Barron Trump’s father is a psychopath who will lie, cheat and steal to get ahead. At the impressionable age of 10, Barron lives in an “alternative facts” world where there are no consequences for anything. If he does not already have affluenza he’s certainly in active danger of catching it and he’d be better off being homeschooled by a pack of rabid syphilitic wolves because at least wolves are honest.
Is this a kid who might someday think that violence is the right answer? Well, his father did proclaim loudly and publicly that he could openly commit murder in broad daylight (on 5th Ave in NYC) and not suffer for it. I wouldn’t trust father or son around a loaded weapon. Unfortunately they have access to them. All of them.
Thanx. I was wondering what the discussion was about. Without context, I took it to mean that the kid was going to shoot his dad because the kid was going to grow up smart, educated, and left wing – not ideas that shouted “leave the kid alone”.
Absolutely preposterous. Trump, with the help of his wives and a variety of nannies, have all brought up a number of stable, fairly responsible children. The only factors that differ between Barron and Trump’s other kids is the input upon Barron of Melania and the fact that Trump is now President. All other indications show Trump has a pretty good record as a father and a pretty good batting average at choosing decent potential mothers for his offspring. And a decent record at employing competent nannies.
All that matters is that Barron is a child growing up in what must be an incredibly strange environment. There is no reason to bring him in to any political discussion. Take a step back and try to find some empathy.
It’s still a free country. You can make fun of whoever you want.
I think a decent person wouldn’t target any children of celebrities or politicians unless those children have made themselves public figures worthy of scrutiny. So, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric are fair game because they have all acted as mouthpieces for Donald Trump and have meaningful, if sometimes informal, roles in his administration and his businesses. His business are a source of conflicts of interest and are a matter of public concern.
Barron is too young to have chosen any public role for himself, so leave him out of it.
My impression is that Tiffany doesn’t seem to be much involved in either Trump’s business dealings or his campaign. I know she spoke at the Republican convention and perhaps a couple of campaign events, but that seems like simply supporting her father. Her complete absence from the campaign would have been a scandal so I can imagine she was pressured to do at least a few public appearances. If she is a private person who doesn’t choose to be in the public spotlight, we shouldn’t cast it upon her.
What about the skit when the female host (was it Madonna?) sang “Happy Birthday Mr President” to Clinton (per Marylin Monroe’s famous serenade of Kennedy), and they had Chris Farley (or one of the overweight, male cast members) playing Chelsea. Was she an adult then?
I agree with the suspension, it was in poor taste and minor children should be off limits. Of course, all my right wing Facebook friends will spend the next four years whining about it and complaining that those of us on the left are tolerating it.
Not just because they’re related, no. To the extent that they personally earn scorn and ridicule (e.g. Uday’s and Qusay’s, er, Junior’s and Eric’s, complicity in the phony shell game offered as a substitute for actual separation of Trump’s business interests and public office), yes.
Edit: On rereading the last few posts, I see that Tired and Cranky pretty much set forth the same standard.
That brings up the separate question of whether social media posts on one’s own time should affect one’s employment.
And the joke isn’t about Barron, it’s about his father.
I do not believe the tweet was asserting Donald Trump was going to become “The first home school shooter.” The joke was that Barron Trump would. The joke was therefore about him. You can try to spin it around by saying “yeah, well, the idea is Donald Trump would make his son…” Nope, sorry. It was referring specifically to Barron Trump and therefore was about him and to say otherwise is peddling an “alternative fact.”
I daresay in any given week somebody somewhere is getting fired for something they said or did on their own time. I personally know someone who was fired from his job for putting out an insensitive tweet.
That said, I’ll be surprised if Katie Rich ends up getting fired. She has issued what appears to be a sincere apology. A suspension of some length (a month?) and moving on with our lives seems appropriate.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing seeing him at the inauguration. That kid is going to have a very weird life, and an experience of childhood that’s so completely unlike mine (and most people’s) in every way imaginable. Not that I feel sorry for him per se, as he already won the lotto being born into such wealth and power. But what a weird, awkward ride to be on nonetheless.
The very fact that the story is about the SNL writer shows that what you do on your spare time does affect your employment. SNL is taking a hit for the controversy, they should expect their staff not to muddy their name.
Good. I was hoping there would be diversity on this matter, unlike other places where literally everyone is okay with this.
I’m not a fan of the joke. I didn’t find it funny. I don’t really see the point if it’s some sort of satire.
I however don’t think it’s fair to declare criticism off-limits while at the same time using Barron as a prop.
That said, I would prefer the jokes that feature him actually be about those using him. Instead of calling him a serial killer, why not say they’re trying to turn him into one?
I don’t think Barron deserves to be attacked, and I’d be okay with saying that is off limits. But I’m not okay with someone being fired before we decided this. Humor often involves people saying hateful things. If they apologize when they cross the line, they should at least get another chance.
Humor is hard to keep PC, and you will cross the line. It’s the response when that happens that is relevant.
I disagree. All public figures to some extent use their children as props, but that’s their choice as parents. It’s one thing to complain about the parent’s behavior in photo-opping with a child, but it’s not appropriate to respond by taunting or speculating about the children themselves.
I thought the joke was funny. Not guffaw funny, just wry smile funny. Maybe even a small chuckle.
But I also think political figures’ children should not be used as targets of ridicule. And when the Repubs stop doing it, I’ll feel bad about having laughed. But since that ain’t happening, Donnie can just suck it. He’s hurt a lot of people, so if this makes him feel bad, good. I’ll bet Barron is so isolated that he has never even heard the insult.
Remember, this kid could conceivably grow up to be President!:eek: