An ongoing list of 'good kids' and 'thugs,' according to Fox News and Trump.
My exhaustive, tireless attempt to investigate the difference.
I'm trying to get to the bottom of the mystery.
You see, when a trove of previously unreleased court documents revealed that former Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos had given false testimony to investigators about his contacts with Russian operatives during the campaign, Fox News' Sean Hannity attempted to exculpate the ex-aide by emphasizing his tender age: 29.
I get it. We all make mistakes in our youth. Some of us drink a little too much. Others of us wreck our dad's motorcycle. Still others of us mislead FBI agents about our illegal interactions with foreign governments. It happens.
Yet, according to Fox News, some adults who do wrong things — like Papadopoulos — are "good kids," while some actual kids (and adults) who have had wrong things done to them are irredeemable, no-good "thugs."
It's a fascinating dichotomy. There just has to be some kind of pattern to it all. But I just can't figure out what.
Here's a partial catalog so far. It's a puzzle! An enigma! A labyrinth inside of a Rubik's Cube inside of a snake eating its own tail!
George Papadopoulos, 29, pleaded guilty to lying to federal officers: good kid!
Photo via George Papadopoulos/LinkedIn.
"George Papadopoulos. He admitted, OK, that he lied to the FBI. I think he is 29 years old." — Sean Hannity, "Hannity," Oct. 30, 2017.
Trayvon Martin, 17, shot dead by rogue neighborhood watch volunteer: thug.
Photo by Allison Joyce/Getty Images
"You dress like a thug, people are going to treat you like a thug." — Geraldo Rivera, "Fox & Friends," July 15, 2013.
Jared Kushner, 36, attended meeting with representatives of the Russian government, ostensibly to acquire dirt on Hillary Clinton: good kid!
Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images.
"Kushner looks like a high school senior. Hard to believe he's fixing elections with Putin. In fact, impossible to believe. Sorry, CNN." — Bill O'Reilly, Twitter, July 24, 2017.
Michael Brown, 18, shot dead by Ferguson, Missouri, police officer: thug.
Photo by Elcardo Anthony.
"[Democrats] want to stir up this racial division within the inner-city communities, and that's why they're going to feature Michael Brown's mother [at the Democratic National Convention]. Michael Brown was a thug." — Allen West, "On the Record" with Greta Van Susteren, July 26, 2016.
Donald Trump Jr., 39, helped organize aforementioned meeting with representatives of the Russian government reportedly to acquire dirt on Hillary Clinton: good kid!
Photo by Saul Loeb/Getty Images.
"Don is — as many of you know Don — he's a good boy. He's a good kid. And he had a meeting; nothing happened with the meeting." — Donald Trump, July 13, 2017.
The rapper Common, 45, rapped: thug.
Photo by Jeff Schear/Getty Images.
"President Obama last week said he wanted to recapture that special moment we had after 9/11. And here [a] week later, we have an example of how this White House can recapture that moment by inviting a thug to the White House." — Karl Rove, "Hannity," May 10, 2011.
Donald Trump, 71, bragged about committing sexual assault on tape: good kid!
Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images.
"This ['Access Hollywood' tape] was locker-room banter, a private conversation that took place many years ago." — Donald Trump, Oct. 8, 2016.
Dajerria Becton, 14, body-slammed and arrested by local police after swimming in a pool: thug.
Image via Fox-4 Dallas-Fort Worth/YouTube.
"The girl was no saint either. He had told her to leave, and she continued to linger. And when the cop tells you to leave, get out." — Megyn Kelly, "The Kelly File," June 9, 2015.
I haven't given up. I'm going to keep updating this list of "good kids" until we figure this out.
Maybe one day it'll come to me in a flash of brilliant light.
White light, most likely.
Keep checking back for updates as I continue to try and parse this impossible puzzle!
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."