I have a 13-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter. They are dual-citizens like Melania Trump’s son, because my husband is an immigrant and also a naturalized citizen, like Melania. In fact, 1 in 4 children in the United States are like my children and Melania’s son, as NBC News reported this year.
1 in 4 children have immigrant parents. Are U.S. policies reflecting that? [nbcnews.com]
So when Melania Tweeted, “A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics. Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering, and using a child to do it,” the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
I too would be upset if my son’s name was used as a pun during a Congressional hearing or any political proceeding. Yet, I’d also leave room in my heart to consider that the use of the word “baron” by Professor Karlan was to illustrate a point about nobility and kings versus elected presidents under the United States Constitution.
Was it a poor choice of words that brought a minor child into the public arena in a negative way? Yes. It was.
Could Pamela Karlan have illustrated her point another way? Absolutely. She shouldn’t have used a pun involving another person’s name, especially an innocent minor.
Does this make her “obviously biased” as Melania Tweeted? No.
Here’s why: Karlan is a constitutional law professor whose career is dedicated to teaching the guiding principles of what defines our system of government; the very purpose for the creation of three branches of government so that our republic never becomes a monarchy or dictatorship.
If anything, Professor Karlan’s poor choice of words makes her human, capable of mistakes. Yet, she regretted it and expeditiously apologized for her mistake, perhaps feeling ashamed that her pun was considered a joke about a child. She, however, had no control over the people in the room who laughed at it. The same way Trump had no control over how many people laughed when he mocked a disabled reporter, Serge Kovaleski, at a political rally. Or when the audience laughed during a political debate in 2016 as he doubled-down on his insults about Rosie O’Donnell.
“I said very tough things to her, and I think everyone would agree that she deserves it and nobody feels sorry for her,” Trump said, after Meghan Kelly asked about his insults aimed at women.
I cannot help but wonder if Melania also thought, as her husband suggested, that women deserve to be insulted and told they are "big fat pigs."
Then, on December 12, Melania’s husband targeted, mocked and insulted a child on Twitter, Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old minor with Asperger syndrome who was also named "Person of the Year" by Time Magazine.
“So ridiculous,” Trump Tweeted. “Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!”
This leaves a parent like me extremely confused about how the First Lady explains this kind of shameful behavior towards a minor, especially after she suggested that Professor Karlan used her child for biased, political purposes. What purpose did her husband's Tweet about Greta Thunberg serve, I wonder?
As one of only two first ladies to ever become naturalized citizens in the history of the United States, how does Melania feel about the minor children who live with the irrefutable trauma of being taken from their parents as they sought asylum because of her husband's immigration policy? Does she consider these traumatized children part of her “Be Best” initiative? Because I can’t think of a more fitting way to show families in the United States, and people all over the world, that an immigrant First Lady deeply cares about the well-being of migrant children too. Melania actually has the power to help these children because, thanks to the ACLU, we’ve learned that an additional 1,500 minor children were taken from their parents last year, and some are still unaccounted for, as the Washington Post recently reported.
"It remains our generation’s moral imperative to take responsibility and help our children manage the many issues they are facing today, including encouraging positive social, emotional, and physical habits… ,” Melania wrote on the White House website about BE BEST .
I completely agree because isn’t this what all children deserve in life, regardless of politics? At the end of the day, we’re all human, aren't we? And like Professor Karlan, when we make a mistake and truly regret it, we can work to correct it, change it, and learn from it. Otherwise, we’re just hurtful hypocrites not responsible parents.
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