Good lord, that’s the definitional opposite of an out-of-control kid. If she’s actually doing it, she’s literally filing legal paperwork in order to gain legal control over her life.
Do you mean that she’s out of her parents’ control? That they’re unable to silence her, as they’ve apparently tried to do? Okay, sure. But look at her parents, and tell me that you’d want them to be the ones with control over your life.
I’m on her side here. Kid’s clearly not getting what she needs from her parents. I hope she’s able to find it from someone else who has her best interests at heart–or that she’s able to make it on her own.
(I say this having known folks who emancipated themselves as teenagers. Nobody I’ve known who did that was an out-of-control teen.)
This was my read, too. Her mom literally is an evil person responsible for a regime that is killing people. Wanting out of that hot mess isn’t the same thing as airing the family’s dirty laundry within a neighborhood or whatever.
I think she’s going to regret getting their undivided time and attention with this stunt. Two things will happen: Either she’ll up the stakes and continue to emancipate herself for the lolz, or they will get a divorce (most likely outcome) and she’ll have a much easier time manipulating them for her own means. Either way, it’s a win-win for her.
I’m not placing all the blame on the kid. It’s the parents’ fault, really. They raised a needy attention monster. What did they think would happen?
Do you really think the only explanation is that she’s doing this for attention? Can’t she be legitimately horrified by living in the middle of one of the weirdest power couples in the world?
I feel like y’all are making this weird leap and interpreting this through the lens of a normal parent/child interaction. Projecting yourselves into the parent role. Her mom isn’t you, or your mom. Her mom is fucking Kellyanne Conway.
When your mom has all the resources that Trump does, that’s probably the only way it would work. My guess is that any guidance counselor or therapist who would try to get involved on her behalf would probably have their life ruined by Trump.
Yeah, I don’t understand why anyone thinks this poor child should be blamed for anything. This kid is demonstrating some character, something she must have picked up on her own.
That is not the only explanation. But it is the best and most likely explanation.
And when your mom is Kellyanne Conway, this is how you get her attention. Because you know that half measures simply won’t do it - you’ve exhausted them all by now. And once you see what it means to have power over your parents, and more importantly are the kind of person who is willing to exercise that power, it seems unlikely you’ll stop when you get what you want. Because you’ll always want more.
This still feels like a game to me. Right before the election their kid freaks out and both parents step away from their jobs of fighting with each other. After the election is over probably in January whoever wins will come back to work while the other one will continue to stay home to give her the attention she deserves. George and Kellyanne and both fought hard for their side and will be welcomed back with open arms no matter who wins and now they don’t have to ride the titanic down.
I’m not convinced that any of this fight has ever been real as opposed to hedging their bets and while I think bringing their kid into it to cover themselves is messed up, honestly it seems right up their ally. Maybe I’m wrong and they are devoted parents walking away from their careers to focus on a troubled child but it all seems way too coincidental.
Maybe, just maybe, the Conways could have, y’know, chosen many years ago that being good parents and building a close bond with their children was more important than being at the top of the power ladder. Hell, they would have been financially comfortable and well-connected enough anyway without having to stake themselves this far, to a point where I can see how it’s setting off Oredigger77’s suspicions that this is may be a way for them to not have to show up for the final bloodbath.
Why do you think what she wants is attention and power over her parents, instead of to disance herself from some truly evil shit? Do you think it’s a happy household? Would you want to read the news every day and then have dinner with the person causing much of this?
Of course this is not a happy household. If this was a happy household, this would not be a story playing out so publicly.
Let’s not pretend like these are the actions of a normal, well adjusted 15 year old.
You could be right. She might be an anomalous healthy product of two ego maniacs. Could be she’s acting in the only rational way possible under the circumstances. Except she isn’t. She’s acting out in a very public and deliberate way that she knows will upset at least one parent, probably both. Looks like she got their attention. Let’s see what happens next.
I am not saying she’s healthy. I am sure she’s all kinds of fucked up. But that doesn’t mean her motivation is just to get their attention and that her stated motivation–to distance herself from their toxicity and their politics–is a pretext or that she’s insincere in her ethical convictions. I don’t see any evidence for that, and it’s a pretty big deal to just dismiss her stated reasons because you think you know her and her household dynamics so well based on how you think children are.
I have a couple of friends who got emancipation at that age. Three I can think of. All have reached the age of 50 fairly well adjusted. I can’t say that they would have if they would have stayed where they would. Emancipation freed them from difficult home lives and the foster care system. All of them moved in with adult friends (at least one of them went through a series of inappropriately aged boyfriends who provided housing and food. But at least she was choosing the boyfriends).
Any situation in which a 15 year old needs to go through the court system is scary. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a mature and well thought out decision that is for the best.
I’m not suggesting her political beliefs are anything other than what she has stated. That doesn’t preclude her from using those beliefs to her benefit.
And I don’t believe “that’s how kids are”. It’s how some people are. Including some children. Especially those growing up in the kind of environment that she appears to have.
Damn, Quicksilver. Have you ever known anyone who filed for emancipation from their parents? I have. I’ve also known folks who were really off-balance and manipulative as teenagers. There’s no overlap in my experience between the two groups.
Filing for emancipation is something that I’ve only seen done by teenagers who were exceptionally responsible AND whose parents were exceptionally bad parents. It’s a lot of work, it requires an ability to navigate bureaucracy, it requires a streak of independence the size of an interstate, and it’s scary as hell. While I’m sure it could be done as a tool of manipulation, I’ve seen it done instead as a way for teens to extract themselves from a psychologically and emotionally devastating environment.
Your projection onto this girl is pretty appalling.