I saw a photo today of Greta Thunberg, being arrested at a protest in London. I was struck by the way she looked, the expression on her face — kind of like she had too many beans for breakfast and she’s unsure she’ll make it to the toilet on time as two helpful gentlemen escort her out the room.
But I was also struck by another realization… and that’s that I’ve been kind of way too harsh on this little lady. I mean for sure, she kind of annoyed me in the past. But seeing all the natural disasters that befall us year in, year out, I kind of “get it”, you know? My gut response has always been “haha, she looks funny!” and that’s no way to treat an activist, nor a good enough reason to dismiss what she has to say wholesale.
Another article I read today — “21 species delisted from endagered species act”, it began. And I kind of thought: “Neat!” Then, I read the next part “due to extinction”. Damn. That’s a lot of species of birds and fish that went from critically endangered to full-on extinct.
I’m in my early thirties now, and I often think back of my youth. How many species were around, back in those days, that no longer are? I recall the giant insects I’d sometimes encounter, such as a dragonfly about as big as a bird that freaked me out as a six-year-old… haven’t seen one those in about fifteen years, now.
The brutally honest truth? I think the reason I kind of felt Thunberg and other youthful activists like her were “annoying” before is because, frankly, I didn’t want to see it. I wanted to hang on to the notion that everything was a-okay. And it really isn’t.