Spencer Dukoff, Jordyn Taylor

"This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here," the 16-year-old Swedish activist said in the <a href="https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1176186571239956481" id="05211576-e46f-362c-ad54-a9c31f56b35e"> now-viral address </a> . "I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you? You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words."

To the politicians, celebrities, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/climate/global-climate-strike.html" id="f2456c6e-5c11-3a00-a754-c2b85a2edeeb"> millions of ordinary people </a> who support her climate strike movement, Thunberg is the hero our <a href="https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/" id="00625efd-ff45-371e-a5d4-251ccc866301"> scientifically-proven-to-be-fucked planet </a> needs to survive. But critics write her off, mostly because she's a teenage girl who's been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and several mental health conditions. Conservative pundit Michael Knowles, for instance, is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/09/24/fox-news-greta-thunberg-mentally-ill-michael-knowles/" id="bc230f47-0d24-3f9d-a0a1-1632447c659d"> currently scrambling to save face </a> after calling Thunberg a "mentally ill Swedish child" on live TV. Fox News host Laura Ingraham <a href="https://twitter.com/ndrew_lawrence/status/1176322636021940224" id="65548374-34b2-3058-ac79-fa5a77523389"> compared Thunberg to </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ndrew_lawrence/status/1176322636021940224" id="b84cb1a5-a934-3769-ac66-0105182b1332"> Children of the Corn </a> . (President Donald Trump, <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1176339522113679360" id="b29fb300-3e11-3f2d-ae98-ad5163c1494c"> in a seemingly sarcastic tweet </a> , said Thunberg "seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future.")

We can't say we're surprised. It's easier to dismiss a 16-year-old with Asperger's than it is to accept the daunting reality that our planet is dying.

World Leaders Gather For United Nations Climate Summit

But in any case, their criticisms are flat-out wrong. First, on Thunberg's youth: It makes perfect sense that the leader of today's climate movement is a teenager who inherited the planet's current issues, and not a grown-up whose generation caused them. Teens are the ones who have to grow oldor try toin a world with rising sea levels, warming temperatures, and dwindling natural resources. (Also, history is filled with stupid examples of olds being terrified of youths. Surprise us for once, olds!)

And yes, Thunberg has Asperger syndrome, a <a href="https://www.autismspeaks.org/types-autism-what-asperger-syndrome" id="55a392e7-7ff6-3c3f-adde-50889010cb95"> condition on the autism spectrum </a> . Yes, as Knowles so helpfully pointed out, she's experienced mental health issues. But those conditions aren't weaknesses; Asperger's, for instance, is associated with "remarkable focus and persistence" and "attention to detail," according to <a href="https://www.autismspeaks.org/types-autism-what-asperger-syndrome" id="bd918aa0-5d54-372f-a29d-5421c62a72e8"> Autism Speaks </a> .

<a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1167916177927991296" id="3de25f2f-a6fe-3c4c-a402-375053d5f5b1"> As Thunberg has said </a> , these strengths make Asperger's her "superpower."

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">When haters go after your looks and differences, it means they have nowhere left to go. And then you know you’re winning! I have Aspergers and that means I’m sometimes a bit different from the norm. And - given the right circumstances- being different is a superpower.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/aspiepower?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#aspiepower</a> <a href="https://t.co/A71qVBhWUU">pic.twitter.com/A71qVBhWUU</a>&mdash; Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1167916177927991296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 31, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

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When haters go after your looks and differences, it means they have nowhere left to go. And then you know youre winning! I have Aspergers and that means Im sometimes a bit different from the norm. And - given the right circumstances- being different is a superpower. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/aspiepower?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc^tfw" id="1d0f7c2c-5953-3e5a-aa33-8a8441d261cc"> #aspiepower </a> <a href="https://t.co/A71qVBhWUU" id="d01bb109-7d23-3134-a432-8861b34f0792"> pic.twitter.com/A71qVBhWUU </a> Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg)

Thunberg's ability to cut through the bullshit is exactly what we need in today's polarized political landscape. She said as much in her <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAmmUIEsN9A" id="2b2dc584-f3a2-3bb9-ab86-83d28c18eee4"> 2018 TED Talk </a> :

"When I was 11, I became ill," she said. "I fell into depression; I stopped talking; I stopped eating. In two months, I lost about 10 kilos of weight. Later on, I was diagnosed with Asperger's, OCD, and selective mutism. That basically means I only speak when I think it's necessary. Now is one of those moments."

To the critics who believe Thunberg is nave: It's you who are nave. A young woman launched a movement that's managed to inspire millionsand there's science to back her up. Brushing her off is easy. Listening to her could help save the planet.

This 'Mentally Ill Child' Will Save the World

You could feel history being made when Greta Thunberg scolded world leaders in a chilling speech at the United Nations Climate Action Summit on Monday.

This 'Mentally Ill Swedish Child' Is Going to Save the Damn World

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Spencer Dukoff, Jordyn Taylor

Articles written by the author

This 'Mentally Ill Swedish Child' Is Going to Save the Damn World