BULLYING HAS EXISTED since David faced off against Goliath in ancient times, and it continues to happen in schools, workplaces, and through social media every day in 2017. Readers might wonder what has been done to eradicate bullying in schools, and the answer is that substantial anti-bullying programs have been implemented in every school district in this country. The instances of bullying have decreased within this realm, but where can the bullies go when they need to scratch their sociopathic itch? To the internet, of course.
The online atmosphere that so many of us have flocked to in droves to let our voices be heard, to communicate behind the shield and protection of anonymity with others about anything and everything, has also seen a substantial uptick bullying, and why not? The internet provides a whole new realm from which to bully and terrorize the lives of anyone bullies may choose. As within our schools, there are protections put in place to prevent online bullying, personal attacks, threatening behavior, etc., in arenas such as Twitter, et. al. But is enough being done to eradicate online bullying? In a word, no.
Way back on November 3, 2016, which seems like eons ago, Melania Trump, the wife of then Republican candidate Donald J. Trump, gave a speech, one of less than a handful of speeches the notoriously private Mrs. Trump delivered since her husband won the nomination of his party. The topic of Melania’s speech, and her primary focus should she become First Lady, was online bullying. Her aim was going to be to end the online bullying of children, and she stated that she wanted to end attacks that she believed had become “too mean” and included insults that attacked an individual’s “looks and intelligence.” She went on to say, “And it is absolutely unacceptable when it [bullying] is done by someone with no name hiding on the internet.”
Immediately, the press, along with Regular Joe Americans everywhere, started wondering how this focus of the potential First Lady’s was going to work considering how bombastic, polarizing, and, for lack of a better word, bullying her husband’s online behavior had become. Once Americans voted and Trump won the Oval, we all waited to see what Melania would do to further her anti-bullying platform.
It is now July 6, 2017 and Trump’s been in office for nearly six months, remains incredibly polarizing if not more so, and his online bullying has only increased. This past week he lashed out at the co-hosts of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”, referring to Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski’s intelligence and looks, in such derogatory terms as “Psycho Joe” and “Low IQ Crazy Mika.” While many on Capitol Hill condemned the tweets, Melania remained silent.
Unfortunately, when her husband lashes out at anyone who voices an opinion that differs from his in his now-expected, viscerally-repugnant manner, Melania continues to remain silent, or she opts to further increase the damage by refuting the bullied parties’ claims, thereby propping up Trump’s inflammatory nonsense. She does nothing to rein in her caustic husband, she doesn’t speak out against him or to offer support to those he decimates. Complacency is no excuse to ignore despicable behavior, even when that behavior comes from one’s spouse. Not only is she a liar, she just stands by and watches it happen. She is a very poor role model for her young son, Barron, as well as for little girls across America and the world who look at her and see a beautiful lady they want to be like, and this is why Melania Trump is the worst person in America.
