When I was 11 years old in the fourth grade, a group of us picked on a sixth grader named Donna Pass. We made fun of her for no reason at all and stole one of her school books, which reduced her to tears. We humiliated her for no reason. I will never forget her name because of what happened afterwards when my parents found out about what we did.
My mother and father knew I was regularly terrorized by a neighborhood bully and how horrible the experience was for me and my friends. They explained that we had all behaved like bullies and lectured me about the consequences of my actions. My father explained I must take responsibility for what I had done or I would be no better than Ricky Shirella, the neighborhood monster whose conduct is still discussed today on Facebook.
My father drove me to Donna’s house and made me knock on the door and apologize to her. Crying harder than I ever had in my life, I apologized to Donna Pass and learned a lesson from my parents that I will always carry with me about civility and the treatment of others. Be respectful to others and remember how your behavior will affect them. Today, 50 years later, I realize that was a seminal moment in my life and I wonder what sort of lessons Donald Trump received in his youth to shape his character.
Mika Brezezinski co-hosts Morning Joe, a news program where people share their opinions about politics and current events. It’s her job to express her thoughts, and she’s always done so about Trump. When Donald Trump was running for president he seemed to call Morning Joe on a daily basis and I’m sure it played a significant role in getting him elected. Now, despite being President of the United Sates, he devotes a good deal of his time to watching cable news rather than doing his job of running the country.
His response to Mika and Joe Scarborough’s comments are beneath the conduct of an 11-year-old child, let alone the leader of the free world. Donald Trump is behaving like a petulant brat and the example of bullying he sets for our children and the rest of the world is the worst imaginable.
Melania Trump once pledged that as first lady she would lead an anti-bullying campaign. Like everything else this administration has attempted, it’s failed miserably.