Finally, Some Good News for Mitt

[regexcellent]

The criminalization of bullying, harassment, and especially "hate crimes" is just demonstrative of the pussification of this country. Seriously, this is something everyone deals with in high school and if you can't take the heat then you are just a pathetic little *****.

Nothing Romney did in this story indicates that he had any worse character than your average bored high school student. At least he never did drugs, which is more worrisome to me, because it is self-destructive.

[notyoueither]

His character when he was a teenager?

You're grasping at straws here if you think what someone did as a teenager 48 years ago has any bearing on their character today.

Holy crap the stuff I said and wrote (including on here) when I was a teenager!

Frankly, I find it far more concerning that he says he doesn't remember the incident today than that it happened in the first place. You do that to somebody and it's not even memorable for you? Really? What kind of ******* are you for that to be true (not that I think it is true...)?

.

[Dinner]

Damn it, I posted this thread first. It was in the "Really GOP" thread.

[notyoueither]

The criminalization of bullying, harassment, and especially "hate crimes" is just demonstrative of the pussification of this country. Seriously, this is something everyone deals with in high school and if you can't take the heat then you are just a pathetic little *****.

Nothing Romney did in this story indicates that he had any worse character than your average bored high school student. At least he never did drugs, which is more worrisome to me, because it is self-destructive.

Your definition of average seems peculiar to me.

Smoking pot is worse than sociopathic behaviour?

[Dinner]

Beating people is not a prank.

[kentonio]

Nasty though this incident sounds, I wouldn't judge a man based on the childhood actions of half a century ago. It's much easier to judge him on his current complete dishonesty and lack of empathy or compassion for those less fortunate.

[Lorizael]

I have to agree that this doesn't elicit much more than a shrug from me.

[Kidlicious]

Since the advent of hate crimes, though obviously standards were different then. That said, it still should have merited discipline, which it apparently didn't get.

Frankly, I find it far more concerning that he says he doesn't remember the incident today than that it happened in the first place. You do that to somebody and it's not even memorable for you? Really? What kind of ******* are you for that to be true (not that I think it is true...)?

This. I could see if he had regretted being a bully, but he doesn't. I certainly don't want a bully for a president. Are people insane?

[dannubis]

I only hit a guy in the face once in my life when I was 16. The feeling of the impact of my fist on his nose scared the crap out of me. I still remember it like it was yesterday. So either Mr Romney had a habit of doing this type of thing or he is trying to weasel his way out of this one. Why just not say that he was an ass at the time and regretted the episode. Case closed.

Besides, can someone tell me what this guy stands for? Honestly, I don't know. He seems to be a collection of loose priciples and thoughts.

[kentonio]

It was probably just a political calculation that 'so long ago I don't even remember' would get rid of the issue quicker than 'I was being a dumb kid'. Poor calculation in hindsight, but then again his campaign has misjudged the public mood so many times already it's hardly a surprise.

[rah]

I am actually bothered by his 'I don't remember'. How could you forgot pinning someone down and cutting their hair. If it was that common an occurrence, there's a problem.
I would be more likely to accept "back then it was no big deal to harass gay kids"

[regexcellent]

Wait are we just assuming he was gay because he had bleached hair? I mean, that's not a bad assumption honestly, but it is jumping to conclusions.

[Lorizael]

Err, whether the kid was gay or not isn't really the point.

[Hauldren Collider]

It does say something about the man's character.

No, it doesn't.

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Giving Hippies haircuts

Beating poor little black girls to gain acceptance with the cool crowd