Saturday, January 28, 2017

Dear Mr. Trump

Joey has a message for you, Mr. Trump.


Joey wanted me to send this to the president, but he also asked me to share it.

Joey is angry about Trump. We don't talk politics around the house, partly because its complicated and Joey gets things very black and white. Another reason is that my husband and I have very different political views, and we prefer not to hash them out in front of the children.

Joey saw Mr. Trump mock Mr. Kovaleski even before I did. (I don't care if he was mocking Mr. Kovaleski in particular or disability in general, it's all the same to us). That happens when you send kids to school- they see things. You can't control it. However, he has been livid about Trump ever since. Joey knows ugly insults when he sees them, and he saw this one immediately.

When Trump became the candidate for the Republicans, he was livid. When he won the election, he was livid. Sworn in, livid. He just cannot fathom how "such a horrible person" could be voted into the presidency, an office Joey holds in high esteem. The idea of blocking immigrants is his latest anger-inducing tidbit. Joey is livid. He says he wants to teach Mr. Trump how to be a good person, how to be kind to people. He has said he wants to go to Washington and share his social skills training with Mr. Trump.

Joey's latest coping trick is to proclaim that he is going to run for president himself. I am not discouraging this at all. But with all the anger bursting out, and my march, we have been talking about how one gets their voice heard. Marching isn't the first step. Writing your representatives is a great first step, and so we talked about that. Even as a 14-year-old, it is something he can do.

I encouraged Joey to think about what he would say to Mr. Trump if he had the chance, and then write it down. The picture above is what he typed up to send to our President.

I think it is a good thing for us all to read, think about, and live by.

We can make the whole world a better place. Let's do that.