"Beat It, Kid, You Bother Me"

By Sniffles

The Interwebs are having a grand time with this humiliating video of Ivanka, Daughter of Benedict, trying to horn in on a G20 conversation with President Macron, Prime Ministers Trudeau and May, and IMF chair Christine Lagarde. The body language from the Western leaders is, um, not welcoming.

Tweeps are comparing Lagarde, in particular, to high-school cool girls ignoring the dweeb, and withering looks received from Mother Superiors of yore. But it reminded us cats of something out of Miss Manners. How do you treat objectionable people in a social situation?

She outlined a variety of reactions. If a friend is alleged to have done something unpleasant, you can show polite support. But as you increase the levels of scoundrelhood, more drastic measures can come into play.

Lagarde, by our estimation, did the following.

LEVEL: "Stranger or acquaintance known to be a moral monster, encountered on neutral grounds."

RESPONSE: "The cut direct, as if the person did not exist."

Trumpsters are desperately trying to point out that Lagarde has had her own scandals. But she hasn't gone anywhere, has she? Ivanka, on the other hand, will be an unsavory footnote in our nation's most despicable chapter. We cats PURR.