Among the shallow outpourings of scorn on Melania Trump, Arwa Mahdawi‘s Melania Trump claims of victimhood have a hollow ring, is representative of the rest.
Consider this snippet from her post:
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In an interview with ABC News, the first lady said, “I support the women and they need to be heard” but added that if they come forward as victims they must “show the evidence”. Unfortunately, Melania did not elaborate on what sort of evidence she considers acceptable. Might she accept, for example, a tape of her husband boasting about grabbing women’s crotches without their consent?Despite her immense advocacy for women, I’m sorry to report that Melania feels let down by the sisterhood. “I could say I’m the most bullied person in the world,” she said in her interview.
Listen, I support the Melanias and they need to be heard, but if you’re going to come forward as a victim, you must show the evidence. And right now all the evidence seems to point at the first lady being just as morally bankrupt as the president and deserving every ounce of criticism she attracts. If you do feel any spark of sympathy for Melania, I suggest you redirect your attention to the thousands of migrant children the Trump administration has kidnapped.
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As far as Melania’s “show the evidence” comment, in context she clearly says that the media, emphasis on the media, goes too far when someone says they have been assaulted. Not quite the same impression as you get from Mahdawi’s account.
Melania may have been sexually abused or assaulted and being unable to “show the evidence,” she has suffered in silence along with millions of women around the world. If speaking out without evidence makes your life worse, then her advice may not be too far off the mark.
If she has abuse issues in her past, like any other survivor, she has an absolute right to speak or NOT speak about her prior abuse. Neither Mahdawi nor anyone else has the right to demand Melania shed her personal privacy so they can judge her legitimacy.
It’s not clear what Mahdawi find surprising about:
A question was asked and Melania answered. What other source of information would you use to judge a person’s view of the world?
Mahdawi’s projection of an imaginary world that Melania occupies reminds me of Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson, re-written by Paul Simon as Paul Simon – Richard Cory Lyrics, which reads in part:
They say that Richard Cory owns one half of this whole town
with political connections to spread his wealth around
born into society a banker’s only child
He had everything a man could want power, grace and style
But I work in his factory and I curse the life I’m living
and I curse my poverty and I wish that I could be
Oh I wish that I could be, Oh I wish that I could be Richard Cory…
oh he surely must be happy with everything he’s got
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“Richard Cory went home last night and put a bullet through his head.”
In Mahdawi’s imaginary world projection, Melania is not bullied by Trump and his band-of-sycophants. Nor has she paid a high price reach her present position and/or to remain there. Mahdawi is welcome to her fiction, but it’s not a valid basis for judging the words or actions of Melania Trump.
Spend less time fantasying about the First Lady and more on bringing the Trump administration to an end.
PS: To help you remember this lesson in the future: