticism by President Donald Trump, in which he tweeted:

And of course he was instantly vilified.

This is “bullying”?  Don’t think so.

Remember the uproar over the Covington kid who got vilified by media and politicians just because he stood smiling uncertainly at a native American “elder” who was beating a drum in his face for no reason that the teenager could determine at the time?  All those Democrat politicians had no problem whatsoever bullying a teenager who hadn’t gone searching for the limelight, who wasn’t even an activist, and whose only offense was to stand there?  Now THAT was bullying.  Joe Biden needs to look up the meaning of the word.  And apparently so do a number of other self-serving politicians and media hacks.

An acquaintance of mine posted on Facebook:

Whether or not you agree with Trump or Greta Thunberg, for the president of the United States to attack a 16 girl (who can’t even vote in the US) is really inappropriate.

I tried to refrain from responding, but I couldn’t help myself. So I wrote:

Yeah I read his tweets. Calling those “attacks” kind of stretches the definition past sensibility. And Greta didn’t mind, apparently. She incorporated his tweets into her Twitter bio. Which is kind of classy of her, IMHO.

To which he responded:

So, that makes it all OK?

And I say:

Of course it does. If she were some high school child writing a letter to the President of the United States (or some other head of state) expressing her opinion, however well- or ill-informed, she would and should expect nothing more than a respectful “thank you for your thoughts” letter back. But that’s not what is happening here. However sincere she is about what she is being induced to say, this is not just Greta Thunberg expressing her personal opinion. This is a well-financed and highly organized political campaign — and Greta is being used by her parents and others as a front person for a point of view.

She does not get to stand in front of the world shouting “How dare you!?” and then expect immunity from response. And Trump’s response was extremely mild. I would have responded “No, how dare YOU?! Go home, finish growing up, and come back when you have something of your own to say and not what others are whispering in your ear.”

Do you know what people have told me, a nearly 70-year old college educated man, when I have expressed an opinion on anthropogenic climate change? “Shut up, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” And yet a 16 year old girl who hasn’t even finished high school gets to shout “How dare you!” to the world and everyone is expected to say “Oh, isn’t that sweet!” I don’t think so.

While she has every right to speak up in public in the manner she has spoken, by doing so she has shed the anonymity and the shield of tolerance for youth that she would otherwise have rightly expected. But I don’t think she expects complacency in response to her remarks. By the evidence, she expects and welcomes criticism. And that is totally appropriate.

I do think that Greta is being shamefully used by people who do not have her best interests at heart. If I had a child who suffered from Asperger syndrome, I would not be tossing her out into the tensions of global discourse like they have at such a young age. It is at least borderline child abuse, in my opinion.