A Democrat Congressman is blaming what he calls the “Trump Effect” for a drastic and alarming increase in bullying in his district.
Convened a mental health panel today to address needs of our communities, from our kids to first responders & providers. pic.twitter.com/6xRZZrV5u6
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) July 30, 2017
Was struck at mental health forum to hear of @realDonaldTrump effect in schools, making more bullies. "Remarkable how abrupt difference is."
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) July 30, 2017
What?! That sounds terrible!!! Are kids arriving at school with crummy orange spray on tans and fake toupees?!
At my mental health forum, an educator shared a story of a kindergartener telling a peer, "Trump is going to kick you out of the country."
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) July 30, 2017
A room of 100 of my constituents sat stunned in silence as educators shared Trump-effect in schools. Bullying & mental health issues on rise
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) July 30, 2017
This is evil! This is terrible!!
This is… false.
According to a little thing called reality, bullying is actually DOWN in the U.S.:
The number of violent attacks and incidents of bullying in American public schools has gone down in recent years, according to a federal report published Thursday.
Violence and bullying were more frequent in middle schools than in high schools or elementary schools, said the study by the Education Department’s National Center for Education Statistics.
The report said the rate of violent incidents in middle schools dropped from 40 incidents per 1,000 students in the 2009-2010 school year to 27 incidents in 2015-2016. Bullying in middle schools was observed in 39 percent of schools in 2009-2010, compared to 22 percent last school year.
So what’s the deal then? Does that mean bullying is up in Swalwell’s district and no where else? Wouldn’t that mean there’s some weird “Swalwell effect” where this jerk is causing bullying?!?!
Well, it’s more likely that these people are just exaggerating.
One last thing – as a Hispanic who was raised in California, I know what it feels like to be a school-kid and be mocked as “illegal” by cruel school kids. It kinda sucks, and I feel bad for any kid who has to go through Trump-themed taunting. But all kids face cruel taunting. It’s called growing up. Let’s not exaggerate things when the facts don’t fit our political agenda…