As Twitchy reported Friday, an 11-year-old from Virginia who had volunteered to mow the White House lawn did exactly that this week, pushing a mower around the Rose Garden while the press took pictures.
Not sending a great signal on child labor, minimum wage & occupational safety >> Trump White House lets a 10-year-old volunteer mow its lawn https://t.co/uj7N9Mr8Yi
— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) September 15, 2017
Frank also met President Trump and was invited to the Oval Office; to us, it was the feel-good story of the week. But we were warned …
https://twitter.com/JammieWF/status/908035004457988112
We compiled quite a few tweets from critics, but it seems fitting that the New York Times’ former labor reporter should be given special consideration. He thought it was a great display of patriotism and the work ethic that made America great, right?
Yeah, no.
Not sending a great signal on child labor, minimum wage & occupational safety >> Trump White House lets a 10-year-old volunteer mow its lawn https://t.co/uj7N9Mr8Yi
— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) September 15, 2017
The sanctimonious and humorless finger-wagging of nanny state progressivism in one tweet. https://t.co/TFDoKUEyLv
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) September 16, 2017
Oh … if only it were just one tweet. Buckle in.
What this kid wants to do is noble, but sorry, I'm mindful of problems–I've written lots about child labor & kids being hurt by machinery
— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) September 15, 2017
Recommended
Greenhouse has written a lot about kids being hurt by machinery. It’s a good thing, then, that no parent in America would let a child under 21 operate something as dangerous as a push mower out in the back yard, let alone pay them an allowance rather than an hourly minimum wage.
Teaching kids to be self-sufficient and the value of a day's work is problematic now? FFS! My dad had me on the tractor when I was 9. #SMH
— Tina C. (@Redhead6886) September 16, 2017
Dear fledgling writer. Didn't you read the links I tweeted. It's great to teach kids to be self-sufficient. It's important that they be safe
— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) September 16, 2017
Dear snowflake, I suppose you never drank from the hose when you were a kid, either. Or climbed a tree. Or played jarts. *sigh*
— Tina C. (@Redhead6886) September 16, 2017
Remember lawn darts? Those things were AWESOME.
Dear oversensitive Tina snowflake. Play is play & I"m all for it. Work isn't play—There are rules about child labor https://t.co/5jHFXowFHj
— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) September 16, 2017
Here … if you don’t believe child labor is dangerous, read this website about amputees who lost a limb to a lawnmower. Actually, don’t read it — just get rid of your lawnmower and put the time you save mowing into getting them banned. Hell, start a lobbying group called Everylawn for Mower Safety.
While many applaud the noble Frank, the American Academy of Pediatrics says no one <12 should operate a power mower. https://t.co/5I6Dy5oyjb
— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) September 15, 2017
I can NOT believe how petty, & discusting you are acting over this sweet act! Are you a grown man? Have u never let ur child mow? Smh
— lisa j. #proTrump (@My4sonsLisa) September 15, 2017
Lisa, dear. I don't think it's a great idea for 10-year-olds to mow. And the American Academy of Pediatrics agrees https://t.co/34IcwUMhWj
— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) September 15, 2017
Lisa, “dear”? Sounds pretty sexist and condescending. Where are the feminists?
Seriously? He let's a kid mow the White House lawn -something kid will never forget and you blast him about child labor laws?
— Jeff Crank (@jeffcrank) September 15, 2017
Dear Crank, mowers can be dangerous. The American Academy of Academics says kids under 12 shouldn't operate them. https://t.co/34IcwUMhWj
— Steven Greenhouse (@greenhousenyt) September 15, 2017
Greenhouse doesn’t have an off switch, by the way, but that’s all we can take.
I was waiting for a leftist to make this stupid argument. https://t.co/0JTbmCtUkL
— Ashe Schow (@AsheSchow) September 16, 2017
Child labor? FOR REAL? rofl https://t.co/QBUWlOqgMt
— The?FOO (@PolitiBunny) September 16, 2017
Ha ha, yep. Oh, shit; you're not joking. https://t.co/9rgc27ZbyW
— Anthony Bialy (@AnthonyBialy) September 16, 2017
https://twitter.com/CrankyGordon/status/909104430380933120
https://twitter.com/TMIWITW/status/909120782298750976
https://twitter.com/Mellecon/status/909099994774491142
I worked on construction sites at age ten. https://t.co/pqCnjHsqYo
— Dan ?? (@danieltobin) September 16, 2017
Everybody is offended by everything.https://t.co/242ufyEcvB
— Stefan Molyneux (@StefanMolyneux) September 16, 2017
https://twitter.com/MarkMurrah/status/909149086057664514
https://twitter.com/molratty/status/909130155490254848
Ha!
Exit question: where does Kid Rock stand on the issue of kids mowing lawns? We have a feeling …
* * *
Related:
Kid gets wish of mowing WH lawn. Nice story, right? NOT to these people… https://t.co/2nI2zFkn5E
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) September 15, 2017
Join the conversation as a VIP Member