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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSo, Romney Viciously Bullied His Sons, Too
US election 2012: Mitt Romney 'pushed sons' faces into plates of butter'Mitt Romney's sons have described their father's taste for aggressive horseplay, explaining how he enjoyed pushing their heads into plates of butter and wrestling them as children.
The Republican presidential candidate dispatched his five adult sons onto a late night television show where they jokingly told stories of their father's pranks in an effort to humanise the former businessman who critics accuse of being boring.
But the light-hearted anecdotes carried an uncomfortable echo of earlier allegations that Mr Romney had been a bully while at prep school and has a long history of uncaring behaviour.
Matt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor's second son, told how his father would present his children with a stick of butter, telling them "it's so rotten you have to smell it". When they leaned down he would gleefully shove their faces into the plate.
Mr Romney apparently repeated the trick recently with one of his grandsons, pushing the shocked child's head into a platter of whipped cream.
read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/mitt-romney/9347495/US-election-2012-Mitt-Romney-pushed-sons-faces-into-plates-of-butter.html
. . . and this is probably only the bullying they're willing to admit to on national television. What a strange time to share such a personal and disturbing revelation . . . unless you consider what the subconscious mind does with repressed memories.
sinkingfeeling
(51,460 posts)Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)I know he had a temper, not a good trait for a Prez. But, there was something rather real and fairly normal
about him. He had feelings. Didn't agree with his policies, but didn't worry about his mental state. Guess what I am saying
is that McCain may have had personality issues, but Romney makes him look perfect. Romney is scary
LynneSin
(95,337 posts)But I had respect for him as a person and as a man who dedicated his life to serving our country in time of war.
Mitt I just don't like him. I think there is something really creepy about him.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)McCain has character, even if I don't particularly agree with him 99% of the time. He stood up to the woman making racist remarks about Obama, and has stood up for women and homosexuals in the military.
Romney is a cardboard cutout with absolutely no character whatsoever that isn't a hollow façade.
progressivebydesign
(19,458 posts)Arkansas Granny
(31,519 posts)as a person and for his service to our country. I always felt that he was genuine, even when he was wrong. Romney just gives me the creeps. There is nothing sincere about him.
The creepy thing about the Snipster are his empty , soulless eyes .
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)rMoney inflicts suffering.
Huge difference there.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I certainly don't idolize John McCain, but he's at least a feeling human being. Romney scares the hell out of me because he is so detached from humanity.
icarusxat
(403 posts)and then decide for yourself
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I still think John McCain is a decent human being. He's one of the few remaining among Republicans, and he's far from perfect. Romney couldn't carry his briefcase.
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)His aircraft's tail was hanging off the port side of the Forrestal away from any other aircraft. Lots to criticize McGramps about, but the USS Forrestal Tragedy isn't one of them.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)fasttense
(17,301 posts)and so is Mitt. Mitt's creepiness has nothing to do with a very old man lusting after a girl but more to do with a heartless cruelty that thinks it's funny to take advantage of those who are weaker than him. Kind of like the bushes. Too much money seems to create these creepy little monsters.
Mitt reminds me of my brother-in-law. A RepubliCON who made millions out of being a doctor and looks down his nose at anyone who hasn't made millions. He bullies his kids and screams at his wife whenever she says something he doesn't agree with. I think these people allow their demons out because they think they are above everyone else. In America money equals virtue. Their money makes them feel virtuous so they don't have to be virtuous.
rufus dog
(8,419 posts)He is an incredibly good liar. Must have worked well for him at Bain. He is just so consistent in facial expression and tone as he lies, no tell tell signs.
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)called him on his bullshit. He would get very ultra-defensive. I have said this a million times - he's
a classic anal retentive personality. I know some who is and Romney is exactly like him. When
challenged, his whole body gets stiff, he speech accelerates and sounds clipped - like a little boy
falsely accused of something.
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)a very unbecoming trait to see.
polly7
(20,582 posts)They honestly enjoy it and can't understand why others don't find it funny. I think we all know someone like that ... living with one is hell. I feel for those sons and grandchildren.
xxqqqzme
(14,887 posts)change either. They only change their tactics. They learn that some bully behavior is frowned on but some is accepted as 'funny'. Their acts become more nuanced and sophisticated, if you will. But the objective is always humiliation and ridicule no matter the age.
The son allowing his father to treat his son the same way speaks volumes. I'm sure they all got a 'good' laugh out of it
waddirum
(979 posts)you cannot deny that this man is a sociopath.
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)and Bagram?
(Just in case it's needed to head off any alerts. Although I don't think my tone is sarcastic so much as it is acerbic.)
waddirum
(979 posts)That mean son-of-a-bitch shoved his own grandkids face into the whipped-cream. What a nasty fucking asshole.
I shudder to think of him as President of the U.S.
Imagine the itches he would scratch with all of that power.
LiberalFighter
(50,950 posts)librechik
(30,674 posts)hfojvt
(37,573 posts)and not margarine.
pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)In the days of this commercial, I was checking out of a market when the checker couldn't find a price on my package of Parkay, so he held it over his head and announced, "Price check!" on the store's PA.
"Butter!" a quick-witted checker two lines over shot back on the PA, and the whole store cracked up.
hfojvt
(37,573 posts)and my god, but that was good. I decided I was gonna buy butter when I got on my own.
Then I went into the store and saw the price of butter next to the price of margarine, and I decided that margarine was good enough.
At a recent reception though, I put butter on one roll and margarine on the other and could not taste the difference. Either really good margarine or really bad butter.
That's a great story though. Too bad the other checker was not Mitt Romney. Too bad for Mitt, anyway.
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)take 4 sticks of butter out of the butter box/container and swap them with 4 sticks of margarine, paying the margarine prices.
I know, it's stealing, but back then, I thought it was hysterically funny
rfranklin
(13,200 posts)gregoire
(192 posts)That should be a crime.
Taverner
(55,476 posts)goclark
(30,404 posts)freshwest
(53,661 posts)EOTE
(13,409 posts)You idiots of the lamestream media couldn't have things more wrong.
LibertyLover
(4,788 posts)Rmoney is. I wonder if he pushed Ann's face into the wedding cake at their reception? I've always hated that particular "custom", but it wouldn't surprise me in the least to find out that he gleefully upheld that tradition. I hope her dressage horse walks on his foot.
Ednahilda
(195 posts)of my husband's cousin's wedding. The young fellow married a lovely Russian woman, but apparently the cake ritual was unknown to her. She carefully fed the groom a tiny piece of cake, being careful not to make a mess, then he shoved a huge piece of cake in her face. She was absolutely stunned and then broke into tears. A kindly older woman guest took the bride to the ladies' room to clean up. Frankly, the cousin had always been considerate and well-behaved; can't understand what made him do that. I think they're still married . . .
patricia92243
(12,597 posts)ecstatic
(32,712 posts)Dogs on the roof? Children plunged into butter? He is so weird! And not in a good way!
SNL is going to have a field day this fall. They don't even have to make anything up to get the laughs.
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)something. Like it's a birthday, it's your cake, there's frosting, people are being silly. But butter? Yikes, butter
is sacred ! My mother wouldn't let us roll our corn on the cob over butter because it would
mess it up. haha. I always said when I was an adult I would just roll the hell out of corn
on the butter stick. By, never have.
mwb970
(11,360 posts)Remember Tina Fey's SNL impression of Palin? She got huge laughs by mimicking Palin precisely and saying exactly what Palin said, word for word.
You can't make this stuff up.
Arugula Latte
(50,566 posts)And that is a scary thought.
Tumbulu
(6,291 posts)kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)of them.......
tXr
(333 posts)Hell, Data on Star Trek showed more facial expression!
kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)hfojvt
(37,573 posts)Although I would not call this vicious bullying, just a rather odd sense of humor. I have, myself, tried some jokes that fell sorta flat, or worse.
bigtree
(85,998 posts). . . and a vicious, uncaring asshole; even to his sons, apparently.
This is psychotic behavior which is reinforced by several key anecdotes about his 'prankster' past. If I saw someone do that to a child, I'd forbid them to come near them again. I guess we have a different sense of what defines 'vicious.' Funny that Romney's particular sense of humor always seems to involve some physical or personal assault.
hfojvt
(37,573 posts)or they would not have told it.
I, myself, recently told a story about my own dad. Only in my story, I had a minor food fight and threw a piece of pasta that stuck to my dad's forehead. My baby sister and I both think that story is hilarious. Mom and dad, on the other hand, are not as amused, not that dad was not a good sport about it.
I could tell other stories though. There was a time when my mom was in the basement watching her soap opera and my brother and sister were upstairs jumping and tearing around (they were maybe 5 and 6 or 6 and 7 to my two years older than my little sister. After yelling some threats about being quiet, mom comes stomping up the stairs and proceeds to thrash brother and sister.
Another time we went to a Christmas eve serice of all things, and we were all whining and complaining and fighting on the way back, and back home my dad grabs my older sister's arm, flips her into the air and slams her to the floor and then yells at us for five minutes about what whiny brats we are. I remember that violence made me a little physically ill.
Is that psyhotic? Is it normal? Is it vicious? It's meaner than Romney's little prank.
I don't know about the normal part. I don't share those types of stories with lots of people, and I may be able to count on some horrified responses here. ("My parents would never ... Your parents are disgusting and that explains a lot ..." I have not had therapy, nor do I desire it. I think my parents are some of the best and most caring people on the planet, although those two incidents were not their finest hours. At my parents' 50th anniversary, my little sister wrote a song parody of the 12 days of Christmas that we all sang for my them.
Erma Bombeck once wrote "I always appreciate a mother who can reach for her child and not have it flinch." So I think some of that is normal. I have a different standard for vicious. Have you, for example, read how Fred Phelps treated his children? Now THAT was vicious, but apparently only one or two of his children accuse him of abuse. The rest might say he is one of the best and most caring people on the planet.
bigtree
(85,998 posts). . . I would suggest, dear hfojvt, that children should not be made to endure such violence. It is all too common, yes.
lindysalsagal
(20,692 posts)wordpix
(18,652 posts)and your father could have broken your sister's arm or back flipping her over like that and slamming her to the floor. Would you have such funny recollections of violence then?
I recall when my little friend was waiting for me and put a saddle we had around on our dog. He snapped at her but didn't bite. Funny recollection. I also remember when another friend was growling at the dog, face to face, and he suddenly snapped at her and grabbed her just under one eye. I remember the blood, driving to the hospital, my friend ending up with a bad scar in the middle of her face, and giving the dog away to someone in another state. Not funny at all.
tblue37
(65,408 posts)discipline, but violence of the sort you describe is nevertheless inappropriate. If either adult had offered such violence to another adult, he or she would have been arrested for assault and battery.
On the other hand, an occasional quick swat or two on the bottom of a child is not child abuse, though many people would consider it to be abusive. And, of course, you would get in legal trouble for swatting an adult's bottom like that, so my earlier comparison is not ironclad, either.
But most children do not need to be hit at all, ever, for any reason. I had a home daycare for 18 years, and of the 37 children I raised, I never once raised my hand to 35 of them. Ever. (I never yelled at any of them for any reason. It never was necessary.)
On the other hand, on little boy (a very large for his age 7-year-old) went wild when I tried to sit him on the couch for a time-out one day. He started swinging his fists and kicking, and he connected on of those kicks very painfully with my shin. I flipped him over my lap and gave him 2 sharp swats on the buttto get his attention more than anything else, reallyand then he calmed down and took his time out. I believe his previously administered asthma medicine (we used a vaporizer, so he got the full dosage) had made him just a bit "high" and thus not fully in control of himself. The butt-swats captured his attention sufficiently for him to regain his self-control.
The only other child I have ever swatted was my own son. As a much loved first-born child, he was often jealous of the attention I paid to his younger sister and to the daycare kids, and occasionally, between the ages of 6 and 7, he would behave in a threatening way to a smaller child. He never actually assaulted another child, but he would sometimes threaten one, acting as though he would really hit him or her. On the rare occasions when he did that, I would give him two or three quick swats on the bottom, and then I would patiently explain, "When you live by the law of civilization, you do not attack or threaten to attack others, especially when they are smaller than you. But when you live by the law of the jungle, the big, mean creatures are always attacking the small, weak creatures. Just keep in mind that there will always be someone bigger and meaner than you, so it is way better to live by the law of civilization, not by the law of the jungle."
By the time he was 7 years old, he had reached a full understanding of what I was talking about, and he never threatened another child--and I never swatted him again, since his spankings were only for threatening violence to a smaller, weaker child.
One thing about his threats that I consider common to those who behave in a bullying way: they were always directed at someone smaller and weaker. For example, in cases of domestic abuse like that between Chris Brown and Rhianna (is that her name--I might have spelled it wrong), some people will claim that the man could not control his temper because the woman provoked him outrageously. But have you ever noticed that when such men are outrageously provoked by someone bigger and stronger, they never have any trouble at all controlling their temper? Such men only lose control when their victim is too small or weak to present any real reciprocal threat.
By the time he was 7 years old my son learned not to bully others. He is almost 33 now, and a truly fine young man. I have no a temper at all (it's weird, but I don't get angry), so when I swatted the 2 kids that I did swat, I did so in a very controlled and careful way, and only for very specific reasons.
Unfortunately, though, too many adults resort to physical discipline under the influence of their own temper, and therefore they are not really disciplining a child, but merely beating up on him or her as a way of acting out their own rage. A child's little body is a fragile thing. It should never be slammed to the floor in the way you described--no matter how naughty or annoying the child was being!
As it happens, though, much of what we consider outrageous physical abuse of children and animals (and, for that matter, of wives) used to be standard, acceptable behavior. Most schools no longer allow teachers to paddle children, and most parents know at least that they mustn't abuse their kids in public if they don't want to get into trouble. Fortunately, many parents have learned not to abuse at all. Unfortunately, all too many still abuse, but do so only when they figure they won't get caught.
arikara
(5,562 posts)Some jokes are funny, some are kind of odd and some are just plain mean.
but with just a little butter on your face, nobody is really hurt very badly, although I would not consider it funny. One summer vacation my 18 year old cousin's fiancee was dunking everybody in the lake, including my siblings. I was 16 and skinny as a clothesline, but he never tried to dunk me. I think he was warned that I would NOT be a "good sport" about such a prank. Which was probably a fair assessment, but I would not play that kind of "prank" either.
But I have played others. One year, my little brother was maybe 6 and was charging down a picnic table bench like a rhino. So the three of us, my older sister, myself and my brother hatched this plan to prank my little sister. We would get her to sit on the picnic bench and brother would charge down it and surprise her. Well, it worked perfectly, except that when my brother slammed his head into her she started bawling. It was meant to be funny, it was meant to surprise her. Boy did I feel like a jerk though. As I apologized to her again last year, none of us, myself included, ever thought "this is gonna hurt". Little sister was just supposed to be startled, not hurt.
Another time I had a glass with, I thought, three or four drops of milk in it, so I flicked it at my brother (I am not sure how that was supposed to be funny anyway) but instead of a few drops hitting him a small stream hit him right in the eye. We still laugh about that today, but thing we laugh about is not how funny it was, but how stupid I was to pull such an unfunny prank. So he razzes me about it.
beac
(9,992 posts)unfunny indeed.
Rmoney is an adult who has "pranked" both his children and his grandchildren.
By definition, shoving someone's face into anything is an act of aggression and all about humiliation. The fact that Rmoney thinks it's funny to behave so toward his offspring tells me everything I need to know about his parenting.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)All of her practical jokes involve somebody getting doused with water, or something equally harmless, and never to the point where they are in a setting that could cause great embarrassment.
I've been known to pull some, too, like putting tadpoles in the flower vase that was on the dinner table, then laughing with my sister as we watched them swim around. That's a harmless prank.
Shoving a child's face into butter or whipped cream could cause them to choke. It's not funny.
Old and In the Way
(37,540 posts)Do we really need another President with father issues and social adjustment problems?
bluedot95
(14 posts)Lint Head
(15,064 posts)A leopard never changes it's spots.
KurtNYC
(14,549 posts)It's as if human emotions and humor are foreign to him.
Guy Whitey Corngood
(26,501 posts)It's more like an evil Spock whose intellect and honesty have been removed somehow.
TBF
(32,067 posts)so I explained it is election time and that there is a bad man running against President Obama. I told her about the Seamus incident and her jaw dropped "that's really mean" was her response. The bumper sticker is in my sigline and made by a group called "Dogs against Romney".
beac
(9,992 posts)Off to buy one now!
Link: http://www.cafepress.com/dogsagainstromney
Tshirts and other stuff link: http://dogsagainstromney.spreadshirt.com/ (If I wore baseball hats, I'd be sorely tempted by the Mitt Bites one. )
Bozita
(26,955 posts)Sounds like a bully to me!
bigtree
(85,998 posts)textbook
Doc_Technical
(3,526 posts)Someone who dishes it out,
but can't take it.
uponit7771
(90,347 posts)LynneSin
(95,337 posts)They like the feel of power they have over belittling others.
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)pinboy3niner
(53,339 posts)bullwinkle428
(20,629 posts)As if there needs to be more proof that his "pranks" aren't based the least bit in humor, but in control and sadism.
tblue37
(65,408 posts)pranked in good humor in return. The fact that he doesn't want others to do to him what he does to them is evidence that he considers such "pranks" to be inappropriate and abusive.
My mother is the world's worst practical joker, but she can take a joke, too. It's practically an Olympic sport around the holidays when my sister is here, and none of us hurt each other - it's just creative ways to make everyone laugh their butts off.
I'm even thinking of accumulating balloons to fill up my sister's car when she gets here. That's a joke. Her putting toothpaste in the end of my slippers was a joke, too, on Christmas morning, because she gave me a new pair (mine WERE ratty, in all honesty).
Arkansas Granny
(31,519 posts)NoMoreWarNow
(1,259 posts)aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)I see they inherited their father's sense of humor, if you can call it that.
bigtree
(85,998 posts). . . along with the rationale attributed to the reasoning behind recounting such bizarre behavior.
pnwmom
(108,980 posts)A Simple Game
(9,214 posts)livvy
(6,948 posts)MsPithy
(809 posts)No, really. He is totally unconcerned for the feelings of others, even his own children and grandchildren?
Psychopath or Sociopath?
catbyte
(34,403 posts)keep going up and up and up and up.
What a creep. The more I hear of his voice and that creepy laugh of his, the more it makes my skin crawl. I know I've used the word creep a lot, but it just fits. He really does creep me out with that shark-like stare of his while he's laughing his mirthless, joyless ha-ha-heh laugh of his. He has dead eyes, just like the pictures of sociopaths--you know, those dead, reptilian eyes.
Diane
Anishinaabe in MI & mom to Taz & Nigel, members of Dogs Against Romney, Cat Division
"Dogs Arent Luggage--HISS!
Whisp
(24,096 posts)those creepy eyes, woah. shell shocked eyes.
fear and a bit if shame. Wonder who they were talking to, sitting with?
(I've been watch Lie to Me, a series on Netflix, awesome show)
valerief
(53,235 posts)LynneSin
(95,337 posts)He would tell me the 'ice cream' (or some product) smelled 'Funny' and I'd sniff it then he would shove that item into my face and up my nose.
He thought he was being 'cute' but honestly after the 2nd time he did it I just avoided him like the plague. I remember the 2nd time getting too much of it up my nose that I started choking just a bit. Not life threatening but not fun either.
I avoid him but I also know after the coughing fit my pap would tell his friend to 'not do that' because pap knew I didn't like it.
DaveJ
(5,023 posts)As we can see, it's rare, most are assholes, but I hope we continue to progress in the right direction.
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)He had a son recount this story, then another "son," "Merb" Romney, talk about how Mittens through a gardner down the stairs.
GoCubsGo
(32,086 posts)He had a "Top Ten" nicknames for Romney, and none of them were even remotely flattering. I'm sure he'll have a field day with this tonight.
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)He's constantly talking about Seamus on the roof of the car.
neeksgeek
(1,214 posts)sulphurdunn
(6,891 posts)preppie with lots of money, a sense of entitlement and a sadistic streak. Sounds like George W. Bush.
SammyWinstonJack
(44,130 posts)eridani
(51,907 posts)Arguably, that is far more dangerous.
sulphurdunn
(6,891 posts)George had the "just plain folk" sthick down as well as his fake southern accent.
barbtries
(28,799 posts)piling up victims. this country cannot fall prey to this disease.
GOTV
RedCappedBandit
(5,514 posts)Skittles
(153,169 posts)they are handsome guys with very creepy expressions
Zoeisright
(8,339 posts)Willard is a complete prick.
felix_numinous
(5,198 posts)either turn into abusers themselves or they break out of the paradigm and take steps never to become one themselves. I hope that these beautiful sons of his take the latter path.
mehrrh
(233 posts)They may find this funny in their family, but when an adult does this kind of prank with a child, it is more than a joke -- it is an abuse of authority -- do the bullies who do this think that the kids will fight back? Of course not. But the kids may cry from shock, or embarrassment or just the sense that the parent has made them look foolish. If my f-in-law had done this to my son, he'd have heard about it from me.
This is just another reason to despise Rmoney.
Diclotican
(5,095 posts)bigtree
I do not like bullies - they give scars that will last a lifetime... And Mitt sounds like a bully to me
Diclotican
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)Last edited Sat Jun 30, 2012, 09:59 PM - Edit history (1)
Wants to feel good about himself at everyone else's expense (through being abusive) and will not allow even the slightest of words or actions (real or imagined) that cause him to feel weak.
Apparently his son doesn't seem to understand what he is actually telling the world with that comment. How sad is that?
maggieinthesouth
(1 post)to realize my father was an abuser, not sexually, but lots of physical abuse. Then because I was too much of a coward to tell him, I supressed it, and turned much into a comical story. My defense against what I couldn't change.
Solly Mack
(90,773 posts)I wish you healing.
bupkus
(1,981 posts)sybylla
(8,514 posts)I've seen abused children take on a perspective like Stockholm Syndrome. As children, we want to think that our parents love us, so when they show us they don't, some deny it, some excuse it, some justify it, some say that's how daddy shows us he loves us.
They may not, even as adults, believe they were abused or be capable of recognizing abusive behavior.
Which is exactly what this story sounds like.
laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)Bang on.
I had emotionally abusive parents and it took me years and years to see the behavior as such. My upbringing even blinded me to my (now ex) husband's mistreatment of me. I was in total denial and ignorance. I thought it was all normal. I'm sure the Romney boys think the same thing.
NYC Liberal
(20,136 posts)I could see him doing it, like Bush gave Merkel that "back rub"
benld74
(9,904 posts)proud2BlibKansan
(96,793 posts)And neither of those is a winner for the GOP.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)I wish this assclown would get challenged, just so that on the off chance a Republican wins, we aren't stuck with the stupidest politician in our country's history.
This guy is a blunder a minute, and while I will be voting for Obama, and encouraging others to do so, this dude scares the hell out of me. I've met more than a few Republicans that say he scares them, too.
wordpix
(18,652 posts)he would have been very sorry for that. It's abuse, plain and simple.
But he was not that way, thankfully.
aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)I wonder if Romney also shoved two fingers into their eyes. It's funny if it's being faked in a comedic routine. Not in real life, though.
McCamy Taylor
(19,240 posts)Could it be because they keep telling him that he will be the same as God one day?
Botany
(70,516 posts)torturing a gay young man
walking a blind man into a wall
dressing up as a state cop and pulling people over in traffic
pushing his grandson's face into a plate of food
protesting for the war in Vietnam all the time knowing he would not have to go
making millions by hurting innocent workers in companies he took over
insulting his hosts about the food he was served and then asking a woman why
she wasn't in the kitchen cooking
Wants to be POTUS but keeps his $ in Swiss and Cayman accounts
forced his dog to ride on the roof of his car for hours and when the dog crapped its self
out of fear Mitt hosed the dog and the car down and kept driving.
I am sorry but Mitt really needs a good old fashioned ass kicking.
"The guy lives off his investments... running for Prez seems to be a hobby." quote from DUer progressivebydesign
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)his former babysitter who was about to become an unwed mother that if she didn't give
the baby up for adoption, she would be excommunicated. She wanted to keep the
baby. (this was in Vanity Fair Feb 2012)
Botany
(70,516 posts)<MThe Post article also describes another episode in which Mr. Romney was accused of mistreating a mostly blind teacher at the Cranbrook School.
In that episode, students recalled that Mr. Romney purposely guided the blind teacher, known affectionately as the Bat, into a closed door.
Romney giggled hysterically as the teacher shrugged it off as another of lifes indignities, The Post wrote.>
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/10/romney-apologizes-after-reports-of-bullying-emerge/
progressivebydesign
(19,458 posts).. I see things that I hadn't know about before. He walked a blind man into a wall??? Wth?
clang1
(884 posts)This I think is what perturbs me about this guy. I get a weird vibe out of rmoney. Hollow, shallow, but something more.
Raine
(30,540 posts)seriously something mentally wrong with him.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Life Long Dem
(8,582 posts)Romney said, "I love my children like they are my own, and they are."
sarcasmo
(23,968 posts)Bake
(21,977 posts)Watch for pies and sticks of butter ... hilarity ensues.
Bake
bloomington-lib
(946 posts)progressivebydesign
(19,458 posts)Almost joking. Did anyone ever look into unsolved crimes around the time he drove around with that state trooper's uniform in his car???
The guy creeps me out. And as someone else wrote above, I did NOT have that feeling about Bush or McCain. Romney is twisted, and a total bully. People put up with his shit because he's been rich his whole life. Please oh please, let them stop hiding this jerk from the media and ordinary people again. They NEED to see who he really is.. and it's not pretty.
People can say what they want on the right wing sites about President Obama, but he is a good person. Just as many republicans are also good people. Romney is a thug in $5,000.00 loafers.
Okay.. hate to be catty, but his sons all have this weird vacant look to them.
And for the record, I HATE practical jokes! I can see people's micro expressions, things that most people miss. And even if you think that your practical joke was funny... there is a moment between when the person believes that something GOOD is happening to them, and when they laugh (because it's expected of you to be a good sport,) when you see utter humiliation in their faces. The premise of most practical jokes is pretty sinister, as the most often are set up as something really good that will make the person feel special, only to be humiliated. I have always hated practical jokes. They're cruel.
clang1
(884 posts)Exactly.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Practical jokes humiliate, even if only for a moment. I think this is what motives the jokesters to do them.
I hate the idea of them so much that when someone wants me to participate in one I have always refused vehemently and tried to talk them out of it. It sets up the victim as an object of deliberate humiliation in the eyes of the people pulling the joke long before the person is a victim and in the end the victim knows this. It's cruel in a way that shows a telling lack of respect for the innate dignity of people and it is deliberately unkind.
But to be fair, I think many jokesters don't have such a feeling. Not everyone is sensitive to the small humiliations that are inflicted on people every day, and not all people feel humiliated. I just think that if you think it would feel bad to be a target of a prank that you shouldn't be part of one.
elleng
(130,974 posts)but he doesn't like to get pranked. We've learned that the hard way," Josh said. . .
The Romney sons also revealed that they had tried to persuade their father not to make a second run for the White House, knowing it would bring their young families under fresh scrutiny.
Matt Romney said: "I was really reluctant. I didn't want him to do it. I tried to convince him not to. I think there were a few of us who tried that. I just felt like, for us as a family, this isn't the best thing.
clang1
(884 posts)At least the kids seem ok.
klook
(12,157 posts)elleng
(130,974 posts)They_Live
(3,236 posts)indeed.
aquart
(69,014 posts)klook
(12,157 posts)Instead of waiting for their Dad or Granddad to push their faces into a plate of butter or a bowl of whipped cream, the kids would just dish it up and mash their own faces into the glop.
deaniac21
(6,747 posts)I kinda get off on the thought of getting my face pushed into a plate of butter.
Zalatix
(8,994 posts)EC
(12,287 posts)or glitter bombed, he'll have a good laugh?
His sons expressions looking at him don't seem to display love, do they? They appear angry.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)1 family: 6 very angry looking people.
mwb970
(11,360 posts)His attitude toward his fellow humans (assuming he is actually human) is consistently sick and terrible. It's as if he were vying for the Most Typical Republican award. What awful people these are.
NoMoreWarNow
(1,259 posts)hamsterjill
(15,222 posts)I guess the thrill is gone from bullying just his sons, grandsons, classmates, etc., etc. He needs a bigger "high", so he's hoping to be President and start bullying the people who have less than he does.
His actions are VERY disturbing and I genuinely hope that most people are smart enough to see this man for what he really is! Pardon me if I worry a little...
sandyshoes17
(657 posts)Snip:
It's been clear for a while that Romney is not the kind of guy you want to play touch football with. In two debates, Romney bragged about forcing Ted Kennedy to take out a second mortgage when he ran against him for Senate in 1994. Romney lost, but hey, at least he caused Kennedy a little pain. His killer instinct extends beyond politics. Before the Iowa caucuses, he called his son Craig on stage to tell the delightful story about the time at the Romney family triathlon (yes!) Romney and his daughter-in-law -- who had given birth to his grandchild a couple months before -- were the last two left in the race. Romney couldn't let his son's wife be only the second-worst athlete.
CRAIG ROMNEY: ...And it was down to my wife and my dad over here.
ROMNEY: I tripped her.
CRAIG ROMNEY: And it was kind of in the home stretch in the run there. And she had a slight lead on him. And he said that in that moment, he decided he was going to win that race or he was going to die trying. And you see this fight to the finish, and he went for this -- he gave it everything he had. He gave it a good kick and he beat her in the end. And he did almost die trying, by the way.
He passed out in a lawn chair and we didn't see him the rest of the day. He barely made lot of life. But it's that type of hard work, it's that type of determination, I think, that we need in the White House.
TwilightGardener
(46,416 posts)MADem
(135,425 posts)seabeyond
(110,159 posts)this would get a .... wtf is wrong with you. i have never been ok with this kind of "joking". i see it as mean. i bet the grandson not raised with this would be shocked. i couldnt imagine one of my boys young, experiencing this, and adults laughing.
Generic Other
(28,979 posts)too much competition for the women. They kick them out of the compound soon as they hit puberty.
Maybe the same attitude with the mainstream. They kick them out too. Off on missions at 18.
Initech
(100,081 posts)TNLib
(1,819 posts)Especially the part where his son said "we found out the hard way he doesn't like to be pranked." That just sounds eerie to me.
LuckyLib
(6,819 posts)others, and thinks it's all part of life, part of yuk-yuk it up. It is creepy. And it seems to be part of his persona.