There are some people that seem to effortlessly embody the very essence of courage. Who possess the kind of integrity most of us only dream of. Whose bravery will be recorded in the pages of history. Greta Thunberg is just such a person.

Gaining international notoriety from her climate activism when just a child, Greta has been ceaseless in fighting for human rights and against genocide. And this has earned her the ire of some of the most loathsome villains on the planet.

American senator Lindsey Graham is one of them. The semi-moribund southern belle shared a news article about Thunberg’s presence on a flotilla that is headed to Gaza to break the cruel blockade of food, medicine and fuel imposed on millions of people by Israel. He wrote: “Hope Greta and her friends can swim!” Graham has long supported Israel as it commits the most heinous crimes, including the bombing, burning and starvation of children.

In all likelihood, Israel bombed the first flotilla with Greta onboard. It has tortured, maimed and murdered thousands of activists, aid workers, journalists, doctors, nurses and paramedics since the genocide began. And this is nothing new for the apartheid state. In 2003, it murdered American peace activist Rachel Corrie.

Graham knows this. So, his post is not only a crude and vile jab. It is a credible threat against her life.

But Greta Thunberg is undeterred. She has proven herself to be a moral giant in a time of sniveling sycophants, depraved genocide apologists and bloodthirsty elitists. And one day when all of this is over she will take an honoured position in history, while Graham will barely be a footnote in some forgotten book on the noxious and duplicitous nature of genteel, white, American southerners.

Kenn Orphan, June 2025