HAVE you heard the one about the guy who’s suing his parents for giving birth to him?

Nope, I'm not trialling the opening line of a new stand up routine on you. Mumbai businessman Raphael Samuel is taking his parents to court for bringing him into this world without first seeking his consent.

While many of us are delighted to be here, Mr Samual believes it is a form of cruelty and enslavement to put children on the planet and force them to deal with lifelong suffering.

The 27-year-old's parents are both lawyers so taking them to court is rather a bold move.

His mother, Kavita Karnad Samuel, seems like a pretty decent person to have as a mum. I certainly like her approach to the situation.

"Mum said she wished she had met me before I was born," Mr Samual told the BBC. "And that if she did, she definitely wouldn't have had me."

In a statement, Mrs Samuel added: "I'm very happy that my son has grown up into a fearless, independent-thinking young man. He is sure to find his path to happiness."

Mr Samuel ascribes to a movement called anti-natalism, which suggests that the world is so full of misery and suffering that people should stop procreating and allow humanity to die out.

It is, perhaps tangentially, a form of environmentalism. Without humans, the burden on the planet would be eased and the flora and fauna could flourish without humans destroying it.

I thought of Raphael when I joined Friday's protest in George Square, the Youth Strike 4 Climate . More young people, more concern for the state of the planet.

It's just that the school and university students who took over the civic heart of Glasgow want to stop humanity dying out.

It was a hugely clever publicity move. A protest on a weekend day might barely have made a News In Brief but by walking out of class on a school day, the protestors generated countless headlines, front pages and found themselves discussed by political leaders.

The event was discussed by Nicola Sturgeon and Theresa May, showing yet again the divide between the two leaders' styles.

Ms Sturgeon was full of praise: “It’s a cause for optimism, in an often dark world, that young people are taking a stand on climate change.”

Mrs May not so: "It is important to emphasise that disruption increases teacher’s workloads and wastes lesson time that teachers have carefully prepared for."

I'm with the First Minister. We, the adults, have used the planet's resources with barely a thought for the next generations and it is our responsibility to take urgent action to rectify the damage done.

We have led consumerist lives, voted in politicians who have drained the life support system that is the planet and are leaving a horrendous legacy for our school age children.

How can we possibly chide them for taking an active stance, for calling us to action.

At the end of this week I'm about to embark on three week's of travelling that will see me take 22 flights in 21 days.

Morally, I'm appalled at myself and will spend the rest of the year trying to offset the massive carbon damage done by my desire to see other parts of the planet.

It's not really justifiable. But that's adulthood, isn't it? We know what's right but we tend to lean towards what is convenient and desirable.

I remember being a primary pupil and having an ardent interest in the environment. A child's strong sense of justice and injustice is like nothing else.

But we grow out of it. We forget. We take the easy route. We've taken everything we can take and we're not the ones who will miss out so it's easy to carry on as if there's no problem, nothing to see here.

Instead of fussing over whether the children who went on 'strike' should be punished, we should be urging them on, keeping that sense of injustice fired up.

They are right, we were wrong.