mzesumzira

“You’re so mature for your age” is what predatorial adults often say to traumatised teens with self esteem issues to make them feel special and manipulate them into their control. In the panel they use it to push her to drink, presumably to lower her resistance to whatever they have in mind for later.

So what happened to the Squirrel Lord?

It’s a mixed bag, as the other commenter said.

Not American, but news here have been focusing heavily and specifically on immigrants instances of crime for years, pushing often the same talking points Fox News uses; it affects people’s perception of reality, they feel threatened and they are given no perspective on how prevalent it actually is or the systemic reasons why.

Now that doesn’t justify the hate they display, but many could be led to reason if the outside pressure leveraging their ignorance stopped.