On Penn State’s campus, sporadic demonstrations by various groups are not uncommon. However, one in particular stands out. They can be seen holding signs that say in bold red letters, “Obey Jesus or hellfire,” with megaphones to declare college students’ sins. These groups gather large crowds of passing college students, drawn to the satire-like performances and bewildered by the spectacle.
On October 26th, just outside the HUB, another one of these demonstrations occurred with a crowd of approximately 75 students and gaining the attention of many onlookers. My friend and I peered over to see the commotion. While the demonstrators’ words sounded more like a comedy show than a serious message, something deeply uncomfortable stood out — the use of children.
Among the demonstrators, two young boys held signs: one with a sign that said “Halloween is evil,” and the other “Women belong in the kitchen.” At that moment, the jokes faded into the background, and all I could focus on was the apparent use of children being exploited for a spectacle.
Many of these demonstrations garner large crowds of college students, all of whom have access to social media and post these demonstrations online. It’s expected, almost like a dance between the demonstrators and students, for the students to heckle and take videos while the demonstrators are doing what they believe will get their message across. While being in the crowd, the amount of people recording was uncanny. It was difficult to avoid the fact that it seemed the adults were using the children as a device to gain attraction from students.
There is something cruel and abhorrent about using children to face a group of college students, all of whom are making fun of the accompanying adults. These adults who are fully aware that the children’s faces will end up on social media, creating a political online presence for them. I wondered what type of people would want their children’s faces to be belittled online.
My heart ached for the boy holding the “Women belong in the kitchen” sign, likely oblivious to the implication of the message. Such rhetoric is delivered across social media and classrooms, disguised by the saying, “Oh, it’s just a joke.” Many fail to realize that these jokes come from a place of historically ingrained hate for women and fear of women being treated equally in society. It may sow the seeds of false superiority in young boys, masking growing insecurities as they age.
The use of children in these demonstrations should be a wake-up call for the students of Penn State. We need to put our phones away and focus on ignoring these demonstrators rather than bolstering their platforms.
Let us know how you feel about children in demonstrations by tagging us @VALLEYmag.
