An Out-of-Touch Adult’s Guide to Children’s Culture: Young People’s Reactions to Donald Trump
Now that we’re a week into Donald Trump’s second presidency (has it really been that long?), let’s take a look at how the country’s younger generation is reacting to Trump’s return to power.
While voter participation among 18- to 29-year-olds fell in 2024 compared to 2020 (42% compared to 50%), Trump made gains in every youth group. Support for young women increased from 33% in 2020 to 41% in 2024, while support for young men increased from 41% to 55%. So the children got the president they asked for. Half the kids, anyway. The other half are dissatisfied and mark their dissatisfaction with meme phrases, new attitudes and online activism.
Thank God it’s not just politics this week. There’s also an internet incursion by one-time Family Guy character Mr. Washie Washie and a viral video from Poppy Playtime , a video game that kids love and everyone else is confused about.
Kids protest Trump with ‘cute winter boots’
Shortly after Trump’s election in 2016, the youth-led #resistance movement emerged, first as a hashtag and then in the form of defiant women’s marches and protests that drew millions of people across the country. Things will look a little different in 2024.
On TikTok, opposition to Trump comes from posters reminding each other to wear “cute winter boots” to “fight the ice.” So if you see this phrase in the video, you are reading a secret message . The idea is that people who oppose Donald Trump’s immigration policies oppose ICE, so warning people to “wear cute snow boots” is a coded way of saying, “I don’t like the president deporting so many people.”
The TikTok posters don’t use a slogan like “Oh my God, fuck Donald Trump” because they feel like “cute snow boots” will get past whatever censorship algorithm they think TikTok is using or something like that so they post a video like this that adds another “hidden” message with the phrase “kill CIStem”.
While I appreciate teenagers’ resistance to the power structure, it’s disgusting (as the kids say). Also: this “movement” is probably being artificially inflated by the people who subscribe to it because it is so disgusting.
What is the Trump-inspired “dark awakening movement”?
I don’t think the “winter boots” idea will catch on, but “dark awakening” seems to be catching on, even if many of its practitioners don’t call it that. At its core, “Dark Awakening” is an anticipation of the misfortune that will befall the people who voted for Donald Trump, so you might not care. When your Uncle Dave has to pay $38 for a salad because so many migrant workers are being deported, the dark woke person might respond, “Ha ha, starve, asshole.” Don’t like government chaos? Should have voted for Harris. You get the idea. You can see as many examples of this as you like on Reddits like r/LeopardsAteMyFace and r/Trumpgrets.
It’s a cynical, selfish and ultimately pointless movement – I don’t think many people who voted for Trump will feel like they made a mistake, no matter what – but really, what else is there to do?
Reddit Movement to Ban X
Many of those who hang out on the nerd-oriented internet club Reddit are reacting to Trump pal Elon Musk’s suspicious gesture at the presidential inauguration (in addition to his proximity to Trump in general) by banning links to Musk’s site on social network X.
The largest subreddits that block links from X are r/NBA with 15 million members, r/TwoXChromosomes with 14 million members, and r/NFL with 12 million members.
Mr. Washee Washee and the question “how do I get him out?” meme explained
Let’s move away from politics: a meme that is current among young people needs serious “clarification.” It features Mr. Washee Washee, the uniquely retro-racist character from Family Guy. Here’s Washie’s appearance on the show in 2011:
However, this clip did not go viral. The viral part came from this X-post from @boolymen:
This tweet is currently unavailable. It may be downloading or has been deleted.
Viewed over a million times, this post shows that Washie Washie appears to be trapped in FL Studios’ music production program with the question, “How do I get him out?” So there’s a bit of “I’m an ignorant user and something strange happened, help!” which will be of interest to anyone who has helped elderly relatives with technical problems, and there is also the suggestion that Washee Washee somehow invaded the project of his own free will. Quite funny. But it became meme-worthy because you can answer the question with sentences like “ Have you tried whispering some algebra facts in his ear?” “, and you can put Mr. Washee Washie anywhere and then ask, “How do I get rid of him?” For example, your browser , or your X profile , or your Windows XP home screen .
Viral Video of the Week: Chapter 4 Poppy Playtime Gameplay Trailer
The new trailer for the fourth game in the Poppy Playtime series was viewed nearly 7 million times in the three days it was online. These games are a sensation among teenagers, but can completely baffle anyone old enough to vote, so here’s a quick rundown: Heavily influenced by Five Nights at Freddy ‘s, The Poppy Playtime games are a first-person action game with lots of puzzles. -horror games aimed at young players. The ongoing story revolves around the player solving the crimes of Playtime Co., a toy company that creates sentient toys that serve as the game’s villains.
Children really seem to respond to the scary but not too scary atmosphere of the games and to that classic horror twist of something familiar and friendly (clowns, toys, etc.) into something sinister. Children especially love (and love to be scared of) Huggy Waggy, a giant blue toy/abomination with bulging eyes, red lips and long limbs who loves to eat people unlucky enough to meet her in an abandoned toy factory.