I generally make it a point not to pick on kids, teenagers or young adults. Even with my beloved NEVADA football team, I rarely blame the players (kids) for what is happening on the field, but rather focus on coaches and officials. With that said, I have to say something about Joey Heck, son of U.S. Representative Joe Heck (R-NV). His twitter feed might be one of the most racist, homophobic, misogynistic and mean spirited I've seen in a while and it is the feed of a sitting congressman's 16 year old son.
Buzzfeed reported the story yesterday. The feed is still active (as of 1:16 pm 6/14/13) with all the posts still present, none of which, from what I can tell, have been deleted. Read through it, it will give you a pretty interesting look into the mind of Joey (last post in early May which must have been when the crap began to hit the fan). How the hell is it still up? Where are Rep. Heck's communications people? Crazy.
I also don't generally pick on parents for what their teenage son or daughter does due to the fact I don't have one (yet), and once the child has a mind of their own there is very little you can do to micromanage their lives. I also have thought the children and family of politicians are to be off limits as it is not fair to bring them into the muck of politics when it was not their choice in the first place. With that said, the regular homosexual slurs, racist epithets, and degrading remarks about women in such a public forum gives a pretty interesting look at what I have to believe are the family values of the Heck household. I say this because I have a 6 year old son and he doesn't see race or gender which leads me to assume racism, sexism and bullying are learned traits. I could be wrong, but that is my experience. Add to that the statement sent out but Rep. Heck on the issue:
“I
am extremely disappointed in my son’s use of the offensive and
inappropriate language on twitter: that type of language has never been
permitted in our home.
“I
apologize to everyone he may have offended. My son also apologizes for
his insensitive behavior. My wife and I have addressed this family
matter directly with him and he has learned from it.”
Note
it wasn't the subject matter or intentions he apologizes for but the
language used and if you were offended . . . makes you wonder what
Congressman Heck thinks behind closed doors. Insensitive behavior? Insensitive behavior is speaking ill of a friend's dead grandmother, not calling women "sluts," calling the president the "N" word or using gay slurs in a very public forum . . . He may have gotten this from his friends but the child is the product of a very public figure. That should be a concern of those able to vote for Rep. Heck.
Lastly, I ask what has the
child "learned," as the statement so deliberately mentions? I suspect he has learned that his congressman dad will ignore him up until he becomes an embarrassment. That it is okay to have these thoughts and ideas in your head, just as long as you don't say them in public.
To be fair, maybe the response was written in haste. Maybe the family has placed him in sensitivity therapy, anger management classes or some other ideological deprogramming situation, but I suspect that is not the case. For his sake, I hope Joey does learn from this and grows up to be a good, productive person, but he has a LONG way to go.
2 comments:
Until you have a 16 year old with a mind of their own trying to stand out in a generation defined by their retweetability, don't be so quick to judge. Am I the only one who remembers what it was like to be 16? Think back to the trials and tribulations, then throw social media into the mix...disaster waiting to happen. Family members should be off limits, as it's generally not their choice to run for office. It's unfair to assume the Congressman tolerates or promotes this behavior.
I LOVE anonymous posts :) I do remember when I was 16. I was pretty much an arrogant, knowitall twerp and I admit that used homophobic language in casual conversation with my friends. For that I regret and apologized to friends who were, I was unaware at the time, offended. It was wrong, no doubt. I didn't use racist or sexist comments in private or public conversation. The vitriol you read in his feed is serious even for a 16 year old. I don't believe Rep. Heck openly promotes this in his home but the fact his son was so willing and embolden to do it in a very public way demands a closer look. If this was a diary the kid was keeping that went public I'd say this is definitely off limits but he did it through the most public channel possible. As for the Rep., his statement isn't strong enough. He didn't distance himself from the content . . . that was strange to me. As for family members being a target, you didn't read my post.
Post a Comment