A North Carolina congresswoman wrote a 'disrespectful' and 'hostile' response to a 10-year-old boy who sent her a letter about the benefits of electric vehicles, his outraged mother says.
Emily Mango, 42, shared the 'horrific letter' from Representative Virginia Foxx in response to her son's school assignment on social media. Christian, who is in the fourth grade at Canterbury School in Greensboro, sent a persuasive essay to the 82-year-old congresswoman asking her to consider giving tax credits for EVs.
'He researched, cited facts, and made good arguments in his essay - an essay that had nothing to do with politics. He was proud of his essay,' Mango said. Christian mailed the essay to Foxx in a school envelope that clearly indicated the letter was written by a child in April, according to Mango.
Several weeks later, his mom said Foxx wrote a response to Christian 'in a disrespectful, hostile and unkind tone,' accusing him of being 'indoctrinated' by his teachers at the Episcopal day school. Foxx thanked Christian for 'taking the time to share your thoughts,' then went on to attack his proposal.
'What many folks do not realize is that the money that "comes from" the federal government actually comes from ordinary citizens who pay taxes to support that government,' Foxx wrote. 'Therefore, your request that "the federal government should give a $5,000 tax rebate for all new electric car purchases" means that the federal government must take that money out of the pockets of hardworking people who may not have the means to buy an electric vehicle in the first place.'
She included links to six articles about climate change, including two pieces from the Wall Street Journal editorial board and others from Fox News, National Review and The Washington Times. Foxx told the boy, 'YOU and your classmates will be responsible' for paying down the national debt, which she believes is far more pressing than climate change.
'Incidentally, please ask your teacher to explain propaganda to you,' the Congresswoman wrote. 'While I will never be able to know, my guess is that your teachers will not give you a good educational experience and help you learn to think, as they are too interested in indoctrinating you. How sad.'
Mango slammed the elderly woman for writing such a harsh rebuke to a child and criticized her for attacking her son's teachers. 'Reprehensible response. You crossed a line when you attacked a child and attacked teachers,' Mango said. 'You don't deserve to be on a Committee for Education when you talk to children like this and think so lowly of teachers. No wonder NC is 50th in education funding level under your "leadership."'
Foxx, who has boasted of being 'consistently ranked' among the most conservative members of the North Carolina Congressional Delegation, was first elected to Congress in 2004. She is running for re-election this year and was previously endorsed by Donald Trump. Foxx has an Ed.D. in curriculum and teaching/higher education from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, according to her biography. She previously taught at a local community college and Appalachian State University and later became president of Mayland Community College. Fox also served 12 years on the Watauga County Board of Education.
Given her background in education, Foxx's response to Christian sparked backlash online. 'Wow! Just wow! Especially that she is a former educator herself! Talk about "how sad." That is very disturbing how she responded. I am very sorry,' one person wrote on Facebook. 'This is an unacceptable way to speak to a constituent, let alone a child. We have to hold people accountable, especially those stated to represent us. What a misguided woman,' added a second person. 'She was a professor of education. SHE TAUGHT THE TEACHERS!!' a third person wrote on Instagram.
Some people came to Foxx's defense and appreciated that she wrote the boy a response. 'She’s kind of right though. She gave a thoughtful, mature response to the kid and everyone’s acting like she did something so bad. At least sure didn’t flat out ignore him,' one person wrote. The Daily Mail contacted Foxx, Mango and the Canterbury School for comment.
