Romney the bully?

[EmperorBatman999]

For those that still don't "get it"....

The reason this is an issue is because of how Romney responded, as if bullying is no big deal. It shows he is clueless to this day about bullying, and it certainly shows a sort of privilege.



Then cite it, since all the major news outlets are still running it, and Romney himself basically admitted it sounded true in his "apology". And no, breitbart.com won't do it.



It's Romney's response, calling the bullying a "prank", that is the issue. It shows he has no real understanding of bullying. His non-apology was disgusting.

IMHO, bullying like that in high school is rare, and people who are still doing it at that age are generally s for life. Romney's response as if it was no big deal seems to confirm that opinion.

Remember he did this in like 1965. That was over 45 years ago.

Romney is a grown man now.

[Matthias]

Remember he did this in like 1965. That was over 45 years ago.

Romney is a grown man now.

Yeah, but his response as a grown man was like that of a bully. Calling it a "prank".

And really, he was pretty damn old to be doing that stuff back in high school.

[Major Hemorrhoid's Brother]

oh boy, it's a good thing no one knows what went on in my school...

[EmperorBatman999]

Yeah, but his response as a grown man was like that of a bully. Calling it a "prank".

And really, he was pretty damn old to be doing that stuff back in high school.

He only brushed it off because it was something long ago and talking more about would cause more drama.

[Axeman]

Survival of the fittest. Get over it, it is the evolutionary process.

Denies evolution fervently.

Has no problem invoking social darwinism.

[CrayonVonCaesar]

American politics is awfully awful.

[CtrlAltDe1337]

Really who the hell cares what Romney did in prep school. And he cut a kid's hair. Boo hoo. We don't need a wuss in the White House, I mean seriously, think people.

[Mr. Scott]

Yeah, but his response as a grown man was like that of a bully. Calling it a "prank".

And really, he was pretty damn old to be doing that stuff back in high school.

Even the family said that it was not that bad. Really, it's being overblown. This wasn't some daily harassing that went on.

[Col. Tartleton]

Wow, Romney in highschool cut a kids hair against his will...

In high school I got taped to a chair, had a hood put over my head, and placed in the shallow end of a pool up to my neck. Naturally I tipped the chair over went under, and my friends pulled me out before I drowned. That's quite a bit higher on the scale of hazing than what the CIA is willing to do to terrorists. I'm no worse for wear and I'm not traumatized. Did I almost drown? Yeah. I was more happy they pulled me out than I was concerned they put me in the pool. I'm not going to blame them for a lack of foresight, we were freshmen in high school.

I've hazed other people pretty bad too. I'm not going to share the details. Retrospectively I think everyone between 14 and 18 is severely stupid most of the time.

I threw a kid down a flight of stairs more than once. I almost set fire to a wetland (I put it out...) I've spent years creating experiences I can draw on for a career as a novelist...

If you want to be in the white house, you've got to be able to rough house.

Besides Barack Obama was skipping high school and blowing coke. Some of my best friends snort yay, but I'd never vote for them for anything.

[Simon Cashmere]

Very much Mainstream Media. Intense scrutiny and ridicule of Republican candidates. Nothing about Democratic candidates. We know almost nothing about Obama at school. Why Obama went to Pakistan in his 20s. WTF goes to Pakistan? What the hell was he doing there? Who knows. Nobody has ever asked him nor will they. The LA Times gets a video tape of Obama at a pretty scary group of Pro-Palestinian fund raisers, but refuses to release it. Obama's muslim past is whitewashed. Obama writes in his book about how he used to not pay attention in Koran class. That means he must have registered as a muslim at the school, because Indonesia at that time, only muslims did Koran class. The Christians had bible class. And his father was a muslim, so he was a muslim. He might be a christian now, but doesn't that make him an apostate? None of that is examined at all, however, everyone goes berserk about Romney being a Mormom.

No vetting of Obama, ultra detail on Romney or any other Republican candidate. Sickening.

Sarah Palin, runs with McCaine, and they make fun of her down syndrome kid, they rip into her. Has anyone ever made any jokes about Obama's wife? Ever?

[charles the hammer]

Wow, Romney in highschool cut a kids hair against his will...

In high school I got taped to a chair, had a hood put over my head, and placed in the shallow end of a pool up to my neck. Naturally I tipped the chair over went under, and my friends pulled me out before I drowned. That's quite a bit higher on the scale of hazing than what the CIA is willing to do to terrorists. I'm no worse for wear and I'm not traumatized. Did I almost drown? Yeah. I was more happy they pulled me out than I was concerned they put me in the pool. I'm not going to blame them for a lack of foresight, we were freshmen in high school.

I've hazed other people pretty bad too. I'm not going to share the details. Retrospectively I think everyone between 14 and 18 is severely stupid most of the time.

I threw a kid down a flight of stairs more than once. I almost set fire to a wetland (I put it out...) I've spent years creating experiences I can draw on for a career as a novelist...

If you want to be in the white house, you've got to be able to rough house.

Besides Barack Obama was skipping high school and blowing coke. Some of my best friends snort yay, but I'd never vote for them for anything.

I don't get how you and your friends being terrible people has anything to do with Romney.

[Major Hemorrhoid's Brother]

I don't get how you and your friends being terrible people has anything to do with Romney.

He is showing how it is appart of allmost everyones childhood. Mine, his, Romneys, Obamas and most likely yours. If your going to whine about Romeny then you should be whining about Obama and bullys in general. This is just the media trying to destroy Romneys reputation.

[charles the hammer]

He is showing how it is appart of allmost everyones childhood. Mine, his, Romneys, Obamas and most likely yours. If your going to whine about Romeny then you should be whining about Obama and bullys in general. This is just the media trying to destroy Romneys reputation.

Can't we do both? I mean we can be against bullies and Romney's bullying. I also hate the whole "everyone does it" crock. Even if they did, doesn't make it right.

[s.rwitt]

Clearly with a global financial crisis and a war going on what we really need to be worried about is what the candidates were doing when they were teenagers. Or what they say now about what they did when they were teenagers.

Because that's what's important.

[fkizz]

Bullies usually got bullied on a similiar scale. It's a cycle. If someone is a bully, he is not a "bull", just a revengful partly-traumatized kid, that got that from another revengful partly-traumatized kid. Not as simple as histerical media portrays it.

[xcorps]

It's even more baffling why this is even a discussion, because it didn't happen. The family of the kid who was pranked/"bullied" is unhappy about the coverage and says that the now deceased "victim" would be outraged by the story. The Washington Post got some of the basic facts wrong, and it wrote an editorial peice in the guise of "journalistic reporting".

If you want to discuss the evils of bullying that's great. But you'll have to find another posterchild. There's nothing here, except the fact that Obama's campaign is very happy because it deflects from the issues, similiar to the dog on the roof thing and the wife comments. Every time Romney is distracted by this crap is another notch for Obammy.

[Matthias]

It's even more baffling why this is even a discussion, because it didn't happen.

Yeah, someone already said that, I asked him to cite it, and he didn't.

The family of the kid who was pranked/"bullied" is unhappy about the coverage and says that the now deceased "victim" would be outraged by the story.

Really, what the family thinks the deceased victim would think now is irrelevant to the issue. The sister says she was never told about the bullying incident... well that's proof of exactly nothing, as lots of people never tell others of humiliating bullying, much less their sister.

If you want to discuss the evils of bullying that's great. But you'll have to find another posterchild. There's nothing here,

If Romney had responded maturely/honestly, there would be nothing here. Actually, he could have won big points by owning up to it and actually apologizing for bullying, rather than doing a non-apology and downplaying bullying.

Even the family said that it was not that bad.

Erm, the family didn't even know about it... and really can't speak for the victim anyways. Meanwhile, one of the bulliers says that the victim remembered it into adulthood and still regarded it as a vicious attack.

Really, it's being overblown. This wasn't some daily harassing that went on.

It was assault basically, done by a high schooler. Maybe it wasn't daily harassing, after all, it only took one assault to get the kid to go back to being "normal" according to Romney's views. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn't.

For those who are saying "this is just part of childhood", no it isn't, or it doesn't have to be, and shouldn't be ignored/downplayed. Saying you or others were bullied and bullied others isn't an excuse.

[xcorps]

The nice thing about politics is that you get to pick your heroes and villians, even if your reasoning is absurd.

[Astaroth]

I am by no means a fan of Romney, but even I find this slightly ridiculous. The only thing I find even more ridiculous are posts that try to use this as an opportunity to fuel Obama-is-a-Muslim conspiracy theories...

Very much Mainstream Media. Intense scrutiny and ridicule of Republican candidates. Nothing about Democratic candidates. We know almost nothing about Obama at school. Why Obama went to Pakistan in his 20s. WTF goes to Pakistan? What the hell was he doing there? Who knows. Nobody has ever asked him nor will they. The LA Times gets a video tape of Obama at a pretty scary group of Pro-Palestinian fund raisers, but refuses to release it. Obama's muslim past is whitewashed. Obama writes in his book about how he used to not pay attention in Koran class. That means he must have registered as a muslim at the school, because Indonesia at that time, only muslims did Koran class. The Christians had bible class. And his father was a muslim, so he was a muslim. He might be a christian now, but doesn't that make him an apostate? None of that is examined at all, however, everyone goes berserk about Romney being a Mormom.

[Savoyard]

Because humans are animals...?

Humans don't even practice natural selection. Did you skip high school biology?