We all know that this has been a divisive election cycle thanks to the over the top, belligerent spectacle of Donald The Trump. Almost everyone who is to comatose has been effected, but one group has been seemingly overlooked. I am talking about our young , school age people, and minority students in particular. They are experiencing alarming levels of fear, anxiety, and bullying thanks to Trump
‘The Trump Effect’: Hatred, Fear And Bullying On The Rise In Schools
'The Trump Effect': Hatred, Fear And Bullying On The Rise In Schools | The Huffington Post
WASHINGTON - It was only a matter of time before kids started picking up the aggressive, divisive language that’s become a hallmark of the 2016 presidential campaign.
According to a new report by the nonprofit Southern Poverty Law Center titled “The Trump Effect: The Impact of the Presidential Campaign on our Nation’s Schools,” the race is stoking fears and racial tensions in America’s classrooms.
My students are terrified of Donald Trump. They think that if he’s elected, all black people will get sent back to Africa,” one middle school teacher told the SPLC. The teacher was one of more than 2,000 educators who opted to take a survey conducted through the SPLC’s “Teaching Tolerance” program.
“I have had Muslim students called terrorists,” said another teacher who submitted comments to the survey.
“There is a boy from Mexico, who is a citizen, who is terrified that the country will deport him if Trump wins,” wrote a third teacher. “He is also scared that kids and grown-ups can and will hurt him.”
The report continues:
The report identified two troubling trends: more openly racist and vicious bullying of minorities, and more fear and anxiety among immigrants and minorities about what would happen to them if certain candidates for president are elected.
On an even more troubling note:
The SPLC report also illustrates how American schoolchildren are adopting Trump’s overall tone — which so often includes name-calling and scapegoating. More than any specific policy proposal, teachers said, kids were expressing more hatred for more people.
Yes, Trump acts like a 12 year old, and the 12 year olds are acting like Trump!
Following the election, another venerable rights group, The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) conducted their own survey:
New Survey of 50,000+ Young People Reveals Troubling Post-Election Spike in Bullying & Harassment
Today, HRC Foundation released the results of a groundbreaking post-election survey of more than 50,000 young people ages 13-18 revealing the deeply damaging fallout the November election has had on youth across the United States.
The online survey, believed to be the largest ever of its kind, found that 70 percent of respondents have witnessed bullying, hate messages or harassment since the election, with racial bias the most common motive cited. More than a quarter of LGBTQ youth said they have been personally bullied or harassed since Election Day -- compared to 14 percent of non-LGBTQ youth -- with transgender young people most frequently targeted. Additionally, Hispanic and Latino respondents were 20 percent more likely than other youth to report having been personally bullied, with harassment targeting both immigrant and nonimmigrant communities.
The hate is not just directed at racial and ethnic minorities. LGBT youth have also been vulnerable. While Trump himself has not been very vocal regarding this group, many of the people that he has surrounded himself with and appointed to key positions are well known for their anti LGBT stances. And, Trump himself has attended rallies and prayer meeting with very outspoken anti LGBT figures.
Some disturbing statistics:
Seventy percent of respondents reported witnessing bullying, hate messages or harassment during or since the 2016 election. Of those, 79 percent said such behaviors have been occurring more frequently since the onset of the presidential campaign.
Among young people who reported seeing bullying and harassment,
70 percent had witnessed incidents motivated by race or ethnicity, 63 percent had seen incidents motivated by sexual orientation, 59 percent had seen incidents motivated by immigration status, and 55 percent had witnessed incidents motivated by gender.
Over the past 30 days, about half of transgender youth reported feeling hopeless and worthless most or all of the time, and 70 percent said that these and similar feelings have increased in the past 30 days.
Thirty-six percent had been personally bullied or harassed, and 56 percent had changed their self-expression or future plans because of the election.
Before Election Day 2016, more than half of survey respondents reported thinking about the election every day, and a third thought about it several times each week.
Survey of 50,000+ Youth Reveals Post-Election Spike in Bullying | Human Rights Campaign
