The picture of privilege.
The picture of privilege. You would think if one was going to engage in an anti-bullying campaign, they would at least work to understand the basic definition of bullying. Yes, there is a clinical definition, and it includes exactly what is pointed out in this article - a power imbalance. It's really hard to have enough power to be a potential bully of the flotus. Mean, yes. Bully? That's a very high bar to clear.
It's particularly amazing that she made this statement during an interview in Kenya, where there have been studies noting the rates of bullying in Kenyan schools is very high. Bets on whether she knew any of this before she went there? I wouldn't, since she seems to have spent absolutely none of her trip addressing that.
I get that everyone can't know everything, but she's the flotus. Who prepared her for this trip? What preparation did she do? This is supposed to be her signature issue. And she has the ignorance (presumed) and the arrogance to say she's the most bullied person in a country with documented bullying problems for kids.
(Btw, there are multitudes of articles critiquing her use of the word.)
P.S. It's ridiculously easy to find the info about bullying in Kenya with a quick Google search of the two words 'Kenya, bullying'. So, yeah. What precisely were she and her staff doing? Nothing about her supposed concern about bullying. Pictures with baby elephants and baby humans, though, those play well on social media.
I'd be a lot less cynical if people stopped meeting my lowest expectations and even exceeding them.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/experts-to-melania-trump-you-are-not-the-most-bullied-person-in-the-world
https://www.thedailybeast.com/experts-to-melania-trump-you-are-not-the-most-bullied-person-in-the-world
It's particularly amazing that she made this statement during an interview in Kenya, where there have been studies noting the rates of bullying in Kenyan schools is very high. Bets on whether she knew any of this before she went there? I wouldn't, since she seems to have spent absolutely none of her trip addressing that.
I get that everyone can't know everything, but she's the flotus. Who prepared her for this trip? What preparation did she do? This is supposed to be her signature issue. And she has the ignorance (presumed) and the arrogance to say she's the most bullied person in a country with documented bullying problems for kids.
(Btw, there are multitudes of articles critiquing her use of the word.)
P.S. It's ridiculously easy to find the info about bullying in Kenya with a quick Google search of the two words 'Kenya, bullying'. So, yeah. What precisely were she and her staff doing? Nothing about her supposed concern about bullying. Pictures with baby elephants and baby humans, though, those play well on social media.
I'd be a lot less cynical if people stopped meeting my lowest expectations and even exceeding them.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/experts-to-melania-trump-you-are-not-the-most-bullied-person-in-the-world
https://www.thedailybeast.com/experts-to-melania-trump-you-are-not-the-most-bullied-person-in-the-world
Sorry for her for what? I mean, was there a real something like online harassment is shitty? Because yeah, it is, but she's got the Secret Service among others to take care of that for her. Lots of women get that and they can't even get the police to figure out what to do about it.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the usual stupid criticizing women for how they look and what they wear a) her whole career was being part of that industry and promoting that mind-set, b) her current 'job', not that she necessarily wanted it, requires at least a minimal amount of clue as to the significance of her clothes and the statement they make.
It's essentially a form of uniform. This is not just some Upper East Side/Hamptons/Palm Beach wear your best designer duds to the fundraiser party. Jiminy Christmas, cows were birthed over Michelle Obama's arms (the horrah!). If she and her staff are so tone deaf that they have her wearing $50K dollar coats and pith helmets in Africa (?!?) that's actually a job fail, here.