Donald Trump, the Boogeyman
It is a common misconception that children don’t enjoy reading. In reality, they take in the information that matters to them — including how the U.S. president treats children.
It is often said that kids today don’t read, or worse, that they can’t read. This supposedly leads to devastating ignorance and makes them vulnerable to being misled, especially on social media.
As is often the case with stereotypes, this claim is either false or only partly true. In fact, it could be argued that young people know what matters to them and seek out information accordingly. Take, for example, the story involving Donald Trump and 8-year-old Nathaniel,* who was rescued by a 16-year-old male lifeguard from a dangerous current off the California coast. This “hero,” as the media began calling him, was later honored at the White House. The president’s advisers apparently thought that some positive press couldn’t hurt and organized a major media event around the two boys.
And what did Trump do? He laid into young Nathaniel right in front of the cameras: “[That lifeguard]’s a real hero. I don’t know if I’d do it. I wouldn’t, probably. You’re lucky I wasn’t on the service that day.” The resulting wave of outrage even reached my kid, who is usually interested only in sports news. His reaction was immediate: “He’s so mean!” This was followed by a rather cold remark: “Good thing he’s in America.” He still believes that someone like Trump could never become president here in Austria.
Hopefully, he never has to discover just how possible it really is.
*Editor's note: Nathaniel was reportedly 10 years old, not 8 years old, when the incident occurred.
It is often said that kids today don’t read, or worse, that they can’t read. This supposedly leads to devastating ignorance and makes them vulnerable to being misled, especially on social media.
As is often the case with stereotypes, this claim is either false or only partly true. In fact, it could be argued that young people know what matters to them and seek out information accordingly. Take, for example, the story involving Donald Trump and 8-year-old Nathaniel,* who was rescued by a 16-year-old male lifeguard from a dangerous current off the California coast. This “hero,” as the media began calling him, was later honored at the White House. The president’s advisers apparently thought that some positive press couldn’t hurt and organized a major media event around the two boys.
And what did Trump do? He laid into young Nathaniel right in front of the cameras: “[That lifeguard]’s a real hero. I don’t know if I’d do it. I wouldn’t, probably. You’re lucky I wasn’t on the service that day.” The resulting wave of outrage even reached my kid, who is usually interested only in sports news. His reaction was immediate: “He’s so mean!” This was followed by a rather cold remark: “Good thing he’s in America.” He still believes that someone like Trump could never become president here in Austria.
Hopefully, he never has to discover just how possible it really is.
*Editor's note: Nathaniel was reportedly 10 years old, not 8 years old, when the incident occurred.
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