by Jared Rouse
“Saturday Night Live” writer, Katie Rich, recently tweeted that Trump’s 10-year-old son Barron Trump, would be “America’s first homeschool shooter.”
This brings about the important question of whether or not it is fair to attack and make fun of the spouse and children of our politicians and president. We do live in a country where free speech and satire are protected by our Constitution, but when does satire cross the line? Keep in mind that the children of the president did not necessarily choose the life they were thrown into.
Now I can understand making fun of Trump’s adult children when they say or do something that is comedy worthy, but Barron is still a child. When has it ever been acceptable for an adult to make fun of a kid? Rich has since deleted her tweet, but once words have been written on the Internet, they cannot be unwritten.
This is not the first time young Barron has been attacked by second-rate celebrities. Rosie O’Donnell once posted a tweet which included a video that claimed she thought Barron might have autism. She had no place to be making medical accusations about a 10-year-old boy.
O’Donnel and Trump have hated each other for many years, but that does not excuse her comments or behavior. She has since deleted her tweet and apologized to the Trump family. This is not the first time that the children of presidents have been attacked. Chelsea Clinton was mocked on “SNL” herself, and she tweeted in Barron’s defense saying, “Barron Trump deserves the chance every child does…to be a kid.”
Obama’s daughters were also attacked on Facebook by a Republican staffer who was later forced to resign. President Bush’s kids were targeted by a writer who claimed they were alcoholics. The list goes on and on.
While there is no rule or law against making fun of the president’s children, nor should there be, there is a sort of unspoken rule that the kids should be off limits.
No matter what you might think of the president or his policies, it is a lowlife action to attack his children. Once again, they did not choose this life. As a parent, I can tell you that it not only angers me, but it also breaks my heart when my daughter comes home from school and tells me she is being bullied – and that is from other kids her age. Imagine if your child says that it was the teachers that have been bullying them, not the students. What would you do?
Now imagine, if you will, that celebrities are making fun of your children on live television, through tweets that thousands of people read or on the radio. That kind of behavior makes other people think it’s okay to attack the kids as well, thus making them a target. Bullying is never okay, and when it’s being done on such a large scale, it’s even worse.
No matter what you may think of President Trump, we should all stand up and speak out against bullying. No child should have to endure such treatment, especially from adults.
