Thank you for using Al Franken/Kirsten Gillibrand as an example! (It motivated me to upgrade to paid subscriber.) There is a reason why so many survivors don't talk about their assaults or abusers. Our culture still reflects a deep belief that powerful men are entitled to sex, and that any person presenting themself as attractive is asking for it. The case of Franken (I was a long time fan) has made me think deeply about grace, forgiveness, and reconciliation. I fall back on the concept of an "authentic apology" which acknowledges the harm, states what the perpetrator is going to do in redemption, and how behavior and attitude will change in the future. At the very least Franken needs to reconcile with Gillibrand to regain my trust.
All that is to highlight, as you did, that misogyny and himpathy are also deeply rooted in the Left. Unlike the Right, we sometimes recognize it and try to overcome. It's a long road to equality.
Yeah. I appreciate that Franken stepped down, and he hasn't really gone after Gillibrand or any of his accusers. he also hasn't really accepted responsibility, though.
Ideally, yes, he should go after Trump. But the accusations would rebound to Biden - the whole hair smelling thing and the weird story they seem to believe about him and his daughter.
Trump should constantly be accused of being rapist - because he is. But I also think it's best left to surrogates and other Democratic electeds.
First, I agree that Biden should be more aggressive on this front. Thinking of vocabulary, though, I would not recommend using ”rapist.” People will want to know where that conviction is. We know that Trump has not been criminally convicted of rape, but rather rape being a finding of fact in a civil case. Then, there still exist people who believe that rape defined must include a penis.
I wonder how much Biden's willingness to attack concerns Biden himself or his advisors. I'm very concerned that he is not connecting with younger voters, and polls show that. Bill Clinton had a way of speaking that would allow him to frame issues so the majority could understand. Perhaps it's too early, and the kids jump on the Biden bus. But what if they don't?
It seems like there could be a way for the Biden campaign to make the case that Trump is a rapist and hates women’s rights (and probably women in general, except Ivanka) without putting themselves at risk of the himpathy response. They shouldn’t let him have a pass on it altogether.
I feel that this is one (important) facet of an overall messaging problem that plagues democrats. They are and have been terrible at communication. There's a reason why people still believe that the GOP is better at fiscal policy and budgeting, even though there is plenty of fact based evidence to the contrary. The Biden administration has accomplished serious business this term but hardly anyone in public land knows about it. Partly because it's not sexy enough for mainstream media clicks but mostly because the Democrat media machine is operating in another era. They need to speak truth as loudly as possible, as often as possible and take a slice from the massive free media coverage pie that Trump is feasting on.
well, that's Will Stancil's argument. Ds have been doing well winning elections over the last 7 years, so they're messaging isn't entirely terrible...but they don't really have a partisan media presence like the right was, and it's a problem. Especially insofar as they really don't seem to want to acknowledge it's a problem.
I agree. Why don't hims talk more about sexual predation other than holier than thou. It's worse than that. Were I to define the worse crime perpetrated against others it would probably be himpathy
Thank you for using Al Franken/Kirsten Gillibrand as an example! (It motivated me to upgrade to paid subscriber.) There is a reason why so many survivors don't talk about their assaults or abusers. Our culture still reflects a deep belief that powerful men are entitled to sex, and that any person presenting themself as attractive is asking for it. The case of Franken (I was a long time fan) has made me think deeply about grace, forgiveness, and reconciliation. I fall back on the concept of an "authentic apology" which acknowledges the harm, states what the perpetrator is going to do in redemption, and how behavior and attitude will change in the future. At the very least Franken needs to reconcile with Gillibrand to regain my trust.
All that is to highlight, as you did, that misogyny and himpathy are also deeply rooted in the Left. Unlike the Right, we sometimes recognize it and try to overcome. It's a long road to equality.
Yeah. I appreciate that Franken stepped down, and he hasn't really gone after Gillibrand or any of his accusers. he also hasn't really accepted responsibility, though.
Ideally, yes, he should go after Trump. But the accusations would rebound to Biden - the whole hair smelling thing and the weird story they seem to believe about him and his daughter.
Trump should constantly be accused of being rapist - because he is. But I also think it's best left to surrogates and other Democratic electeds.
Biden should. But let's face it he's never going to be very confrontational. Sadly. otoh every other national Democrat should say it loudly and often.
First, I agree that Biden should be more aggressive on this front. Thinking of vocabulary, though, I would not recommend using ”rapist.” People will want to know where that conviction is. We know that Trump has not been criminally convicted of rape, but rather rape being a finding of fact in a civil case. Then, there still exist people who believe that rape defined must include a penis.
I wonder how much Biden's willingness to attack concerns Biden himself or his advisors. I'm very concerned that he is not connecting with younger voters, and polls show that. Bill Clinton had a way of speaking that would allow him to frame issues so the majority could understand. Perhaps it's too early, and the kids jump on the Biden bus. But what if they don't?
The judge in the case said he's a rapist. I think that's sufficient!
It seems like there could be a way for the Biden campaign to make the case that Trump is a rapist and hates women’s rights (and probably women in general, except Ivanka) without putting themselves at risk of the himpathy response. They shouldn’t let him have a pass on it altogether.
Nobody should forget his former wife accused him of rape. She testified under oath then retracted the testimony. But it’s still on record.
I feel that this is one (important) facet of an overall messaging problem that plagues democrats. They are and have been terrible at communication. There's a reason why people still believe that the GOP is better at fiscal policy and budgeting, even though there is plenty of fact based evidence to the contrary. The Biden administration has accomplished serious business this term but hardly anyone in public land knows about it. Partly because it's not sexy enough for mainstream media clicks but mostly because the Democrat media machine is operating in another era. They need to speak truth as loudly as possible, as often as possible and take a slice from the massive free media coverage pie that Trump is feasting on.
well, that's Will Stancil's argument. Ds have been doing well winning elections over the last 7 years, so they're messaging isn't entirely terrible...but they don't really have a partisan media presence like the right was, and it's a problem. Especially insofar as they really don't seem to want to acknowledge it's a problem.
I agree. Why don't hims talk more about sexual predation other than holier than thou. It's worse than that. Were I to define the worse crime perpetrated against others it would probably be himpathy