Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

mia

(8,360 posts)
Thu Feb 13, 2020, 01:08 PM Feb 2020

Trump's words, bullied kids, scarred schools

The president’s rhetoric has changed the way hundreds of
children are harassed in American classrooms




Two kindergartners in Utah told a Latino boy that President Trump would send him back to Mexico, and teenagers in Maine sneered "Ban Muslims" at a classmate wearing a hijab. In Tennessee, a group of middle-schoolers linked arms, imitating the president's proposed border wall as they refused to let nonwhite students pass. In Ohio, another group of middle-schoolers surrounded a mixed-race sixth-grader and, as she confided to her mother, told the girl: "This is Trump country."

Since Trump’s rise to the nation’s highest office, his inflammatory language — often condemned as racist and xenophobic — has seeped into schools across America. Many bullies now target other children differently than they used to, with kids as young as 6 mimicking the president’s insults and the cruel way he delivers them.

Trump’s words, those chanted by his followers at campaign rallies and even his last name have been wielded by students and school staff members to harass children more than 300 times since the start of 2016, a Washington Post review of 28,000 news stories found. At least three-quarters of the attacks were directed at kids who are Hispanic, black or Muslim, according to the analysis. Students have also been victimized because they support the president — more than 45 times during the same period.

Although many hateful episodes garnered coverage just after the election, The Post found that Trump-connected persecution of children has never stopped. Even without the huge total from November 2016, an average of nearly two incidents per school week have been publicly reported over the past four years. Still, because so much of the bullying never appears in the news, The Post’s figure represents a small fraction of the actual total. It also doesn’t include the thousands of slurs, swastikas and racial epithets that aren’t directly linked to Trump but that the president’s detractors argue his behavior has exacerbated....


https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/local/school-bullying-trump-words/?itid=hp_hp-top-table-main_trump-bullying-1120am%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans

8 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

mia

(8,360 posts)
2. More than 300 Trump-inspired harassment incidents reported by news outlets from 2016-2019
Thu Feb 13, 2020, 01:28 PM
Feb 2020
Anti-Hispanic: 45%

Anti-black: 23%

Anti-Semitic: 7%

Anti-Muslim: 8%

Anti-LGBT: 4%

Anti-Trump: 14%

Note: Some incidents targeted multiple groups and,
in other cases, the ethnicity/gender/religion of the
intended target was unclear. Figures may not
precisely add up because of rounding.
Source: Washington Post analysis of media reports

Initech

(100,069 posts)
3. The hater in chief is inspiring a whole new generation of hate.
Thu Feb 13, 2020, 01:33 PM
Feb 2020

This is quite possibly the scariest thing that he's done since taking office, and he's done a lot of scary things.

llmart

(15,537 posts)
4. This is so sad.
Thu Feb 13, 2020, 01:37 PM
Feb 2020

How does any parent or teacher teach their children about respecting the office of President in this day and age? When I was growing up, it didn't matter which political party the President was from. We learned that we should look up to the President. President Obama and his entire family were such a wonderful example of how to behave and be presidential and respect others and our country. Now we have the complete opposite of the Obama family - the entire Trump clan doesn't contain one single adult person that has any admirable qualities. Not one.

mia

(8,360 posts)
7. Trump's existence is a mockery the office of the President of the United States.
Thu Feb 13, 2020, 01:53 PM
Feb 2020

He offers nothing to respect. Parents and teachers of conscience have a difficult job.

GoCubsGo

(32,083 posts)
8. It's been going on since the day after the 2016 election.
Thu Feb 13, 2020, 02:21 PM
Feb 2020

My cousin adopted a couple of kids from Central America. The day after the election, classmates were in their faces telling them, "Go back to Mexico." They weren't even born in Mexico, and and came here as infants. It's sickening.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Trump's words, bullied ki...