What’s up with kids and MAGA hats?

Based0ne · Jul 7, 2018

I'm not sure if it's just me going crazy or what but let's see.

There was an article that just came up on USA Today about a guy getting arrested for getting into a verbal altercation/assault with a teen over a MAGA that I read (link here) that brought up somewhat of a bad memory from a couple months back.

My sister wanted to go to the Holocaust museum in DC since she had never been to it, so I decided to take her there with my family to go check it out. We went through the entire museum (which was pretty intense) and upon exiting the exhibit and going down the stairs there was a group of teens (about 12-16) that I guess were on a field trip. What got me to notice them was the fact that a bunch, if not the majority of them were wearing MAGA hats. I thought to myself, "why are teens of all people wearing that type of hat?" It's something that I wanted to ask them but bit my lip and stopped myself especially since my fiancée told me to chill about it.

Fast forward to yesterday with that article that I posted and read, and one thing stuck out to me.

I support my President and if you don't, let's have a conversation about it instead of ripping my hat off

So... if what I read was correct and if I were to tie it that to the group of teens with the hats, does that mean they think the same way? Or am I crazy for thinking so and were those teens just trolling like I've seen a lot of teens do since that's what's in as well as memes. Also, why the fuck would you wear a fucking MAGA hat in the Holocaust museum of all places. I also feel like there are more of these cases out there with teens wearing MAGA hats. What are your thoughts Era?

Cybersai · Jul 7, 2018

They're dumb middle school kids who like memes. That's about it.

Deadlast · Jul 7, 2018

Kids just want to be abrasive to society and popular opinion. That is my take. Most of those kids that wear those hats love that so many people hate Trump. They probably don't have any idea about his policies and how they truly affect everything.

Technosteve · Jul 7, 2018

italy had the brown shirts, china had the mao's red book, and america has the manga hats...

Kirblar · Jul 7, 2018

edgelords

effingvic · Jul 7, 2018

Thanks Kanye

rokkerkory · Jul 7, 2018

Kids will be kids

Conciliator · Jul 7, 2018

they're stupid teenagers and nothing is real to them so they gotta push that big red button just to see.

Also see: kanye west

Beartruck · Jul 7, 2018

Teenagers are assholes often intentionally trying to be controversial as they figure themselves out. Film at 11.

Buzzman · Jul 7, 2018

"Trolling" is nothing more than a cowards excuse to be a piece of shit. They're Trump supporters, precisely because they want to "trigger the libs" and hit down on others.

NoblesseOblige · Jul 7, 2018

kids are dumb

Jessie · Jul 7, 2018

They get to be edgy IRL, and no one can question them about it. They think they're free from judgment because 45 won the election.

It's why the "civility" debate popped up. The magats are terrified of confrontation. If you demonstrate that they are not free from judgment despite 45 being president, they melt down.

Shy · Jul 7, 2018

They're Nazi youth. Nothing else to it.

cosmicblizzard · Jul 7, 2018

Kids love memes. Trump is a meme president. That's all there is to it. They don't care how malicious or hurtful their actions are, they just want to get a rise out of people because being a shithead with no empathy is "counter-culture" or whatever.

Dennis8K · Jul 7, 2018

Counterculture and rebelliousness

The "respectable" thing is to hate the MAGA hat so naturally they gotta wear it.

Verelios · Jul 7, 2018

Kids are shit heads, but I'd guess most of them are influenced by youtubers, 4 chan and their friends.

Psamtik · Jul 7, 2018

They grew up on YouTube, and the algorithm sent them on an expressway to white supremacy.

My grandmother was a kid in Germany during the war, and every once in a while her fondness for "Uncle Adolf" slips through the dementia. Same shit. Fingers crossed that his heart explodes before most of them turn eighteen.

Stopdoor · Jul 7, 2018

"Make America Great Again" is unfortunately a stupidly catchy catchphrase. Like, you know, you hear "Make <x> Great Again" everywhere all over now as a "joke" - in my last year or so at a Canadian university you had people running for those boring Student board positions with joke posters like "Make Laurier Great Again!" and I couldn't roll my eyes harder at how tone-deaf it was because I don't think it was anything more than thoughtless reference.

And then yeah, hat form just encapsulates it, though obviously that's not really a thing up here.

Skelepuzzle · Jul 7, 2018

They don't realize that there is no meaningful difference between being an edgelord and a racist. Both wear racist iconography, both exist to anger and make "the other" suffer.

Some of them will find out that it's not a consequence free joke.

Hadrian · Jul 7, 2018

I was in central PA last week at a Wegmans and there was a group of middle school age kids in the cafe. There was at least 6 young boys where MAGA hats and it made me really sad. I hope eventually they wake up but they are white males. They wont :/

Unknown Unknown · Jul 7, 2018

Bisphenol A

gaugebozo · Jul 7, 2018

When I went to DC two months ago there were tons of kids wearing MAGA hats at the Lincoln Memorial. They weren't with each other or anything, there was at least four different groups like this and some random ones as well.

I think it's like wearing the T-shirt of the band you're going to see.

Based0ne · Jul 7, 2018

Hadrian said:
I was in central PA last week at a Wegmans and there was a group of middle school age kids in the cafe. There was at least 6 young boys where MAGA hats and it made me really sad. I hope eventually they wake up but they are white males. They wont :/

So what would be the proper way of teaching them? I certainly don't remember as a teen going into some sort of counter culture thing where we think highly of a president with the type of crap he does. Or at this point are we doomed as a society with the kids of nowadays?

Deleted member 6582 · Jul 7, 2018

A teen's reasons for wearing it aren't any different than adults. MAGA is a counter-culture people like to brand themselves with. They could be trying to get a reaction, but if its pro-Trump trolling and baiting that doesn't really change anything does it? It's the same for a confederate flag, it's just a sort of groupism.

4859 · Jul 7, 2018

Racist shits raise racist kids.

ArcLyte · Jul 7, 2018

Dumbass teens who have no real political opinions whatsoever. They wear the hats to try to get reactions and provoke people.

Deleted member 6582 · Jul 7, 2018

4859 said:
Racist shits raise racist kids.

You don't need racist parents to get into this stuff, it pretty much permeates the culture of Youtube and Twitch.

DigitalOp · Jul 7, 2018

Based0ne said:
So what would be the proper way of teaching them? I certainly don't remember as a teen going into some sort of counter culture thing where we think highly of a president with the type of crap he does. Or at this point are we doomed as a society with the kids of nowadays?

You gotta think about it yo.

The current counter culture is that it's cool to be racists/edgelord. YouTube pumps the fuck out of shitty videos to these kids. There fav tubers are preaching a bunch of garbage to them. Twitch boys and Incels are able to connect with them as well. If they are part of Republican familes then they already are indoctrinated wholesale.

The culture war was lost soon as Clown took office. Now his decency and bigotry is protected behind "support or respect" for the Presidency.

It's a load of bullshit but that's how their selling it.

Kanye didn't help because his dumbass got used as a tool to fight against racism claims.

It's cool to be racist, it's cool to be a Nazi.

When we were younger, the wave was Emo/Goth

Edit: Major factor here, this is primarily for young white boys. Maybe a few white passing Latinos. But def mainly young white boys.

EMT0 · Jul 7, 2018

Stop making excuses for them. They're old enough to know what the fuck they're saying by wearing that hat. Some teenagers are little shits trying to be edgy, teach them the consequences of their actions like you would anybody else.

Shy · Jul 7, 2018

I think people are giving too much credit to those kids for not really knowing what they're doing.

When you say and behave in a racist fashion. THAT MAKES YOU A FUCKING RACIST. YOUR ALLEGED INTENTIONS ARE FUCKING MEANINGLESS. ONLY THE RESULTS IS WHAT MATTERS.

Strike · Jul 7, 2018

"the lulz"

Strangelove_77 · Jul 7, 2018

They wear them because it gets people like you all bothered. It's part of being a dumb teenager. They probably don't give a shit about politics.

You're more than welcome to engage them in a polite or inpolite way verbally if you like. I wouldn't. Teenagers scare me.

The Mad Mango · Jul 7, 2018

Many teens try to rebel against polite society. It's a way of thumbing your nose at authority and establishing non-conformity towards the values of the older generation. Right now, there is no perceived greater enemy of polite society than Trump in liberal regions like D.C. and New York.

Now, before you protest that there's no way the president of the United States can be a symbol of anti-authoritarianism, especially a proto-facist conservative like Trump who wants to go back to the good old days, remember that these are teenagers. When I was a kid, Eminem was the rebellious figure to idolize. It didn't matter that he was actually an extremely mainstream artist heavily promoted on MTV and radio, or that many of the views he espoused were retrograde. We just liked that he was rude, irreverent, and angry. Sound familiar?

If it's any comfort, they'll probably grow out of it by the time they're old enough to vote.

Psamtik · Jul 7, 2018

Thankfully haven't seen any of this shit in Jersey. And yeah, stop making excuses for them; anyone wearing that hat is blisteringly, relentlessly racist, and not about to grow out of it. They're beyond redemption.

Dark Knight said:
Also can I just say that Trump absolutely ruined red baseball caps until the end of time?

It really is the swastika of our age.

Ogodei · Jul 7, 2018

Kirblar said:
edgelords

Not if they're there with their parents. I've seen those too. The kid wears it and the parent doesn't so that the parent can get the joy of triggering liberals who they think will be afraid to yell at their kid (I'll admit to flipping them the bird no matter how young they are, but that's all).

blahness · Jul 7, 2018

Technosteve said:
italy had the brown shirts, china had the mao's red book, and america has the manga hats...

I laughed too much at this typo

Dark Knight · Jul 7, 2018

It's pretty weird. Even if you support Trump it's the most unfashionable thing you could possibly wear because it makes you look like a mindless peon. It's such a common hat.

Also can I just say that Trump absolutely ruined red baseball caps until the end of time?

Deleted member 6582 · Jul 7, 2018

Shy said:
I think people are giving too much credit to those kids for not really knowing what they're doing.

When you say and behave in a racist fashion. THAT MAKES YOU A FUCKING RACIST. YOUR ALLEGED INTENTIONS ARE FUCKING MEANINGLESS. ONLY THE RESULTS IS WHAT MATTERS.

Knowing what you are doing and understanding the results are different things though. That's pretty much Trump's creed in a nutshell is it not? The guy thinks he knows what he is doing but does not understand the outcomes or dismisses them if they aren't favorable.

Technosteve · Jul 7, 2018

blahness said:
I laughed too much at this typo

Naphu · Jul 7, 2018

I can kind of see why Trump would appeal to dumb kids.

- Short catch phrases that everyone repeats (even opponents) - build the wall, lock her up, fake news, etc.

- He has a certain low-brow charisma and he's always bullying people with childish insults. Those kind of bullies are always popular in school.

- Even though he's in the highest office, he speaks simply and is easy to understand - mainly because his mind and vocabulary is at a 6th grade level.

StrangeLlove77 said:
They wear them because it gets people like you all bothered. It's part of being a dumb teenager. They probably don't give a shit about politics.

Sure that too.

Ogodei · Jul 7, 2018

Dark Knight said:
It's pretty weird. Even if you support Trump it's the most unfashionable thing you could possibly wear because it makes you look like a mindless peon. It's such a common hat.

Also can I just say that Trump absolutely ruined red baseball caps until the end of time?

Yup. Kind of annoying in DC since the Nationals are red caps too.

Strike · Jul 7, 2018

Dark Knight said:
Also can I just say that Trump absolutely ruined red baseball caps until the end of time?

Yeah. Every time I see an older white person with a baseball cap I have to take a second look just to make sure.

Strangelove_77 · Jul 7, 2018

Dark Knight said:
It's pretty weird. Even if you support Trump it's the most unfashionable thing you could possibly wear because it makes you look like a mindless peon. It's such a common hat.

Also can I just say that Trump absolutely ruined red baseball caps until the end of time?

Actually Fred Durst(Limp Bizkit bro) beat him to it.

International Iron Man · Jul 7, 2018

The Mad Mango said:
Many teens try to rebel against polite society. It's a way of thumbing your nose at authority and establishing non-conformity towards the values of the older generation. Right now, there is no perceived greater enemy of polite society than Trump in liberal regions like D.C. and New York.

Now, before you protest that there's no way the president of the United States can be a symbol of anti-authoritarianism, especially a proto-facist conservative like Trump who wants to go back to the good old days, remember that these are teenagers. When I was a kid, Eminem was the rebellious figure to idolize. It didn't matter that he was actually an extremely mainstream artist heavily promoted on MTV and radio, or that many of the views he espoused were retrograde. We just liked that he was rude, irreverent, and angry. Sound familiar?

If it's any comfort, they'll probably grow out of it by the time they're old enough to vote.

The thing is though, how are you thumbing your nose at authority if the person you're supporting is the president of the United States? Seems like they are thumbing their nose at everyone who doesn't look like what they were taught authority looks like.

What they are actually doing is following in a long tradition of white youth being wild racist, people making excuses for them, then they grow up to be an adult racist and everyone acts surprised they exist.

cosmicblizzard · Jul 7, 2018

EMT0 said:
Stop making excuses for them. They're old enough to know what the fuck they're saying by wearing that hat. Some teenagers are little shits trying to be edgy, teach them the consequences of their actions like you would anybody else.

What do you propose OP does to a group of 12-16 year olds?

KillLaCam · Jul 7, 2018

Sounds like they're just trying to be edgy. I'd throw their hat somewhere though

SturokBGD · Jul 7, 2018

Same reason kids used to wear Cradle of Filth shirts with pictures of nuns masturbating on them. For some reason they think Donald Trump is funny. Old fashioned rebellion and meme culture colliding.

Shy said:
They're Nazi youth. Nothing else to it.

SMH dude. Come on. They're kids. You can do better than that.

travisbickle · Jul 7, 2018

They're trying to disrupt the fabric of a functioning society. I mean how more counterculture can you get than supporting the president, it is literally anarchist.

EMT0 · Jul 7, 2018

cosmicblizzard said:
What do you propose OP does to a group of 12-16 year olds?

Not make excuses for them, throw em in the deplorable pile with the rest of the idiots wearing those hats. And lord help them if they start trying to act up on the racism/sexism/etc. that goes along with those hats towards anybody around you, that's begging to shut them the hell down verbally.

Torpedo Vegas · Jul 7, 2018

Technosteve said:

Make
America
Not
Great
Again

What’s up with kids and MAGA hats?

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