Opinion: Article Explores the Belief That Melania Trump is America’s ‘First Victim’

Lately I've been trying to put into words exactly why I feel sorry for Melania Trump.

I don't feel sorry for her because she's under ridicule by the left for being associated with President Donald Trump or because I think she has the most misfortune on the planet. No, not at all. She's a very fortunate person in many areas of life. But until last night, all I could really tell my close friends was, "I just feel bad that she has to put up with all of this. It's not like she asked to be the First Lady of the United States and for people to hate her the way some do, all because Donald Trump is her husband." By my own standards, my explanation isn't satisfactory. But I just couldn't put into words exactly what I was feeling.

Then last night, I came across an opinion piece that completely resonated with me. The New Statesman article from December 2016 is titled "We should be kind to America's First Victim - Melania Trump" sympathizes with the Slovenia-born First Lady and explores the idea that her stance against cyber-bullying is really a cry for help. Author Laurie Penny also explains that "treating Melania as a real human being, rather than an empty symbol, is one more way of opposing everything her husband stands for," which I couldn't agree more with.

Again, this is 100% an opinion piece, but I found it to be a very interesting read (if anything).

Read the full opinion piece here. 

Political beliefs aside, I think it's important to treat everyone with respect. I don't think Melania Trump's association with Donald Trump has necessarily earned her all the disrespect in the world, and we should try to understand that, for whatever reason, there might be an underlying sadness and fear in her life as she navigates her new world in the White House.