I suppose I’ve been a little fortunate, inasmuch as my son is only three years old, and so I have not really had to face the difficult issue of parenting a mixed-race child during this election. Admittedly, I did make him watch a little bit of the DNC, and when asked about what he saw by my wife, he told her, “The Democracks were on TV. They were talking, and a woman was yelling about her children.” In a sense, it’s hard to argue with this characterization.
But parents with older children, and particularly children of color, have faced a complicated issue with respect to how to tell their children about Donald Trump. I wanted to share this beautiful essay penned by my friend, the playwright Kirsten Greenidge, “How My Six Year Old Fell out of Love with Trump,” about her experiences raising her two children, and in particular, her six year old son, during this crazy election year.
“And the Second World War had Hitler,” my son announces. “I hate that guy,” says my daughter … “You know who I think might read a lot of what he wrote? “ says my son. “Trump … You know, sending people away.”
My heart sinks. It was the association that stopped me, made me catch my breath. If a 6-year-old boy can connect our cultural moment to Germany in the 1930s, then surely my keeping him from watching the evening news is a little absurd. And I know my son is most certainly shaped by the experiences he’s had in a particular home in a particular part of the country, and that another child exposed to other types of views would make other conclusions about Trump or Cruz or Hillary.
It was more than my feeling silly that I had entertained the idea that he was too young for the news; I was sad that my 6-year-older was that perceptive to realize the magnitude of executive power should it be chosen to be exercised in a way that could have real consequences not for someone who is nameless or faceless, but for himself. To be 6 years old and understand that must be terrifying.
I don’t have much to say, other than to encourage people to read the whole essay. Greenidge avoids the simple answers, and gives us, parents and non-parents alike, some hefty food for thought. It is a beautiful piece of prose, not surprising since the author is a professional playwright and teacher.
And, this being Politico, read the comments with a grain of salt. From what I saw, a lot of Trumpians, unable to defend their execrable candidate, have taken to attacking the author on her parenting skills.