So this kid from Sweden became Time Magazine Person of the Year. Wonderful. I had hoped that the protestors in Hong Kong, or even those in France, may have been more seriously considered. The citizens of Hong Kong are going up against a very determined government to silence their protestations for freedom and autonomy, to the government’s consternation that it is spilling out onto the mainland itself. In France, regular working class people, on the weekend (because they work during the week) have been protesting the Macron government for over a year to the point where police are seriosuly injuring some, and even a few have died in confrontations with the police.

But let’s go ahead and make a 16 year old, who dropped out of school and travels the world berating everyone she speaks to into some Icon of Humanity. I’ve had a. lot a questions about her from when I first read about her, mainly this: Who’s paying for all of this? No one, not a single reporter that I know of, not a single media outlet, seems to care about that particular question. Her parents aren’t rich by any means  – that much is known – s there has to be someone, or some large organization with a lot of funding that pays for her, and her entourage (Let’s not forget about that!) to travel the world with a scowl and condescension for the rest of her species.

How does this compare to those in Hong Kong that are losing their lives for freedom? It doesn’t and anyone that believes that flying around the world (or sailing, both leave a carbon footprint)  and instead of attempting to convince governments that it is in their best interest to lower their carbon emissions for the sake of future generations, becomes simply a puppet of some amorphous organization or set of donors that because of the opresentation, does more to drive away support than it does to attract. Of course, we’re not allowed to criticize her, she has become the child Human Shield that terrorist organizations around the world use to prevent them from being bombed or attacked. Attacking this young woman is tantamount to barbarism.

It’s not her fault. Yes, I just said that. she’s too young to realize that, even if she believes in her mission, she’s being used by people that in effect, don’t give a damn about her. As soon as she has used up her usefulness, she’ll be discarded as so many others in recent decades have. No one, in a decade or two, will even remember her name. Of course, her parents are “making coin” as I’ve read, off of her. That’s pimping your kid, isn’t it?