Umm… I hate to break it to the rest of you, but there have been rumors about George HW Bush’s behavior for more than 50 years. Are the rumors true? I haven’t a clue. To the best of my knowledge, he was never accused of sexually assaulting anyone, but he allegedly had several affairs and was described as an incurable flirt
The rumors made it into print more than once, including during the 1992 presidential campaign. While the Bush family denounced Kitty Kelley’s book, The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty, people in a position to know are quoted in it saying that he had a long running affair with his assistant, Jennifer Fitzgerald. However, they also say she wasn’t the only “other woman.”
Again, I’m not claiming I know, but …it’s consisent with other behaviors rumored in the past.
Having a extramarital affair between consenting adults is completely different than sexual harassment and sexual assault. I don’t give two you know what’s about anyone having an extramarital unless it was my spouse doing the cheating.
Here’s the official statement from Bush’s “people”.
“At age 93, President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years, so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures. To try to put people at ease, the president routinely tells the same joke — and on occasion, he has patted women’s rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner. Some have seen it as innocent; others clearly view it as inappropriate. To anyone he has offended, President Bush apologizes most sincerely.”
No, it is not okay to pat women on their butts nor tell some ridiculous sexist “joke” (which is putting no one at ease, I am sure). If Bush is too senile to understand that, his family/handlers need to be responsible enough to make sure no women is subjected to it.
How about his arms just staying on the wheelchair during photos? No need to touch someone else in a photo op.
Understood; it was another user that introduced the topic of his alleged affair, which only serves to muddy the waters. Any affair, even if true, is just a big yawn to my European sensibilities.
I’m all for exposing abuse and have the offenders face consequences, but some people, to me anyway, really are looking for bogeymen where they don’t exist.
The equivalent, doschicos. Nursing home residents get a day out now and then too. The elderly demented don’t always need to be locked away. It could very well be you or me in a number of years, and I would like to think more compassion and less judgment would be shown. I promise that many of the actions of the extreme elderly would have horrified them when they were younger. We all get old.
Would you prefer we lock away little children who routinely do and say grossly inappropriate things, or do we make allowances for the impaired? Not excusing their behavior but some kindness would go a long way.
There are many options between locking someone away and allowing him to “cop a feel” to use his own words.
Yes, all people get old but that doesn’t negate someone else’s rights to not having their booty touched. So kindness and compassion equates to letting some old man touch your ass? Or is it just okay because he is someone famous? Not buying that. Sorry. And, no, it doesn’t make me unkind or lacking in compassion.
How about putting men and family members next to him for starters in photo ops. Again, there are many ways to attempt to handle the situation that would not impact anyone’s freedoms.
I’ve certainly seen little kids grab breasts. Not that they understand what they are doing, they are just curious. Caregivers aren’t always able to anticipate behavior, and I may note that we don’t have a huge number of people eager to provide the dirty and poorly paid job of caregiving. Once again, I didn’t excuse the actions just provided some context. I don’t think the actions of the impaired, whether by age or disability, are remotely in the same league as Harvey Weinstein, but if you do, that’s ok. I prefer to spend my moral outrage on competent adults behaving badly but up to you how to be outraged.
You can’t know whether it’s at the level of HW until or unless you hear more information. The HW accusations began with 3 women coming forward and quickly progressed to over 60. That’s a similar trend to many of the high profile cases we have seen play out. It’s also true that many women think it’s an accident or it was just them until or unless it goes public and it’s found out that there were numerous incidents and sometimes worse ones.
If this ends up being 2 actresses with only the info we have now, then obviously it’s not the same level. That also doesn’t mean the women who spoke up deserve vitriol for bringing it forward.
I never had a little kid grab my breast in the 10 years I spent working in daycares and preschools. And the “not that they understand what they are doing” part you mentioned was key. I would have passed off Bush’s groping story as accidental if he hadn’t combined it with the cop a feel joke. That makes it sound like he does know what he is doing to me. Do I think he deserves prison or something? Of course not. But the women who it happened to deserved an apology. I would hope that they don’t press it and that women will know they need to stay out of arms reach from him, while those caring for him will know what to watch for.
I will also note that you will have fewer people eager to provide this poorly paid job of car giving if they are expected to tolerate sexual harrassment as part of their job.
Equating all wrong things diminishes the tragedy of Weinstein’s victims, who truly were threatened by a powerful mogul, not groped by the half-dead. Thousands of impaired persons do bad things, in nursing homes and asylums and state hospitals, and yes, sometimes in public too. Our legal system distinguishes responsibility between those competent and those not. Perhaps college confidential should too.
This isn’t a court of law nor a legal system. It’s a message board - for discussion. One can opine on a range of things that run the gamut of offensive to “Book 'em, Danno”.
yes, half-dead, doschicos. he has advanced Parkinson’s and dementia. not what he once was. and frankly, in my opinion, thus not a subject for criticism by this board. or by you. let’s hope you are not judged equally harshly in your decline.
