Full transparency, this editor had to double and triple check to make sure this Joanna Schroeder person isn’t actually a parody like Titania because WHOA NELLY, this thread reads just like the sort of hot mess a parody would make fun of.
But nope … this is real.
Note, anytime a thread starts out with a tweet asking about your white teenage son is RARELY a good thing.
Do you have white teenage sons?
Listen up.
I've been watching my boys' online behavior & noticed that social media and vloggers are actively laying groundwork in white teens to turn them into alt-right/white supremacists.
Here's how:
— joanna schroeder (@iproposethis) August 13, 2019
IT’S ALL A PLOT!
We’re shocked she didn’t blame Russians.
It's a system I believe is purposefully created to disillusion white boys away from progressive/liberal perspectives.
First, the boys are inundated by memes featuring subtly racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-Semitic jokes.
Being kids, they don't see the nuance & repeat/share.
— joanna schroeder (@iproposethis) August 13, 2019
Or, and hear us out, progressive and liberal perspectives are crap for the most part.
Just spitballin’.
Then they're called out for these jokes/phrases/memes by parents, teachers, kids (mostly girls) at school & online.
The boys then feel shame & embarrassment – and shame is the force that, I believe, leads people to their worst decisions.
— joanna schroeder (@iproposethis) August 13, 2019
Huh?
The second step is the boys consuming media with the "people are too sensitive" and "you can't say anything anymore!" themes.
For these boys, this will ring true – they're getting in trouble for "nothing".
This narrative allows boys to shed the shame – replacing it w/anger.
— joanna schroeder (@iproposethis) August 13, 2019
Recommended
We got nothin’.
And who is their anger with?
Women, feminists, liberals, people of color, gay folks, etc etc. So-called snowflakes.
And nobody is there to dismantle the "snowflake" fallacy.
These boys are being set up – they're placed like baseballs on a tee and hit right out of the park.
— joanna schroeder (@iproposethis) August 13, 2019
Well, maybe if the Left would stop acting like entitled, annoying, triggered snowflakes the ‘fallacy’ would resolve itself.
And NOBODY seems to notice this happening – except, it seems, moms of teenage girls who see the bizarre harassment their daughters endure.
And, of course, moms like me who stalk our sons' social media.
— joanna schroeder (@iproposethis) August 13, 2019
You know that face you make when you’re watching your favorite show and the guide says it’s new but it’s not? Yeah, just made that face.
These are often boys from progressive or moderate families – but their online behavior & viewing habits are often ignored.
Here's an early red flag: if your kid says "triggered" as a joke referring to people being sensitive, he's already being exposed & on his way.
Intervene!
— joanna schroeder (@iproposethis) August 13, 2019
Oh FFS.
Joanna is triggered.
Look through his Instagram Explore screen with him. Explain what's underlying those memes. Explain why "triggered" isn't a joke, what a PTSD trigger is actually like. Evoke empathy without shaming him.
Remind him you know he's a good person, but explain how propaganda works.
— joanna schroeder (@iproposethis) August 13, 2019
The irony of this tweet is off the freakin’ charts.
Seriously.
Propaganda makes extreme points of view seem normal by small amounts of exposure over time – all for the purpose of converting people to more extremist points of view.
Use my baseball analogy, if you want. Tell your son that he doesn't have to be anybody's fool.
— joanna schroeder (@iproposethis) August 13, 2019
YEAH, no.
Teenagers have an innate drive toward independence, and once this system is exposed, they're likely to start questioning the memes & vloggers' intentions.
Tell them you are always there, not judging, to look at content & try to spot the lie – no judgment.
Then don't judge!
— joanna schroeder (@iproposethis) August 13, 2019
But try and control how they think … k.
You can also watch political comedy shows with him, like Trevor Noah, John Oliver, Hasan Minhaj. Talk about what makes their jokes funny – who are the butt of the jokes? Do they "punch up" or down?
— joanna schroeder (@iproposethis) August 13, 2019
Sure, force your kids to watch progressive comedy. That’s not brainwashing them at all.
Our boys want funny guys to relate to. Give them John Mulaney, Hannibal Burress, Hasan Minhaj, Neal Brennan, Dave Chappelle … then TALK TO YOUR SONS about that funny shit. Break it down.
(Also give them women comics, obviously, but that's beside the point here).
— joanna schroeder (@iproposethis) August 13, 2019
Literally, none of that is funny.
Show them that progressive comedy isn't about being "politically correct" or safe.
It's often about exposing oppressive systems – which is the furthest thing from "safe" or delicate as you can get.
— joanna schroeder (@iproposethis) August 13, 2019
Just made that face again.
Disprove this "snowflake" garbage once & for all.
Ask your son:
Who is more of a delicate "snowflake" – the person who gets offended by racism/sexism & actively wants to help end bigotry? Or the person who is offended by people saying happy holidays instead of merry Christmas?
— joanna schroeder (@iproposethis) August 13, 2019
OMG GIVE US A BREAK.
Above all, we need to stay engaged & challenge our kids without shaming them.
I'm lucky, my kids are smart and have a smart, critical, progressive dad who isn't afraid to call bullshit when he sees it.
But I've seen SO MANY white boys falling prey to this system. So beware.
— joanna schroeder (@iproposethis) August 13, 2019
This editor doesn’t even know where to begin this thread is so damn dumb.
None of these people are funny and I wouldn't expose my boys to their tripe
— Caffeine Queen (@Philly_Hoosier) August 13, 2019
I'm really beginning to think her diatribe was for partisan and not altruistic reasons.
— Abe Froman (@Abe_Froman_34) August 13, 2019
You want to brainwash your child into thinking the way YOU want them to.
You don't want them to become independent or to have their own opinion, you just want them to be like you.
That is exactly what far-right parents do.
Stop it.— SpooKcAEk (@fuckcaek) August 13, 2019
This is definitely a parody!
— Steve (@CaffeinatedinAZ) August 13, 2019
I feel for your kids. I really do.
— Etienne Martone (@mdvannostrand) August 13, 2019
— Manaña (@pretty_graves) August 13, 2019
Nothing says "this is actually funny" like having to force boys to watch stuff and explain why they should be laughing
— Daniel Studd (@DMmemathsmemes) August 13, 2019
Uh this is where you lost me
No better way to alienate a kid than to control what they watch and teach them to like it— Soup (@EggLemonSoup) August 13, 2019
Re-educate him with heavily Left-slanted media exposure.
Total lack of self-awareness on display.
— Conscious Caracal ?? (@ConCaracal) August 13, 2019
Total.
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