I may just get the “Ugliest Person on The Internet” award for this one today…but here it goes anyway because I’m a New York Italian chick with a loud mouth and when I have an opinion, I share it. The subject matter today? Sasha and Malia Obama’s $20,000 State Dinner dresses. Fashion. I know…who cares, right? It’s Super Tuesday and we’ve got primaries on the brain but allow me to divert for but a few seconds.

Media outlets (depending on political preference) have been alternating over the past few days between bashing the Obama girls and their (collectively) $40,000 duds and trashing the media outlets who called scrutiny to the hefty price tags on the dresses.

Disclaimer for those who may think I am attacking these girls: I’m not. They are a product of their parents, as most kids are. Their mom has been called a “fashion icon” and it stands that the Obama girls have that title to live up to when appearing for the first time at a State dinner with their mom and dad. They have lived a life of privilege beyond most kids’ wildest expectations-shuttled by chauffeured drivers, eating gourmet lunches at their private school (and I am sure they did not have cardboard-style pizza and canned carrots at the State Dinner), lavish vacations, a private jet and now, $20,000 gowns.

Did the Obamas spend $40,000 of taxpayer dollars on these dresses? Some sources say they were borrowed-a practice that has been going on for years with First Families and celebrities alike. Either way, the Obama girls became walking billboards for fashion designer Naeem Khan. They also became walking billboards for American kids and families. The gowns are pictured here:

Again, I am not attempting to tear down these girls. Every woman, no matter how old she is, wants to dress up, feel beautiful and don the occasional piece of luxury. I am however going to call to attention the statement these dresses make to the American people.

“Mrs. Obama pays for her clothing. For official events of public or historic significance, such as a state visit, the first lady’s clothes may be given as a gift by a designer and accepted on behalf of the U.S. government. They are then stored by the National Archives.”-Joanna Rosholm-Press Secretary to Michelle Obama

Young women follow in the steps of their mother. Michelle Obama loves her designer frocks (she wore Jason Wu to the State Dinner)…whether borrowed or stolen. Yes, I said stolen. I’m tired of people defending her disgusting behavior with “she buys those clothes with her own money”. Think about it for a second, folks. If she purchases those dresses out of her “own paycheck”…where does it come from? I’m sure in her mind, Neiman Marcus would have been “slumming it” for her dear daughters. The best solution? To “purchase” or…as some people are claiming “borrow” or others are claiming to “be gifted” two $20,000 dresses. Because, the President’s daughters deserve $20,000 dresses. Entitled much? I’d say a $20,000 prom gown is enough to give any girl a complex.

The State Dinner hosted newly-elected (Liberal Party, surprise, surprise) Canadian Prime Minister, Justin (AKA “Zoolander”) Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau. Trudeau, was lauded by Obama on his policies of opening Canada’s borders to more than 25,000 Syrian refugees over the past four months.

As young women who are walking billboards for designers and, more importantly, our country…exactly what statement does this fashion show make? Dresses that will either be given back to the designer or archived? $40,000 worth of dresses? How much would $40,000 cover to house or feed a Syrian woman who has been displaced from her home? How many diapers would $40,000 buy for moms who can’t afford the basics? And were the beads on the gowns outsourced to a third-world country? Perhaps workers should be appropriately compensated for sewing on those beads because God only knows, they’re not whining about $15 dollars an hour at a coffee bar in Seattle! In our home country, $40,000 is a modest annual salary for a single woman just trying to keep her head above water. $40,000 is a college education if used wisely or enough for these girls to individually give to the charity of their choice. I can think of many ways $40,000 can help one or several Americans. And that’s not even counting what remains in The First Lady’s closet. Yet WE Americans (not THEM) need to be compassionate and help others. We are bigoted and “GREEDY”. Hate me and call me an ignorant troll if you will for calling attention to this. Haters gonna hate, as the saying goes. Forty GRAND. It seems as though the adults in this situation-the designers and Michelle Obama herself missed the boat on teaching these young women a very valuable lesson of compassion, gratitude and character but honestly, I’m not shocked.