Discussion: Why Does Creepy Uncle Joe Biden Get A Pass From Liberals?

[stephen_maturin]

Thanks for posting that.
I was looking for more reactions and I couldn’t find anything. I don’t even think of Facebook anymore so I overlooked the obvious.
So out of 150 posts on it, there were like, 10, that agreed with the article and and 4 of those were from the same person.

At what point do we get to declare that the author and the editor are living in Imaginationland when it comes to “sexist liberals” and “lecherous” Joe Biden?
I think the tally is the whole world versus nine friends kvetching in a Brooklyn Starbucks.

[julimac]

I didn’t feel like signing in yesterday to add my voice. Thank you, arrrrrj, for saying it better than I probably could. Josh, please take note.

[ottnott]

The author provided no examples of Biden doing this. Do you have any?

All through the thread, people asking for examples of where Biden’s conduct was deserving of condemnation get only the sound of crickets in response.

Joe touches everybody, so it isn’t sexism. The touches are not sexual in nature or intent, so it isn’t sexual assault and it is miles away from lechery. He doesn’t hold on until he gets what he wants, so it isn’t forced. There have been no accusations of sexual harassment, so there is no indication that he continues to treat people in a way that makes them uncomfortable or that makes those who work with him feel pressured to allow him to use touch as part of his social interaction.

All that Alana and a very few supporters here and on Facebook are left with is a personal “ick” response. They don’t want some old guy kissing them on the cheek or putting an arm around them, even for entirely non-sexual reasons and even if there is no insistence behind the act. I can sympathize with that, but I won’t condemn it for the reasons in the preceding paragraph.

[arrrrrj]

Thanks. Yes, @Josh_M, please do take note; contrary to Nona’s self-serving assessment on social media that any dispute with this piece is clearly liberal sexism, there are substantive critiques (of Nona’s own FP contribution most definitely included) from many of us who’ve been here since it was just you, and are rooting for you to make this new phase a success.

[kols]

My first reaction to this piece is that it was meant to give more fuel to the conservatives. I love Joe Biden and found this piece really disgusting implying that he is somehow perverted. I see him as a warm and personable person who has always had the average person’s best interests at heart. This article seems to come out of nowhere from someone looking to find criticism of someone they don’t like. Each to his own I suppose, but I find nothing creepy about Biden. I see no sexual connotations in how he acts.

[baci302]

Oh please. He’s just a faux pas machine. Leave him alone. He’s just being Joey Biden. And find something important to write about for crying out loud.

[martinstett]

Has a macro ready with the words “are pleased to announce the engagement of their”, and a note from the editor to lay off the snark.

[sstanl20]

I understand much of the sentiment in the article but the sentence that really bothers me is this: “Firstly, it’s wrong for a man to decide what makes women uncomfortable.” This is in response to an article arguing the opposite point that the author is making. Does the author understand that writing and journalism in general involve putting oneself into the shoes of others? Is she truly making the case that only women are allowed to discuss things that affect women? How far do we extend that? Maybe only the people actually interacting with Biden be allowed to decide if they were uncomfortable rather than the author pushing her viewpoint on them? Or, because she’s a woman, does she get a free pass to speak on behalf of all other women, but a man is not allowed to speculate in any way how they may feel? If there is a black woman, is the author, who is white, allowed to speculate how that black woman might feel? What about a black man? Could the author speculate how he might feel in a situation, or is she forbidden from discussing that topic?

[ba_al]

She writes “I’m a feminist”, feeling safe that the rules of the game are that she can write whatever she wants, whether it is substantiated or not, and if you disagree it means that you are misogynistic. This is actually nothing more than trolling disguised as commentary and it is pretty creepy in its own right. It also stinks of ageism, a charge every bit as substantiated as anything she emitted in this hit piece.

[martinheldt]

It also stinks of ageism, a charge every bit as substantiated as anything she emitted in this hit piece.

Absolutely dead on.

[renfield]

What’s an “engagement editor”?
And healthcare is “a big fucking deal.”
in this era of baby reporters, it would be good to have grown-up editors.

[brendanm]

You make me weep for the future of this country, you sad, sad person.

I hold one of the most senior members of the Senate to a higher degree of accountability than shitty journalists like Tim Russert. Biden’s seat was for life in a Democratic state when 90% of Democrats opposed the war. The only reason he would be intimidated into supporting the war against his better judgement would be to cynically position himself for running for president, which disqualifies him from being president or a decent human being.

Joe Biden was a leading Democratic member of the Democratically-controlled senate. A little bit of leadership could have meant a filibuster. HE COULD HAVE STOPPED IT. He could have tried, if he wasn’t a giant piece of shit. Barack Obama pretending to be against equal rights for gay people for political gain was repugnant, but voting for murdering hundreds of thousands of people for political gain is criminal. Ignorantly defending that is pathetic.

You may see dead and maimed Iraqis and US military and say “whatever, chillax” but, unlike you, I have a sense of decency and outrage.

[ottnott]

Whoa! Spittle on my screen. Just back up a little and it should be okay.

[meta]

Firstly, it’s wrong for a man to decide what makes women uncomfortable.

Your Majesty. (bowing, walking backwards)

[kahner]

“humble braggarts”
Yeah, i got a laugh from the “What’s it like being a Blonde [aka hot] MIT engineering undergrad”. Oh, please relate the horrors of being highly intelligent and good looking while attending the best university in the country. what is that article except click bait?

[pacificnwmark]

Wow this thread has grown unbelievably ugly. ‘Opinion’ is the same justification Fox News uses for pushing all of their vile, unsubstantiated swill. Josh’s comment could have just as easily come directly from the mouth of Roger Ailes.

[gorf]

How is it an “opinion” piece solely by the author if it’s backed up by editorial statements that Joe Biden is a lech and a sexist - claims that aren’t backed up whatsoever in the piece itself?

[brian97]

Of course Vice President Biden gets a pass.

Had Ted Cruz said ‘spread your legs you’re about to be frisked’ there is no way that liberal leaning folks would say its harmless. Many would say Cruz was being sexist and misogynistic and draw connections between the public policies Sen Cruz proposes and his personal treatment of women. Some feminists would even invoke 'rape culture’™. Feminists et al routinely gave Senator Ted Kennedy a pass on his boorish assaults on women a pass in now they evaluated him because he was on their side.

Humans being tribal animals routinely give a pass to their members. No doubt some Christian conservatives who consider themselves pro 'family values’™ voted for the serial adulterer Newt Gingrich without blinking an eye while obsessing over Clinton’s predatory behavior.

[cxfornier]

I think the problem here is America’s innate Puritanism that views the Vice-president’s affectionate gestures maliciously. After all these centuries it permeates the country’s mainstream Anglo-American culture with slight variations among non-Anglo citizens who grew up here. I see it every time— from the discomfort of two males being affectionate ( cultural, sexual identity or otherwise) to public breast feeding. Having grown up in the old world and travelled to many countries, that basically encapsulates the author’s problem. Like a lot of Anglo- Americans, the ghosts of the Puritans still haunt her despite the long past. With that said, she has no one to blame but herself if she elicits hostile comments to her article. Perception is has a lot of layers. To resolve this, all she has to ask is if there is any unequivocal proof that Uncle Joe is a lecher? There is a saying, " You will know a tree by its own fruit." Unfortunately, this also applies to her. She harvested bitter fruits.