The Illusion of Inclusion
Michelle Malkin, American Renaissance, June 9, 2021
I have been lately contemplating the utter disingenuousness of a certain genre of “viral video.” If you have had the unhealthy experience of spending any significant amount of time on social media, you’ll know exactly which one I mean. It’s the category of manufactured feel-good clips I will heretofore refer to as the “Different Drummer.”
The newest entry into the market of internet-manufactured sensations involves a charming 12-year-old boy named Trevor Bolling from the town of Dothan, Alabama. Trevor’s sixth-grade teacher posted his spontaneous outbreak of joy during the Highlands Elementary School graduation ceremony on Facebook. While the other cement-footed kids mouthed the words obligatorily to “I’m Good” by The Mowgli’s and cringed in the spotlight, Trevor sang it like he meant it. He gesticulated. He waved his hands here to there. He waved ’em like he just didn’t care.