Note on Greta Thunberg

My colleague David Duquette writes: She’s great but could use a refresher read of “How To Make Friends and Influence People.”

That’s an interesting point.  As a man who tries to be as mannerly as he can, I get this. Yet I think we have an exception in Greta’s case.  Calling out bad behavior on the part of her elders is her brand; it’s what she stands for.  There is no way to tell a generation of people politely that they have failed to live up to their responsibilities and that you demand a change.

Greta says things like, “I’m a kid.  I should be in school, not lecturing you people to do what’s right as citizens of this planet.”  There is nothing courteous about that; this is her entire point: your recklessness and greed is screwing up young people’s lives, including my own.