Lift your pinky and take an awkward sip
If you watch seemingly any event involving or concerning the current President of the United States, the press critiques and criticizes every move Trump makes. You would think that the media would only criticize what he says and when he says it which should give the press enough ammunition or so you would think. Surprisingly, I have noticed that the media notices and "calls out" President Trump for the smallest faux pas. For example, when he awkwardly took a sip of water while giving a speech, the media, bloggers, and just haters in general made multiple remarks, gifs, and even videos of this fail on Trump's part.
It seems a little silly and childish to make the headline of the day the fact that the President didn't keep his pinky up when sipping his tea. This begs me to ask the question: is it justified for every move of the President to be held under such great scrutiny that even drinking water becomes big news? Also, is it necessarily a requirement for the President of the United States to practice proper etiquette and netiquette or is it just a courtesy?
To answer my first proposed question, it isn't necessarily fair that every little move the President makes should be held under such high scrutiny. But, life isn't fair. The President of the United States is a position of power and celebrity. When Britney Spears didn't wear her bloomers while getting out of a car, the media had a field day and her blurred out privates were plastered on every newspaper. Similarly, when Jennifer Lopez is at the farmer's market acting "just like us", her pictures are put in the pages of a magazine. The President of the United States is like any other celebrity so he will be viewed as such whether he wears his bloomers or not. (But seriously... no one wants to see that...) Mr. Trump will be praised or criticized depending on his actions. You would think after years of being a celebrity, he'd get used to it by now.
To answer the second question, is etiquette or netiquette required to be President of the United States or is it just common courtesy? Looking at Mr. Trump's track record, I would have to answer that proper etiquette and netiquette are simply common courtesy. Every President has a faux pas moment such as not greeting an official or advocate from another country with the proper respect and traditions. Usually, these moments make news enough times to count on one hand during a presidency. However, with our current President, they seem like an everyday occurrence. For instance, referring to a member of Congress as Pocahontas during a meeting with Native Americans or shaking the hand of a Japanese official rather than bowing out of respect.
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Mr. Trump is not the most respectful president and he certainly doesn't seem to have the proper skills necessary to fully understand that being respectful is not the same as being politically correct. The latter is optional; the former is not. Keep your pinky up, Trump, for the sake of our country.
It seems a little silly and childish to make the headline of the day the fact that the President didn't keep his pinky up when sipping his tea. This begs me to ask the question: is it justified for every move of the President to be held under such great scrutiny that even drinking water becomes big news? Also, is it necessarily a requirement for the President of the United States to practice proper etiquette and netiquette or is it just a courtesy?
To answer my first proposed question, it isn't necessarily fair that every little move the President makes should be held under such high scrutiny. But, life isn't fair. The President of the United States is a position of power and celebrity. When Britney Spears didn't wear her bloomers while getting out of a car, the media had a field day and her blurred out privates were plastered on every newspaper. Similarly, when Jennifer Lopez is at the farmer's market acting "just like us", her pictures are put in the pages of a magazine. The President of the United States is like any other celebrity so he will be viewed as such whether he wears his bloomers or not. (But seriously... no one wants to see that...) Mr. Trump will be praised or criticized depending on his actions. You would think after years of being a celebrity, he'd get used to it by now.
To answer the second question, is etiquette or netiquette required to be President of the United States or is it just common courtesy? Looking at Mr. Trump's track record, I would have to answer that proper etiquette and netiquette are simply common courtesy. Every President has a faux pas moment such as not greeting an official or advocate from another country with the proper respect and traditions. Usually, these moments make news enough times to count on one hand during a presidency. However, with our current President, they seem like an everyday occurrence. For instance, referring to a member of Congress as Pocahontas during a meeting with Native Americans or shaking the hand of a Japanese official rather than bowing out of respect.
Mr. Trump is not the most respectful president and he certainly doesn't seem to have the proper skills necessary to fully understand that being respectful is not the same as being politically correct. The latter is optional; the former is not. Keep your pinky up, Trump, for the sake of our country.
This reminds me of Bennett's notion of "personalization" bias. The press will prefer coverage of people and their personal behaviors and struggles over institutional coverage of larger problems and realities. There are several reasons for this, of course; an individual is much more easliy condensed into a single story than the broader political context in which that person exists. Additionally, it is much easier to scrutnize the behavior of one person as a guage of the health of our government than to familiarize ourselves with the various Congressional representatives and their numerous policies legislative proposals.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, the President, beyond being a political leader, is also a symbol: he represents our values as a nation. He is, in many ways, a surrograte for us to the rest of the world. While I would venture to say that other aspects of Trump's behavior (i.e. every time he opens his mouth) are of much more concern than the nuance of an awkward water break, you're right in your observation that the dignity and courtesy of the president is a reflection on the American people.
Thanks for writing.