Trump was punk'd by teenagers.

In case you missed it Trump held a campaign kick-off rally in Tulsa Saturday night.  Only 6,200 people showed up.  The upper levels of the stadium were empty and his people took down the outside overflow area since only about two dozen people were present there. (Russonello, 2020)

Only days earlier his campaign had been bragging about having over a million requests for tickets.  (Singman, 2020)

How did they get it so wrong?  Thank the Zoomers.  Yes.  That's right Gen Z has rechristened itself as Zoomers.  Interesting.  I wonder if it will stick.  As a Boomer who remembers the 60's, I am anti-war, pro-equality, care about the environment and am concerned about police violence and gun laws in this country.  All the things Gen Z cares about too.  So it makes sense to me.

But let's talk about what they did.  K-pop stans used their amazing organizing skills to order lots of tickets to the rally.  Connecting through Twitter, Tik Tok, Instagram and Snapchat they posted not only encouragement for others to register for the event, but also advice for those who did about how to hide their identities and mess up the campaign's data mining efforts by creating fake phone numbers and social media accounts for their dogs. (Lorenz, Browning & Frenkel, 2020)

Trump's team was so embarrassed by the incident that they denied it happened and cast about for different excuses for the poor turnout.  They even claimed that they knew about the plot but stopped it and got all that good data.  Who knew they wanted to text dogs?

But the fact that on Monday Trump's team had to shut down the online sign-up for his Tuesday rally in Arizona due to fake applications, confirms the validity of the original story.  And apparently Pence's rally in Wisconsin has caught the attention of the teens as well. (Boswell, 2020)

Of late, K-pop stans have been getting increasingly politically active.  In May, they spammed the #WhiteLivesMatter hashtag.  In early June they crashed the app the Dallas police were using to track protestors. And on June 8th they sent Trump some very special birthday messages.  They also matched a donation from BTS, the K-pop band with the biggest following and raised $1 million for Black Lives Matter in 24 hours. (Coscarelli, 2020)

According to current estimates, there are 89 million K-pop stans and they can be found in 113 countries. And,  K-pop is the most tweeted about musical genre - with 6.1 billion tweets in 2019.  

Those that ordered tickets for Trump's rally are likely Americans.  And many will be voting in the fall.  They have made it clear that until then they will continue to make themselves heard.  

132 days to go.

I can't wait to see what they do next.

Russonello, G. (2020, June 22)  Trump’s Tulsa Rally Attendance: 6,200, Fire Dept. Says.  nytimes.com.  Retrieved June 23, 2020, from  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/us/politics/trump-rally-coronavirus.html

Singman, B. (2020, June 15) Trump campaign touts 1 million ticket requests for Tulsa rally.  foxnews.com.  Retrieved June 23, 2020, from  https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-campaign-touts-1-million-ticket-requests-for-first-rally-since-outbreak-of-coronavirus

Lorenz, T., Browning, K. & Frenkel, S. (2020, June 22) TikTok Teens and K-Pop Stans Say They Sank Trump Rally.  nytimes.com.  Retrieved June 23, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/style/tiktok-trump-rally-tulsa.html?action=click&module=RelatedLinks&pgtype=Article

Boswell, J. (2020, June 22)  EXCLUSIVE: Donald Trump's Campaign ABANDONS online signups for his next rally and asks supporters to just turn up as Tik Tok teens vow to keep trolling his events after Tulsa debacle.  dailymail.co.uk.  Retrieved June 23, 2020, from https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8448781/Donald-Trumps-campaign-ABANDONS-online-sign-ups-rally-TikTok-teens-vow-trolling.html

Coscarelli, J. (2020, June 22)  Why Obsessive K-Pop Fans Are Turning Toward Political Activism  nytimes.com.  Retrieved June 23, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/arts/music/k-pop-fans-trump-politics.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage&section=Style

Are changing demographics the reason BLM has hit the tipping point?

It has been a perfect storm.  People staying home due to Covid-19, tuned into news that they would normally miss -- the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis on May 25th.  Even those who strongly identified with the law and order tribe had a hard time denying what they saw with their own eyes.  

Then the protests started.  TV ratings went up.  So even more people were watching when police forces across the country brutalized the peaceful protesters that were protesting police brutality.  You have to love that.  And what does it say about the police that they are so empowered that they aren't even worried about their crimes being documented on film and shared across the world?

At this point the law and order tribe was suffering from a terrible case of cognitive dissonance.  Who should they believe?  Their Facebook feeds filled with propaganda from their friends, or their own eyes?  Many chose the latter. 

In two weeks (6/11/20 poll) American voters' support for the Black Lives Matter movement increased almost as much as it had in the preceding two years.  Wow.

 

A Monmouth University poll found that 76 percent of Americans consider racism and discrimination a “big problem,” up 26 points from 2015.   I can't remember the last time 76% of Americans agreed on anything.  (Cohen & Quealy, 2020)

But I guess seeing young girls and old men being slammed to the ground for no reason is pretty compelling.  And then there was Trump tear gassing and pepper spraying peaceful protestors - people just like us -  for a ridiculous photo op.  Is it any wonder that no one wants to be part of that tribe anymore?

But there's more to it than that.  There's the impact of changing demographics.

According to current projections, by the end of 2020, Americans under the age of 18 will be majority non-white.  By 2045, the entire U.S. will be majority minority.  (Mather & Lee, 2020)  109 counties in 22 states are already there.  (Krogstad, 2019)  

The younger you are the less likely you are to be white.  That means that the Gen Z (8-23) and Millennial (24-39) protestors fighting for BLM aren't being altruistic.  They are fighting for their own lives and the lives of their children.  And they identify more with George Floyd than they do with the cop who killed him.  Which is why we have reached the tipping point.  

Black Lives Matter.  They are the future of America. 

Cohn, N. & Quealy, K. (2020, June 10) How Public Opinion Has Moved on Black Lives Matter.  nytimes.com.  Retrieved June 17, 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/06/10/upshot/black-lives-matter-attitudes.html

Mather, M. & Lee, A. (2020, February 10)  Children Are at the Forefront of U.S. Racial and Ethnic Change. prb.org.  Retrieved June 17, 2020, from  https://www.prb.org/children-are-at-the-forefront-of-u-s-racial-and-ethnic-change/

Krogstad, J. (2019, August 21)  Reflecting a demographic shift, 109 U.S. counties have become majority nonwhite since 2000.  pewresearch.org.  Retrieved June 17, 2020, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/08/21/u-s-counties-majority-nonwhite/

Congratulations class of 2020... Here's the xerox machine.

I recently came across an old clipping in which Vera Wang disclosed the fact that she spent her first year at Conde Nast xeroxing.  (Oloizia, 2014)

It made me laugh.  Been there, done that. 

Within weeks of beginning my first job at Grey Advertising,  I had mastered the art of clearing copier paper jams  - a complex dance that involved opening and shutting various drawers and doors, and removing ripped paper, staples and paper clips.

I once remarked that I should have gotten my M.B.A. in xeroxing.

Recently when a student shared a story in class about why she quit her internship after a week - you guessed it - she was given nothing to do but xeroxing - the rest of the class nodded along in approval of her actions.  They were all shocked when I said: "Let me tell you what you did wrong." 

"What you should have done was looked at what you were given to copy and asked questions about it.  Had you done that, the person you were working with would have seen that you were actually interested in what you were doing and worth training.  Then they would have given you something better to do."

That's right folks.  Xeroxing is a test.  As is taking notes in meetings.  They are both an opportunity to learn.  But it's up to you to take it.  Bosses don't have time to babysit.  It's your life and your career.  Step up, take responsibility for yourself and enjoy. 

Good luck!  It's going to be a bumpy ride.

Oloizia, J. (2014, August 21)  The Facts and Figures Behind Vogue Magazine. nytimes.com.  Retrieved May 25, 2020, from  https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/21/t-magazine/vogue-magazine-facts-and-figures-chart.html