This is to the people telling us that protesting the climate crisis is pointless, that we do not know what we are doing and that we need to calm down. No. I will not calm down, I will not sit here and listen to a group of grown adults bash a 16-year-old girl’s name behind the safety of your screens.
We are at the rallies to make a difference and to fix the mistakes you left for us to deal with. You were the ones who told us as children to stop hiding and stand up for what we believe in and now that it will impact your lives, you tell us to shut up, sit down, you can’t change the world.
This is to all the people saying that we are children, that we are political puppets, to all the people saying that one “whiny” Swedish girl will not bring the revolution. We are surrounded by the inspiring leaders of the new generations and all you can do is bemoan the loss of our compliant ways, the fact that you challenged us to change and we answered your call. This is our home and this is a protest for our rights to a future where the air is still breathable.
But you are right, we are just children. You do not let us talk to your government and you won’t let us influence your laws and so, if the only way to make real change is to stand in the streets and hold a sign surrounded by your peers who just want the chance of a future, then so be it. We will keep making noise and will keep waving our “biased views” in your face until we are heard everywhere. So stop shutting us down and calling us puppets. We are the future generations, we want change now, and it will happen with or without you.
Maddox Hahne
Kaslo