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Gilbertson: Joe Biden vs. #metoo – Are Democrats Just Intolerant of Other Cultures?

Gilbertson:  Joe Biden vs. #metoo – Are Democrats Just Intolerant of Other Cultures?

I’m no fan of Joe Biden.

I think he is a strictly political animal whose grasp of the real world is exceedingly limited. He is weak, weak-minded and his efforts to gain the Presidency over the years show that he is an abject failure on the national stage (if you post a comment I’ll tell you what I REALLY think!). I’ve already predicted that he will not be the nominee, and the reasons are based on known political phenomena.

But what is the real story on “Creepy Joe”? Is he some kind of lech, who nuzzles up to people to smell their hair, or is it just opportune photojournalists who provide alternative captions to perfectly innocent photos?

And, of course, this happens ALL THE TIME in modern, post-appropriate mainstream journalism, we all know that.  Remember the “smirking” Covington Catholic student (now suing CNN for $250 million)? Someone in Joe’s position gets photos taken in the hundreds per week.

When I was growing up in the relatively isolated countryside of rural Kentucky, we were a very close and comfortable family.  We visited relatives often, hung out with the cousins that lived down the road and, of course, everyone knew everyone else’s business. If you were family, you were connected in a special way to everyone else who was family, if not, then you could not be as a close as family, simple as that.

But, with some exceptions for Grandma and one particular aunt, we were decidedly not the “hugger” type of people.  Nowadays when I fly into town and greet my dad, I’ll pat him on the shoulder and tell him he’s ugly (sometimes pulling his hat down over his eyes), and he will say “Watch it, boy!” like he has said since those first insults in my teen years (believe it or not I’m tearing up!).

As I grew up, I encountered other families who just liked to hug. These are the kind of people who just like other people instantly and the second time you saw them you were entitled to be greeted with a hug. And once you got to know them, you realized that they were surprised that you were NOT normally a hugger.  But it works for them, and they tend to make lots of friends (and often made good salesmen and/or good politicians).

As I traveled the world, I found that various levels of human contact are normal in various places.  I know that Arab men will have a conversation with their faces within inches of each other, many people shake your hand for way too long, and often when someone dives in for what you know will be a looong hug, you really have…no…choice…

Being a worldly man and knowing the intentions are good, I can tolerate contact that my own culture might think is a bit too much.  I’ve seen a much wider range of etiquettes than most, and I am accepting that the etiquette other people have learned is meant to be respectful of me and to make me comfortable. Therefore I appreciate and am respectful of their culture. So I hug maybe a bit more than I used to.

But back to Joe. He CLEARLY comes from a culture of huggers. This cultural instinct has been honed by his political experience which tells him he needs to have instant bonding with his constituents and co-politicos, and human contact usually works.

Most people he encounters are flattered that a senator or vice president feels comfortable and familiar enough with them to put a hand on their shoulder or whisper in their ear. Most people want to be able to tell others that they are close to a powerful politician. Joe Biden is GOOD at this, and in the culture in which he was raised this is not only acceptable, but respectful, friendly and generous.

So what does this say about a) the women who have accused him of “uncomfortable touches,”  b) the Democrats who are up in arms about it, and c) the media who are covering this?

Here is my opinion (pay me what you think its worth!):

a)  The women who are accusing him are clearly intolerant of other cultures, they may have psychological issues that make them uncomfortable being touched at all, they are seriously bad at being politicians and/or are being encouraged by Biden opponents to exaggerate their discomfort.

b)  The Democrats – As was mentioned in the link above, Biden opponents have known he would be considering a run for years now and have prepared attacks for him. Do they believe the narrative? No, certainly not any more than they did when he was VP candidate with Obama (it’s not like Biden has changed any…). No, this is just disgustingly low politics to weaken an opponent, below the belt stuff.

c)  The mainstream media is happily gobbling this up, despite it being entirely a fantasy non-story (he was not accused of rape or molestation, just of being slightly creepy), because it sells newspapers. In short, the journalists who plaster this over the national media have lost any integrity they once had, and have sunk to the level of high priced whores.

But we already knew that.

 

 

 

 

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16 Comments

  1. Allen

    I believe the women.

    • Joe Gilbertson

      It’s OK to believe the women. Were they uncomfortable? Maybe so. Did Biden commit a crime? No.

      Did he commit a social indiscretion? That’s the question!

      My argument is that the problem is the intolerance of Joe’s culture by these women, not Joe’s crimes against some social construct invented by the left. I don’t complain when some old woman with too much perfume comes up and gives me a hug, even though I’d rather not and I end up smelling like perfume for the rest of the day. She is expressing respect and affection, not being a lecher of some kind.

    • Phil ward

      Tara Reed says he groped her private parts … Duhhhh
      How do you answer that Joe ?

  2. George

    Joe,
    Your comment on Biden as the innocent friendly politician is ridiculous. There are many photos with his arms around many women kissing them on the lips and leaving his hands on them far too long.
    This is more than political friendliness, its getting a cheap feel or grope because you can. The guys got a problem and most of us realize it.

    • Joe Gilbertson

      George,
      Joe Biden has statistically taken close to a million photos in his political career. I bet you and I have both had times with our arms around women and sometimes kissing them (I’m not really a social kisser like that, but I know many who are), but nobody is taking pictures of us. It’s very easy to reframe a photo by adding a caption so that it conveys a different meaning. The picture attached to the article is a primary example of one that is used as a creepy joe photo. But the woman in the picture said in an interview that there was nothing inappropriate and that she actually apologized to Joe for it being used that way.

      And just so you know, I’m no fan of Biden, I just think this narrative is a false one.

  3. Susan McVicker

    Well, Most of your article was good, except the summary. Seriously? You think women who don’t like his touchy ways have PSYCHOLOGICAL issues????? You couldn’t just say, “They don’t like to be touched?” which is true of a lot of people, not just women. And WHAT on earth has this to do with INTOLERANCE??? Your summary simply ended up sounding like YOU were intolerant of sensitive women, as well as of Biden opponents. You would have done well had you left the summary out. 🙁

    • Joe Gilbertson

      So you don’t think complaining to the national media isn’t a slight overreaction to a friendly (non-sexual) arm on the shoulder? I think it may be an indication of psychological problems if the least amount of human contact sets you off like that. Should I call the police the next time some old lady hugs me? That’s not “sensitive,” that’s militantly anti-social.

  4. RC

    What’s happening is the same old BS the Socialists have pulled on Republicans. Phony accusations. I’m no fan of Biden but really hate to see this sort of thing. Destroy a man’s reputation simply because a bunch of Communists posing as Socialists and masquerading as Democrats simply want their piece of anti American crap in office. It would be nice if they’d actually stick with the issues.

  5. Renegade

    You really shouldn’t insult high priced whores like that. They actually work hard for the money. These so-called reporters are more the low price whore category
    .

    • Joe Gilbertson

      I apologize to whores everywhere. They did not deserve that insult.

      • Renegade

        Thank you Joe, you fed off of my lead.

  6. Virginia Foulk

    Guess what! You are wrong – this is and was not right. Grabbing young girls, a husband’s wife while standing next to one was not right. As an over 70 year old person who likes hugs from relatives and friends, I would have been offended if Sleazy Joe had even touched me in some of his touchy-feely actions. And my husband would have clocked him. Perhaps more attention should be given to the women and the young girls who had been mistreated by icky Joe and actually resented his touch. I’m sure many of them will have the same feelings about it as I would.

    • Joe Gilbertson

      Biden did not “grab” anyone. Who said that he did? He didn’t “mistreat” anyone. He was doing his best to be friendly according to the rules of his culture. And I would bet the captions most of the photos you have seen portraying him as creepy do not reflect attitudes the so-called “victims.” This is a put up job. Your problem is that you don’t respect other people’s cultures. Do you want a tolerant world or not?

      And what about you? Do you want to live in a world where no one touches anyone else, under the penalty of being beaten up by your anger mismanaged husband? Do you automatically reject the friendly overtures of new people in your life who happen to be from a more touchy feely culture than yours? No wonder you have no friends.

  7. Virginia Foulk

    Humm my comment is being edited for moderation? Doesn’t agree with your comments? Don’t have a website, so what else.

    • Joe Gilbertson

      you are not that important

    • Renegade

      Sorry Virginia, we all get checked before being allowed to be viewed.