The slap is not cool, there’s no excuse for hitting a kid like that, even if it’s pretty light, but especially when it’s someone else’s kid. But honestly the handing out money thing is even weirder to me.
Sometimes you need to call out media sensationalism. That barely was a slap. It definitely wasn't injurious, powerplay maybe, locally it may even be judged playful.
Western sensitivity doesn't always translate well globally.
It’s honestly so funny how this is old news, settled peer reviewed behavioral research that conclusively states corporeal punishment is shit parenting used by shit parents that results in shit kids
And yet every time it comes up, legions of CHUDs crawl out of the woodwork to debate how it totally worked for them and their kids just fine
What was the point of the media event? To show how generous he is? With that slap he showed that (1) it's all for show, because that's all that mattered to him (2) his insecurities about respect are so out of control that he couldn't just explain to the kid what to do, he just instinctively slapped him and (3) that some little kid has more emotional maturity and self restraint in public than a grown adult.
This isn't a big deal because of the child, it's just an embarrassing loss of face in public for someone obviously trying too hard to pretend that he's popular.
I'm from the States and have spent a more than a decade living in other countries, and have had plenty of time to see how people around the world interact with their (and other people's) children. I have to agree with you that this really doesn't seem like a big deal.
It looks really bad from a western perspective, especially for people that have no understanding of other cultures.
Do I agree with it, no. That's just my personal preference though. He didn't backhand, punch, or otherwise harm the child, and the child didn't even seem phased by it.
Had he done this in a country other than Turkey it may be newsworthy, this just seems like rage bait.
Yeah, watching it gives a more accurate impression than just the headline "slapped". Still he is trying to use physical force (however light) to get someone else's child to comply. Also for a politician shows little self control, and gives an indication of his "problem solving"
That's literally the definition of a slap. If he hit him particularly hard or not doesn't change that it was a slap. He used his open palm to hit him. It's a slap.
It was gentle, yes, but Erdogan showed no self restraint whatsoever and just slapped the kid straight away. He didn't even think about it. The kid showed more emotional maturity and self restraint in public than Erdogan did. Turkiye loses face internationally if it's president can't control his insecurity in public.
Also ITT people weirdly defending a leader so spoilt and self absorbed that they didn't even to stop to think how bad it would look on the world stage before hitting out on a little kid for not making the scripted photo opportunity look perfect.