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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsI'm sorry, there's something terribly wrong with him
I'm sorry, there's something terribly wrong with him
by digby
Via Jezebel, http://jezebel.com/5920229/mitt-romneys-sons-explain-more-of-their-dads-totally+not+evil-pranks
I heard that the Romney boys were on Conan talking about their dad's hilarious "pranks."
The Romney sons were alarmingly blithe about their dad's physical intimidation-based sense of humor last night, recalling with affection how he loves shoving their faces into food under the guise that they should smell it and the one time that their dad, the Presidential hopeful, wrote "HELP" on the bottom of his friend's shoes before the friend got married so that when the friend kneeled in front of the church, the whole congregation saw the word HELP on his shoes oh my god I'm wiping tears of joy and hilarity from my eyes. The most hilarious part is that Mitt is no longer friends with that guy! You know a prank's good when it causes a friendship to end.
Although Mittens loves dishing it out, as you could probably guess, he's not excellent at taking it. When his son Josh attempted to prank his dad by grabbing his arm as he reached for a light switch leading into a dark and scary basement, the former Massachusetts governor tackled his son and asked, repeatedly, "Was it worth it? Was it worth it?!"
Ick.
Why do I have the feeling that Mitt's first order of business will be a full reinstatement of the torture regime?
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/im-sorry-theres-something-terribly.html
Swede
(33,144 posts)If it quacks like a bully.......
Skittles
(152,965 posts)the only thing that sets him apart is he is a super rich bully
stlsaxman
(9,236 posts)seabeyond
(110,159 posts)when they were young and i would have been all over him... i always kept an eye on him. i cannot imagine a parent being ok with that. but, i had not heard about the shoe. wow. men actually take marriage serious and i would say my hubby more serious than i. so not a funny to most men. they do those vows from their heart. so stupid. what wife wouldnt be telling their man to knock that shit off. i cannot imagine that these family members allowed. what son would not say to parent, do not do that to my son. i cannot imagine
WingDinger
(3,690 posts)It is almost a given that his AG will be a political hitman. He will have a dossier on all his rivals. He will be mixed up in all sorts of nefarious actions, and say "psyche", or just kidding.
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)scares me. but, that is a very good point. it sounds as if that would be absolutely right on. probably the most dishonest out of all we have. using religion as his vindication of good, all while breaking law cause he is privileged and special.
very good point.
The Blue Flower
(5,420 posts)He turned one of the most profound and meaningful moments of his friend's life into a joke. Rotten. How could a person forgive that from a so-called friend?
AlbertCat
(17,505 posts)...the sanctity of friendship...
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)very good point.
my hubby almost walked away from a very important and long standing friendship because he did not respect our marriage, at the beginning. it had nothing to do with me. it was all my husband. i was very impressed with hubby
seabeyond
(110,159 posts)there is such a significance in him doing something like this even though it seems so not a big deal. it is.
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)very funny, boys
krawhitham
(4,634 posts)kentuck
(110,950 posts)it's pretty obvious.
ejbr
(5,852 posts)ohgeewhiz
(193 posts)And, if he were to become President, he'd be like a cross between Nixon and GWB
Like a Bush with a brain, a Nixon with a borderline personality disorder instead of simply a paranoid neurotic.
aint_no_life_nowhere
(21,925 posts)George Bush was good at this. It went back to his days at Yale when he took a red-hot coat hanger and burned the Greek letter Delta into the butts of new fraternity pledges.
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)It is why the Far Right believes in "strict" parenting (AKA, spanking and belting).
laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)That's a real practical joke. Fucking with your friends is a time honored obligation. And the light switch thing doesn't even make any sense.
Look, shaving the kid's hair in school and putting the dog on the roof are fucked up things but people are sounding like stick up their ass scolds because the man liked to roughhouse with his five sons.
Part of your duties as a father is toughening your boys up. My dad did it to my brother and I all the time. Hell, he did it to all my friends too. Now, he didn't shove food in anyone's face but you had to walk by him to get in or out of the house and there was a fifty-fifty chance you'd be in a wrestling match before you'd get by. His most famous move was getting you in a hold and giving you stubble burn by rubbing his face on yours. Was that abusive bullying? Maybe in this wussified society. But I say fuck no, that was love. There were lessons taught everytime he'd double tap you playing wrist slap or get your hands and make you slap yourself.
Romney is a robotic douche with terrible ideas for the country but I think people are making something out of nothing here.
The Magistrate
(95,237 posts)TahitiNut
(71,611 posts)... when I 'grew all the way up.' (The next day, it was the "slippery wood floors" and throw rugs. Damned door knob.)
uponit7771
(90,225 posts)...a story his one of his sons told.
Rubbing your sons face in butter isn't "toughing" them up...that some stupid shit
Ino
(3,366 posts)Abusive bullying is what PASSED for love in your lives. Mine too. I went through two abusive husbands before I realized their behavior was what I thought love was. I hope you broke the cycle... or are you busy "toughening up" other people nowadays, under the guise of "loving" them?
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)To suggest such is ignorant to the extreme. My father is the greatest person I know, what I aspire to be and know I can never reach. There was no cycle to be broken, no one was ever hurt and if you didn't feel like playing at any particular time you didn't have to.
Did/do I wrestle my son? You bet your ass. It's important to learn how to defend yourself unless you want to be picked on your whole life.
I'm sorry you were victimized in your life by real abusers. I was not, ever. And neither are my kids.
You have read this totally wrong.
LiberalAndProud
(12,799 posts)as smearing butter all over your face just to be funny. I understand your point, but wrestling doesn't involve the humiliation factor. Think about it.
laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)think that if you're not getting your ass kicked and ending up in the hospital, then you're not being abused. They will even defend that kind of behavior (as 'teasing' or 'toughening up') - especially when it comes to parents. No one wants to think their parents were abusive, it's an instinct for us to love and accept our parents no matter what. I hear of a lot of abusive behavior from people's childhoods, and it's always followed up with 'it was for my own good' or 'I probably deserved it' or 'it made me tough' and finally 'they did it because they loved me'. As you said, a guise. Then they pass it on to their kids and people can't figure it out.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)Some of it sounds like harmless fun, but there is also the underlying hostility that is so apparent. And he got mad when his son tried to scare him in the dark!
He only thinks it's funny when he is the one doing the pranking. I have known a couple of people like that, who can dish out "humor" but can't take it, and they're kind of assholes.
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)In the linked piece. It's very vague so I can't really tell what it's about. Still, people that weren't there don't know what his demeanor was as it happened or how he gets along with his family.
Not being able to take it after dishing it out is a classic bulky trait but I don't know if that is the case in the unclear story.
I just think people are piling on and trying to make him seem worse than he is.
I know he's a heartless capitalist and economic terrorist but I'm not ready to call him a child abuser.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)I seriously doubt there was any seriously abusive behavior. I'm not suggesting that.
It's just that, when someone loves to prank others but doesn't appreciate being on the receiving end, it's just a little red flashing light that says "asshole alert".
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)I would like some proof that he actually does react badly to having to take some of his own medicine. Is there a clear account of that incident anywhere?
Look at some of these other comments though. Waaaay over the top.
Only an insane man would write on a person's shoes at their :gasp: wedding. Others suggesting he viciously and with sadistic glee ground the kids' faces into a plate of butter like it was broken glass or something. Someone else suggested my father was abusive because he liked to wrestle and rough us up. I just think the whole thing is being over dramatized and being made into something it's not.
Hopefully this sort of talk stays here and does not become a party talking point. The dog and the haircut are one thing, calling him a child abuser for playing with his kids makes us look ridiculous.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)When I was a kid someone told me I would make a good prosecutor if I weren't so shy.
However, you are over-worrying and way too concerned about it. Do you see any republicans wringing their hands, sorry over how silly they look when they are accusing democrats of stupid shit?
Do you see any republicans with an ounce of shame in their bodies? Maybe one or two, but neither of them work in congress.
MADem
(135,425 posts)bullying his dog, bullying his children...the guy is a sick fuck.
He even bullied the press corps with a note saying "I erased your hard drives."
He thrives on the discomfiture and PAIN of others. He likes making other people feel BAD and HELPLESS. He likes RUINING events that are important to others for his own gleeful snark. He has ZERO compassion for the fear and terror he might cause from his "pranks."
That's a sick fuck. That's a BULLY.
It should be a damn rap song--they should sample some of these stupid ass things he and his kids say, put a back beat on it, and let it go viral.
demwing
(16,916 posts)Good.
Because I'll bet you $10,000 that if you put the reins of power in this man's hands he'll be worse than he seems, and he seems like an abusive, sociopathic piece of shit,
I have no issue with demonizing this guy. Why should we play nicey-nice with a guy that can royally fuck our country for a generation or more?
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)I just don't see the guy as the psychotic, sadistic abuser of children as he's being made out to be. I'm quite sure he loves his family the same way anyone else does. There are so many other and true ways to nail him. The depictions here are over the top and ludicrous.
demwing
(16,916 posts)and I didn't call him psychotic.
I say he's a bad person, a bad role model for our children and our country, and an arrogant, egotistical, sociopath.
Any time he or his surrogates spend trying to repair his image is time he wastes. As negative ads work, so then does negative word of mouth.
enough
(13,237 posts)delight in humiliation. Especially humiliation of someone smaller than you, and someone who sees you as an authority figure.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/mitt-romney/9347495/US-election-2012-Mitt-Romney-pushed-sons-faces-into-plates-of-butter.html
snip>
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.
snip>
I really don't see how this falls into the category of rough-housing or toughening up.
TNLib
(1,819 posts)Start adding in the cop uniform, and the hair shaving incident and the is guy is just a fucking weirdo.
treestar
(82,383 posts)Essentially did the same as Rmoney did to his kid. He got charged with Offensive Touching.
hollysmom
(5,946 posts)Someone did it to my brother for his second marriage, he thought it was funny. I guess it depends on who you do it to, if they don't mind, it probably doesn't count. I was videoing his wedding, and he really wanted me to get a picture of the shoe bottoms in the church.
Shoving peoples face in food, I don't think I ever witnessed that except the cake thing at weddings. Since Romney is my age, guess it was not a public school thing back then.
AllyCat
(16,036 posts)mulsh
(2,959 posts)didn't and that makes all the difference.
I've seen this stunt at one other wedding & knew that the bride & groom were in on the joke. At that wedding they read from P.G.Wodehouse and Walt Whitman as part of the ceremony. They got their centerpieces for the reception at Archie Mcphee & Co.
Everything I hear about Willard confirms my first impression that he's a creep. A creep without a genuine sense of humor.
karynnj
(59,475 posts)Had he done this at the bachelor party or some other time - yes. Not at a solemn occasion that is also - for most - a religious service. This is something most do only once and it is their day - not the day a "prankster" amuses himself at their expense. It does not surprise me he lost a friend. I know I would never forgive him.
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)This is sort of stick up the ass mentality I'm talking about. It's a joke, do you think people really thought this guy was asking for help? That no one got it? That people were offended and the big day was ruined?
And who knows why he isn't friends with the guy anymore? I'll bet you anything it isn't because of this harmless prank.
karynnj
(59,475 posts)It is just inappropriate and a joke only an inconsiderate jerk would think of doing.
No, I do not think the day was "ruined". Sorry, but this really is not acceptable behavior.
deutsey
(20,166 posts)Yeah, it's a joke. Hardee har har. But there are some occasions/moments when a joke is out of place.
tomp
(9,512 posts)to suggest that anyone who believes that it is inappropriate to inject misogynist humor into sacred ceremonies has a stick up their ass is just you being intolerant. you can make your point without devaluing others who don't agree with you. it's not your opinion so much that bothers me but your way of putting it forward.
demwing
(16,916 posts)This is exactly why that sort of behavior seems abusive. If others don't find you funny, then THEY have an issue, and your proper response is to insult THEM.
It doesn't even enter your head that the behavior might be inappropriate. Nah...we're "wussies" with a "stick up the ass mentality."
Yeah, your dad certainly didn't make a bully out you...
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)If you knew me, which you don't, you would realize that.
However, there are some people with zero sense of humor and who just cannot take a joke. Should we just not do anything at all that might offend the most sensitive of people? I'm sorry but I am not interested in living life that way. What a boring, shitty life that would be. Some people do have a stick up their ass mentality, they just do. And I'm not interested in accommodating them. Sometimes it is them that have the problem and not the rest of us. That's life.
laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)where 'other people' are the one with the problems and you aren't interested in 'accomodating' them (what, you have to THINK about other people's feelings, the HORROR!) is totally devoid of empathy.
Sounds like what my dad said when he was bullying me. If something hurt my feelings, I was a 'wimp' or 'ridiculous' or I 'lacked of sense of humor' and he was 'just teasing' and I was 'too sensitive'. It's invalidation, pure and simple, and it's a form of bullying.
I'm plenty funny (so friends tell me) and I'm a pretty strong person in general (so I've heard).
Your dismissal of how certain pranks might hurt other people's feelings, or wreck their special days says a lot more about you than it says about anyone's supposed lack of a 'sense of humor'.
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)Actually I can, we all have different experiences and mindsets.
I am concerned with the feelings of others but not so much that I won't do or say something that's funny or fun because one person out of a hundred might not agree. Why should the rest of us not get to enjoy something because one person can't deal? I'm not talking about abusing someone verbally or physically but perhaps a slightly off color joke or a harmless prank like the shoe thing.
We all come from different places. Where I come from, ripping each other and each other's mom in the worst of ways was a daily ritual. And there was a lot of physical horseplay and games where you were going to get hurt. If you were weak you got it worse but if it went too far I was the guy stopping it.
Maybe you come a different place where this sort of thing was not acceptable or normal and I can understand that. Or maybe it was and you hated it. But do know that I would be the guy defending you if I saw that you really didn't like what was happening.
I don't know how to describe it any better.
I always considered myself on the side of right.
laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)I don't know how old you are.
You consider the shoe thing a harmless prank, and I don't. To me, it might be funny if it was only me and my friends, but here there's a whole extended family to consider. To me, that crosses the line. I can tell you are being sincere about being concerned about other people's feelings - perhaps I misjudged. I don't think, however, it would hurt to re-evaluate what were/are your norms, as much of what we perceived as normal in the way we were raised (fist fighting at school, being hit by our parents) are no longer the norms. I'm glad that you say you'd step in if you saw someone who didn't like what was going on. That says a lot.
And some of the horseplay stuff was acceptable in my family and even at school, and I even participated, but wrestling and pranks are not the same thing. Usually wrestling is a mutual agreement and by participating you give consent. Not the same thing with pranks. I don't see pranks as harmless. I don't even care for stupid shows like 'punk'd' and I avoid them. Maybe I'm too sensitive, but I guess I've had a lifetime of being ridiculed for being 'too sensitive' and it bothers me when I see people not empathizing with those who dislike pranks and putting the blame on THEM. Maybe it's a gender thing too - my dad had no use for 'girlie' things and was forever trying to toughen me up. Um, I'm a girl, I'm supposed to be 'girlie'. My brother seems to have a completely different view on how we were raised so maybe it just doesn't affect some people and maybe it is along gender lines. Or not. Maybe it was just me, but I went through so much of my life being invalidated about how I felt about the subtle emotional abuse I endured, and I'm just now recognizing a lot of it, that these kind of actions that are often couched in 'horseplay' or 'pranking' terms raise red flags with me. I think of red flags even more when it is someone in a position of power (a parent, or teacher or coach) who engages in those kinds of behaviors.
Like Mitt Romney.
I still think he's a bully. Even my dad wouldn't have gone so far as to shove my face in butter and he enjoyed humiliating us as much as anyone.
Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)It totally distracted peoples thoughts, conversations and memories.
I certainly wouldn't like it if someone did that to me!
The man has a weird sadistic sense of humor. Can't stand him!
Notice how all his pranks hurt someone. He has NO EMPATHY for others or even his dog. What kind of President would that type of person make. He certainly won't give a damn about hurting poor people or ruining many lives.
thesquanderer
(11,955 posts)Of course no one thought he was really asking for help. But the joke isn't merely a prank on the groom, it can also be seen as insult to the bride. Sanctity of the moment issues aside, it is a prank on him, but at her expense, done in a particularly public and potentially humiliating way. Not every opportunity for "humor" is appropriate.
As for whether that's the reason they're not friends, watch the clip where they talk about it, and see what you think then.
The other bizarre part of this is that I"m sure the kids got approval to tell these stories, probably with the goal of making Mitt seem like a "regular guy." Apparently, what Mitt considers his "regular guy" material is what most people would call "jerk."
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Horrors! I am sorry that you had to go through that. Rubbing his stubble against your skin?
DUers, am I wrong about this? Am I the only one who thinks this behavior gets pretty close to abuse? Not quite there, but pretty close?
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)And really not even worth the time it's taking me to type this. You know nothing of which you speak.
Harry Monroe
(2,935 posts)Some people have no context at all and know absolutely nothing about what they speak of. I grew up in a large family, it seems you did also. You had to be there to understand it.
"If we weren't all crazy, we'd go insane" Jimmy Buffett
Harry Monroe
(2,935 posts)There is something definitely wrong with Romney, but Mr. Slayer doesn't seem to be scarred by the experience. Mr. Priestly, I grew up with two other brothers and four sisters. You dished it out and took it in my family. You seem pretty thinned skinned.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)and acted like it.
Go to your local court and sit in on some child abuse cases. Child abuse is about parents who do not understand that they are not just another child. Parents who act like naughty children are a big problem especially in the US.
Harry Monroe
(2,935 posts)When I was 6 years old, I went camping with him, my brothers and some of our friends and their dads. The dads had us go collect firewood then all came out of the woods dresses as ghosts (sheets over their heads). Stuff like that. I'm scarred for life because of that incident.
Harry Monroe
(2,935 posts)It is the key to longevity. My dad is now 85, his mother died last year at 103. Laugh and joke once in a while, you'll live a lot longer.
lumberjack_jeff
(33,224 posts)If the poster thinks his dad was a good dad, then he was. Period.
Harry Monroe
(2,935 posts)But I do agree, the "Help" thing is not a big deal. We did that to my brother on his wedding day. He's still looking for ways to get us back. My son changed his contact in my cellphone with "Jesus" when I left it on my dresser. He then texted me with the message, "Hello, we need to talk". That was genius. Holding someone down against his will while cutting his hair? Completely different. I don't know about your wrestling thing with your dad. If it was not welcome and you asked him to stop, yet he keeps doing it, then it is abuse. If the recipient of the joke or prank is not receptive or appreciative of it, then it needs to stop. If it continues, then that definitely constitutes abuse.
Orrex
(63,086 posts)A 50/50 chance of being forced into a wrestling match? Really? I'm sorry that you had to deal with that. If he pulled that kind of shit on your friends, too, then I'm amazed that you had any friends at all. And the fact that your father played these fucked up games under the guise of "toughening you up" is simply sick.
Why in the world did he get off on scraping your face with his. Was this psychotic tactic common in your home? Maybe I should try that on the IT guy at work. I'm sure he'd appreciate a little toughening up.
It's clear that your father's lack of interpersonal boundaries and basic human respect have skewed your sense of what constitutes reasonable behavior. You can write it off as "wussification," but what you're really saying is that people should have to put up with unwelcome physical intimidation as long as the intidator is more powerful than the victim.
treestar
(82,383 posts)Doesn't give him the right to subject them to physical blockage as in the 50/50 chance of a wrestling match. The idea of "toughening" people up by doing things like this is wrong. He could have just taught them how to deal with bullies. But his way violated their right of physical integrity.
Hugabear
(10,340 posts)A wedding is NOT the time to pull stupid pranks. A wedding is all about the bride and groom's special moment - doing anything to take the attention from that is just plain rude and inconsiderate.
raindaddy
(1,370 posts)The difference between your father and Mitt M Slayer is, he didn't put the family dog on the roof and he didn't shame some kid in front of his peers. Nor did he slash people's jobs for profit.
With Romney there's a pattern of indifferent cruelty, there's a big difference between that and the good natured roughhousing your father engaged in. I've met men like your dad growing up. I took their roughhousing more as offering a challenge than "toughening up". It was fun! It's all about intention. I would guess that if your dad thought he was actually hurting you or your friends he would know stop... I don't think Mitt Romney knows when to stop because I don' think he cares.
Pirate Smile
(27,617 posts)My dad (a CLASSIC super-privileged old white dude if there ever was one) was HUGE for these "jokes". Growing up, he loved to "joke" about how much he hated paying for things like my riding lessons, about how his kids were obviously going to grow up to be failures, about how my mother didn't dress as nicely as he wanted her to. They were obviously hurtful things to say (and things he obviously DID feel upset about) but if you ever confronted him it was always, "I was JOKING! Can't you take a JOKE? Geez!" God forbid if you ever tried to "joke" with him in the same way, though - he'd freak out, or pout about it for days.
My husband's grandfather is also big on these kinds of "jokes". Also see John McCain with his "jokes" to Cindy like: "At least I don't plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt."
After literally years of effort, I've finally gotten my dad to agree that these aren't actually "jokes" and aren't acceptable (at least not in my presence). All of these Romney pranks sound like exactly the same thing to me - thinly veiled bullying and leveraging of privilege over people he knows have to tolerate it, and an inability to take what he likes to dish out. Honestly, it makes me really, really dislike Romney."
I am familiar with this stuff - my Grandpa (who we all loved) did this kind of stuff but we all knew it had a kind of mean tinge to it - my Mom (his daughter) always said he was worse with boys (we saw it with my boy cousins - his grand kids). She always said they were lucky he had two daughters (and then she had two daughters) so we didn't get the full brunt. He was "rougher" with the boys. He was a white man but not wealthy or very privileged in that way - grew up poor in a large Irish Catholic family. I have no doubt it was the type of behavior he probably saw growing up. But it is definitely a passive-aggressive power/intimidation "joke"/teasing.
El3
(2 posts)Your post is a textbook example of the "normalization" of abuse.
Still Blue in PDX
(1,999 posts)he did that to your friends as well? If I heard that the father of any of my kids' friends "toughened up" my sons by wrestling and giving their faces a stubble burn when they attempted to get into or out of the house, that would be the last time my kids visited that house. Sounds more like immature assholeishness than a life lesson.
And my sons (and my daughters, too, for that matter) are not wusses. In fact, my daughter kicked the ass of a guy who was beating up his girlfriend.
frazzled
(18,402 posts)My father didn't consider "toughening" my brother up part of his job; and my husband didn't consider "toughening" my son up part of his job. Teaching them (mostly by example) to be hard-working, considerate, studious, thoughtful, and kind was most of their job. Both my brother and my son turned out just great.
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)I come from the blue collar inner city. If you don't know how to fight, you don't have a very good time of it growing up. Learning to defend yourself is a vital part of coming up here. I was the guy who stopped the bullies from picking on the nerds and the gay kids and the others that couldn't defend themselves. That is what my dad taught me. He also taught me all those other things you mentioned.
Toughness is more than just beating people up and taking a beating. It's knowing when and why.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)And how, exactly, did being attacked by your father teach you how to fight? Because unless you beat the shit out of him, you didn't learn how to fight. You learned how to be beaten.
MrSlayer
(22,143 posts)And that's fine. You don't get where I'm coming from and for one of the few times in my life I can't seem to explain in a way that you're going to understand or approve of.
Think what you want stranger, it matters little to me.
I learned to fight very well. FOP boxing will do that, personal training will as well.
Have a good night.
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)most of us call asault
n2doc
(47,953 posts)GoCubsGo
(32,061 posts)You are just pointing out what any sane, decent person has already observed. The only ones who should be saying they are sorry are the imbeciles who think this creepy weirdo is fit to be President.
AynRandCollectedSS
(108 posts)...when I posted it on our page. I think it's crucial because it shows his strange disconnect from humanity (writing "HELP" on your friends shoes during something as sacred as their actual wedding is NUTS! At the bachelor party it would have been an appropriate prank, but ROMBOT can't make the distinction) and a PATTERN of behavior that's either inappropriate or domineering and controlling, or both. Cutting off someone's hair, posing as a cop to scare your friends, pushing a child's face into butter...these are all clear signs that he feels the need to dominate others. I think he's a narcissist at best, and a high-functioning sociopath at worst.
If he gets elected, he will bully the poor and middle class by metaphorically shoving our faces into butter quite frequently I imagine.
goclark
(30,404 posts)Some of this is new information to me but when I add it to the" I Am A Policeman" Doggie On Car and the Bully Mess at Cranbrook and the day to day drama of listening to him say nothing even when his lips are moving ~ A team of Doctors should evaluate him ASAP.
* the doctors should all be Democrats
He is a Sociopath and he still reminds me of the Movie " Manchurian Candidate."
Rmoney is not "Fit to Serve" as President or hold any Office.
For sure he could not be " Father of the Year" or be allowed to ever own a Doggie.
God bless the United States of America and please God have Obama Win!
Tom Ripley
(4,945 posts)He really is a bully who hides behind "Just kidding!"
raccoon
(31,091 posts)kestrel91316
(51,666 posts)I think from here on out we all should refer to him as Mitt Stillson. He gives me really creepy vibes.
Aerows
(39,961 posts)And a hell of a lot of Americans sense it. It's not just a minor segment of Democratic voters, either. Republicans sense it too, because there is something very "off" about him. Personally, I think he and the Republican party are going to regret him becoming nominee, because he's going to have a hell of a lot of exposure.
Bozita
(26,955 posts)That, folks, is a bully!
The quote if from the piece in the Telegraph:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/mitt-romney/9347495/US-election-2012-Mitt-Romney-pushed-sons-faces-into-plates-of-butter.html
roody
(10,849 posts)Why did they let the boys go on tv and tell their stories?
goclark
(30,404 posts)Think it was Wolf anyway.
Funny that Wolf didn't raise any questions
One of the boys felt very comfortable saying he does the same to his boys.
That is sure not the way I feel about it ~
treestar
(82,383 posts)They think it's impressive.
karynnj
(59,475 posts)What is galling is that the Republicans labeled both Al Gore and John Kerry as not likable enough - and the media ignored the hundreds of stories that showed that they were both good decent men. Every time the Romney kids tell a story about there dad, I wonder if their dad were less powerful if he would have been labeled abusive. Compare this to the lovely supportive parent stories told by the Gore and Kerry daughters.
Where Kerry saved a young daughters' hamster, sparing them pain, Romney pushes a son's face into butter! (Not to mention Romney rather than save a hamster put the family dog on top of the car.) In 2004, the Republicans tried to make an issue of Kerry not being popular in high school - ignoring that he was asked into a rock band and formed two clubs still in existence and that he was dating Jackie Kennedy's beautiful step sister. Yet with Romney CNN questioned if it was fair to bring up Romney's bullying that was actually an assault. The fact is that one of these two was a well adjusted, thoughtful, well mannered boy - and the other likely would have have been expelled if he were not rich or the Governor's son.
There are now way too many UNDENIED stories that form a pattern of a man who really does not respect others. Most of the stories are outside what is acceptable.
- You don't have your friends hold down a boy while you cut his hair
- you do not stop people dressed as a state trooper when you aren't
- you do not smash a child's face into butter
- you don't put a dog on the roof
Every one of these is just not normal behavior. The pattern is of someone who is a bully, has no empathy and does not care whom he hurts. The fact that he got a kick out of using someone's wedding as a stage for a very middle schoolish joke shows that he is incapable of being a real friend.
Raine
(30,540 posts)he doesn't seem to have real human emotions and can't relate to them.
freshwest
(53,661 posts)Like Sanctorum's children. Some wealthy people are quite brutal with their own family, so it should be no surprise that they treat others worse.
Cheap_Trick
(3,918 posts)But I can't say in all honesty that he ISN'T.
http://www.examiner.com/article/serial-killers-and-politicians-share-traits
"Interpersonal traits include glibness, superficial charm, a grandiose sense of self-worth, pathological lying, and the manipulation of others. The affective traits include a lack of remorse and/or guilt, shallow affect, a lack of empathy, and failure to accept responsibility. The lifestyle behaviors include stimulation-seeking behavior, impulsivity, irresponsibility, parasitic orientation, and a lack of realistic life goals.
What doesn't go unnoticed is the fact that some of the character traits exhibited by serial killers or criminals may be observed in many within the political arena. While not exhibiting physical violence, many political leaders display varying degrees of anger, feigned outrage and other behaviors. They also lack what most consider a "shame" mechanism. Quite simply, most serial killers and many professional politicians must mimic what they believe, are appropriate responses to situations they face such as sadness, empathy, sympathy, and other human responses to outside stimuli.
Psychopaths are not sensitive to altruistic interview themes, such as sympathy for their victims or remorse/guilt over their crimes. They do possess certain personality traits that can be exploited, particularly their inherent narcissism, selfishness, and vanity. Specific themes in past successful interviews of psychopathic serial killers focused on praising their intelligence, cleverness, and skill in evading capture."
Add in his penchant for dressing up like a law enforcement officer...who knows what kinds of shit his rich daddy got Der Mittster out of. Makes me wonder if he set fires, tortured small animals and chronically wet the bed as an adolescent.
LiberalAndProud
(12,799 posts)There is no good that could come from these stories. "Help" on the shoes isn't unique, just juvenile. The rest of the anecdotes won't shed Romney in a favorable light in most circles. Are the boys out to get him? Or are they that clueless?
My father didn't treat my brothers that way. Do most fathers? Inquiring minds want to know.
Jamaal510
(10,893 posts)from an episode of Family Guy.
TNLib
(1,819 posts)Who does that kind of stuff?
Maine-i-acs
(1,496 posts)At the Republican't debates, Mitt was cheered for saying this. "Torture good"
valerief
(53,235 posts)on a kid. You don't smash the kid's face in butter. That's just cruel.
MADem
(135,425 posts)demwing
(16,916 posts)He'd really play it up, slurp slurp, etc. It grossed us all out, and he loved it. So did we.
100% juvenile, but 100% harmless.
valerief
(53,235 posts)demwing
(16,916 posts)and sometimes a good gooey foot of egginess spanning the distance--but never a drop on any of us.
The point is that the joke was on him, not us. He played the clown for our amusement, not to our humiliation.
Swede Atlanta
(3,596 posts)I think there was something off about George W as well - whether it was a brain diseased by years of alcohol consumption or a world view seen through the eyes of extreme Christian evangelical beliefs, I don't know.
While I think GWB is ultimately responsible for the atrocities against both he American people and the rest of the world, I still believe he was brainwashed by his advisors when you look at who they were. Wolfowitz, Cheney (Satan himself), Rumsfeld, etc. Surprisingly, with some time passed, I think that both Rice and Powell were moderate voices in the maelstrom of extremism emanating from those administrations.
But Romney, from the stories about the things he calls pranks from his earlier years (the gay bashing, walking the teacher into a glass door, dressing up like a state trooper (definitely illegal), etc. to his antics later in life such as putting Seamus on the roof of his car for 12 hours, cannibalizing companies for their value and then discarding the employees and their promised benefits to the wind as he handed the Chinese or Indians new jobs.
He reminds me of the character in one of those horrible made-for-tv movies about the expected Rapture (please read Revelations by Elaine Pagels for an understanding of the Book of Revelations that is totally contrary to this notion of the Rapture) in which the Anti-Christ acts out his evil deeds. The character that portrayed the anti-christ is strikingly similar to RMoney in many ways.
Mira
(22,378 posts)of the psychology of Romney as he sees it that I really understood and resonated with. I can't find it in his Journal, and did not bookmark it
if anyone has it, it needs to be referenced in this thread.
cognoscere
(461 posts)Oh, that's right, we now live in Bizarro America, where a company that tells the truth gets sued and one that lies its ass off makes millions. My bad. But seriously, pick a republican, any republican at all, and there is something terribly wrong with it.
just1voice
(1,362 posts)It's still open and nobody's been charged for violating the 1996 War Crimes Act for creating GITMO so if some repuke tortures more people the U.S. will not do a thing about it.
What's more likely if a repuke becomes POTUS is a massive expansion of the entire military/industrial complex, meaning no money for anything except war contractors and repuke cronies.
just1voice
(1,362 posts)What about the issues: health care, equal rights, corruption? Talking about some ahole repuke's defective personality makes the presidential election exactly what the repukes want it to be, about personality and not about issues.
Orrex
(63,086 posts)Then we could discuss those issues. Instead, he's offered nothing more than vague attacks on Obama's policies without actually proposing anythng in their place. As a result, we're forced to talk about the abhorrent, despicable personality of the near-sociopath running on the GOP ticket.
Of course, even if he'd taken a position on any issue at all, it qould still be appropriate to discuss the candidate's personality. It's not the entirety of the electoral decision-making process, but it's a legitimate factor in it.
treestar
(82,383 posts)FlyinButter
(14 posts)liberal from boston
(856 posts)After reading all the above comments, I have a little doubt that Mitt Romney has serious emotional problems. The fact that his sons talked so freely about how they & his grandson were treated makes me question the state of Romney's mental health. Not only the physical but psychological aspects of Romney's behavior. Recently, the restaurant owner in Iowa who complained to local media about how her restaurant had suffered minor damage by his campaign staff--especially a memento from her father & how Romney never made the effort to shake her hand and thank her for the use of her restaurant. Romney did call her & she was furious because she felt he mocked her. She questioned is this how if he became President he would treat the little people? This woman is a Republican & commented how gracious Rick Perry was when her restaurant was used for his campaign event.
Mass
(27,315 posts)He also loves making jokes about people being fired, for example.
Rex
(65,616 posts)and his first act will be a hostile takeover of the country...along with liquidation and insolvency. IOW, he will be worser the Bish and Dickhead.
And that is why he must not win.
Avalux
(35,015 posts)They're all huddled together, planning on how to dismantle the federal government so they'll get the most return on their investment.
If anyone - ANYONE - in this country actually thinks Romney will act, as President, in the best interest of the people and uphold the Constitution, they're complete morons.
The goal is to finish shredding the constitution and ensure "we the people" have nothing.
Ilsa
(61,675 posts)is that his Mormon buddies are all set for long term emergency, such as food shortages. They could collapse the economy and watch millions die of starvation while they stay fat eating out of their #10 cans of food stored ten years ago.
Avalux
(35,015 posts)They have factories where people bring their own food and can it themselves. Very organized, very assembly line. Lots of food.
Maybe that's the deal the Fundamentalists made with the Mormons?
Ilsa
(61,675 posts)has used the services of their small canning factory in one western town. They'll help anyone doing this if they can.
I wonder, though, if crashing the food delivery system is part of someone's plan.
Beartracks
(12,761 posts)Beats those you never saw
But could pay off the law
Since the day he was born.
==============
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)with my own eyes. That's a standard joke and people expect those kinds of pranks at weddings.
But the other stuff just sounds like a bully. Pushing your kids' faces into their dinner plates is mean.
gulliver
(13,142 posts)It very definitely a mockery of the solemnity of the occasion. Some may find it funny, but I'll bet a lot of folks find it insulting.