In a trend that I’m sure will, unfortunately, continue on into the foreseeable future, someone has decided to come at everyone’s favorite “kids need something to read while sitting in the waiting room” magazine, Highlights.
My email to the editor of @Highlights pic.twitter.com/U1BzVoabpv
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) December 15, 2021
The one good thing to come from this is me finding out that Highlights is still going strong after 75 years. I know I joked just now about kids needing something to read while sitting in a doctor’s or dentist’s office, but when I tell you those magazines distracted me while I nervously waited to get braces, I mean it. I’m happy to see that the magazine is still around.
What I’m not happy about is seeing yet another adult acting brand new to the concept of media aimed at children touching on what’s happening in real life so that it’s easier for them to process. I know not to expect anything from the likes of Ted Cruz, but these “won’t somebody think of the children” folks coming at media that’s older than their left nostril is fascinatingly absurd.
Bethany, however, has a, let’s say, interesting history in regards to how she’s been responding to COVID protocols.
Hypocrisy, Thy Name is Bethany
Since Twitter is the land of “we remember everything,” folks were quick to dig up tweets from Bethany that reminded me of why she sounded vaguely familiar. You might remember this mask post from back in August of what it, apparently, looked like after one day of use.
This mask is like this after one day. pic.twitter.com/TKDDXEVQEZ
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) August 5, 2021
While I’m fairly certain she poured old Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup onto the mask for dramatic effect, the point she was trying to make was that the masks children wear on a daily basis get dirty and become contaminated with the T-virus due to bacteria.
Never mind the fact that many households have multiple masks or, you know, wash them.
That’s not the hypocritical part, though. That honor goes to this tweet from May 2020.
You can call me a Grandma killer. I’m not sacrificing my home, food on the table, all of our docs and dentists, every form of pleasure (museums, zoos, restaurants), all my kids’ teachers in order to make other people comfortable. If you want to stay locked down, do. I’m not.
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) May 6, 2020
Do your thing, Twitter!
But you’re okay with sending a “me being inconvenienced matters more than Grandma” message to kids? O-kay.https://t.co/Pvuk8dy6Ea
— SpideyTerry (@SpideyTerry) December 15, 2021
Remember when you said you’re willing to kill grandparents to avoid doing anything to making other people feel comfortable? https://t.co/0ktXLhh2qY
— Programming has been a disaster for the Human Race (@LitAnscombe) December 16, 2021
The part in her email where she talks about getting the magazine so her and her kids can “escape from reality” takes on a whole new meaning when you realize that, once upon a time, she brazenly stated that she was cool with putting the elderly at risk during lockdown. Being mad at a children’s magazine for an illustration where a masked kid is cheering about their older brother playing the piano is… a lot, especially from someone I have permission to call a Grandma Killer.
Highlights responds beautifully
We want our readers to see themselves and their experiences in our magazines, so we’ve included masks and acknowledgements of the pandemic to help support kids. As one child wrote to us, “Kids need to know that they are not alone.” Like you, we hope that this will be over soon.
— Highlights (@Highlights) December 15, 2021
This is such a sincere response toward someone who truly doesn’t deserve it, but I’d like to imagine that, if they could, they would give a response like these:
Hi Bethany, Highlights art director here, we are redesigning Goofus to look like you.
— Hare (@HareDurer) December 16, 2021
Neither of these individuals is affiliated with Highlights, but lord, I bet the social media manager who wrote the actual response wishes they could be that savage. Dealing with people like Bethany can’t be easy, and I’m sure she isn’t the only one who has written emails complaining about a children’s magazine that’s always been about supporting kids and their experiences… continuing to support kids and experiences.
As I said last month when Cruz couldn’t figure out how to get to Sesame Street:
Honestly, though, this is exactly what children’s programming does. No one should be surprised that Sesame Street is addressing COVID. I certainly wish it didn’t have to touch the topic (as in, I’d prefer COVID wasn’t around at all), but when the pandemic hit I knew that children’s programming would dedicate some time to explain what was happening in simple terms, and in a way that put children’s minds at some sort of ease as to why everyone was suddenly talking about wearing masks and maintaining a certain distance.
Or why people they know might be sick all of the sudden.
Keep doing what you do, Highlights, and thank you for explaining a terrible situation to children and, let’s be honest, adults who have to have these conversations with kids.
(Image: Highlights/screenshot)
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