Time Magazine named teen activist Greta Thunberg their 2019 Person of the Year, making her the youngest person to be recognized. This is a much-deserved honor for a very worthy young woman.
Want to support Greta? You can buy her book.
Here is Time’s official statement.
“For sounding the alarm about humanity’s predatory relationship with the only home we have … for showing us all what it might look like when a new generation leads, Greta Thunberg is TIME’s 2019 Person of the Year.”
Greta famously spoke at the United Nations climate conference, gaining attention from people all over the world, including the U.S. president, Donald Trump. However, Trump’s attention wasn’t positive and he immediately began to bully the young woman, which created a snowball of his sycophants also bullying her.
She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see! https://t.co/1tQG6QcVKO
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019
The Latest Bullying of Greta Thunberg by Donald Trump
Predictably, when Time announced their “Person of the Year,” Trump again took to Twitter to bully Greta Thunberg.
So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill! https://t.co/M8ZtS8okzE
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2019
In response, Greta didn’t even speak his name, but she updated her Twitter bio.
Bravo, Greta Thunberg! Bravo!
.@GretaThunberg: “I’d like to tell my grandchildren that we did everything we could. And we did it for them—for the generations to come” #TIMEPOY https://t.co/n3HRQdYhRY pic.twitter.com/dTQpOro75B
— TIME (@TIME) December 11, 2019
Criticism of Trump Bullying Greta Thunberg
Naturally, there is no shortage of people criticizing Trump’s bullying of Greta Thunberg, including former Republican Governor of Ohio John Kasich.
There is never any reason for an adult to attack a 16-year-old girl, especially one who has achieved great success and done good. @GretaThunberg https://t.co/FNJ5WzFEyq https://t.co/2QXhGVaRz2
— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) December 12, 2019
Here’s a statement from first lady Melania Trump in regards to using social media to bully people.
“In today’s global society, social media is an inevitable part of our children’s daily lives. It can be used in many positive ways, but can also be destructive and harmful when used incorrectly. This is why ‘Be Best’ chooses to focus on the importance of teaching our next generation how to conduct themselves safely and in a positive manner in an online setting.”
Although noble-sounding, Melania’s statement wasn’t a defense of Greta Thunberg. It’s a statement she used when she announced her cause: the Be Best campaign to conquer online bullying. Although it’s almost a joke considering what a bully her husband is, it’s not a very funny joke, is it?
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Melania Trump tweeted this after her son Barron’s name was invoked by Stanford University professor Pamela Karlan during the House Judiciary Committee’s first impeachment hearing.
Melania Trump’s Plea About Minor Children
A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics. Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering, and using a child to do it.
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) December 4, 2019
Yeah, OK Melania. Whatever you say. You’re asking a lot of folks who are sitting by watching a teenaged girl suffering bullying at the hands of your husband.
Greta Thunberg Is on the Autism Spectrum
Moreover, here’s a little-known fact. Greta has Asperger’s syndrome, a form of autism. So Trump is bullying a child who is on the Autism spectrum.
[Greta] Thunberg is 16 but looks 12. She usually wears her light brown hair pulled into two braids, parted in the middle. […] has Asperger’s syndrome, which means she doesn’t operate on the same emotional register as many of the people she meets. She dislikes crowds; ignores small talk; and speaks in direct, uncomplicated sentences. She cannot be flattered or distracted. She is not impressed by other people’s celebrity, nor does she seem to have interest in her own growing fame. But these very qualities have helped make her a global sensation. Where others smile to cut the tension, Thunberg is withering. Where others speak the language of hope, Thunberg repeats the unassailable science: Oceans will rise. Cities will flood. Millions of people will suffer. (Time)
Regardless, know this: Greta Thunberg will do beautiful things with her life (already has) and nothing Donald Trump says will change that.
