I don’t like being lectured by children . . . because they’re dumber than I am, less experienced than I am, and have nothing interesting to say. (With rare exceptions. John Stuart Mill, for example.)
You might not object to Greta Thunberg being terrified and programmed for political advantage because you like the positions she’s espousing, but it would be just as easy to program a child to espouse positions that you find abhorrent and then what would you have to say? Whoever is doing this does not have the child’s best interests at heart, in my opinion.
President Trump responded to the Thunberg speech via Twitter and was widely condemned for mocking a child.
She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see! https://t.co/1tQG6QcVKO
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019
If you put a 16-year-old girl in front of the UN to espouse provocative opinions, I think you forfeit the option of responding to pushback by saying “Oh my god, he’s criticizing a 16-year-old girl! It’s beyond the pale! Is there nothing these people won’t stoop to?”
Again, someone (or a collection of someones) seems to have genuinely terrified this girl for no reason at all other than political theater.