Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Is Hatred for Mike Pence’s Marital Code Driven by Feminist Resentment?
The Rage Generating Machine went into overdrive when word got out that Vice President Mike Pence goes out of his way to avoid even the appearance of inappropriateness with women. A reporterette with Canada’s National Post says that Mike Pence’s commitment to remaining faithful to his wife is because he’s a part of … I am not making this up… “rape culture.” She writes, “The implicit reason is that he must avoid alone-time with women lest his stringent religious moral code fall apart in the presence of a little lipstick and décolletage. That is rape culture.”
How much of this hate, I wonder, is driven by feminist jealousy that Mrs. Pence has found a good, decent, loyal man?
I mean, if you’re a woman of the left, consider your dating pool is made up of men in the model of Bill Clinton. Anthony Weiner. Elliot Spitzer. Al “Release the Chakras” Gore. John Edwards. Chris “Waitress Sandwich” Dodd. Ted Kennedy. Gary Hart. Jesse Jackson. former NY Gov. David Paterson. Gary Condit. Jim McGreevey. Gavin Newsom.
You can kind of see how women on the left might resent a marriage where the man respects his wife so much he chooses to avoid even the appearance of inappropriateness.
Published in Culture
Yup, they dug around for the dirt on the Pences. And this business about them carefully avoiding even the plausible appearance of infidelity is what they found.
I knew those two were hiding dark secrets.
Exactly. My tribe against yours. Wait…, Pence gets up at 6am? What a weirdo! And just a heartbeat away. Can anything save us?!
[Rescinded by the author]
The answer is, “Whichever makes the Republican in question look worse.”
No, Ms. Reporterette. The real reason he does what he does is because of “false accusation culture”.
Our society is conditioned to believe the woman in any “he said-she said” conflict. When such a conflict goes to court however, things change as they did in the Duke Lacrosse case and others.
This false accusation culture also applies to celebrity tell-all books, Lena Dunham’s being a prime example. Okay, I never bought her story, but I’m sure a large swath of the people did. Others make up the false accusation.
No, I doubt the sight of lipstick and a little cleavage is going to turn Mike Pence into a Bill Clinton horndog. On the other hand, a Mike Pence eating alone with a beautiful woman not his wife would raise questions (particularly from his enemies) that challenge the credibility of his moral code.
I started to write, “do these people even take themselves seriously”, but of course they do. That’s the problem. They’re crazy. Life is really tough on unattractive women and while most women in most of the world know how to make themselves attractive a lot of American women haven’t figured that out, or gave up early in life or feel they’re above such things. Who knows? but it makes them go crazy.
Only by Pence becoming a pro-choice Democrat will we be freed from the horrors.
One important thing to learn from Ms Reporterette is that people like her don’t take rape very seriously.
As a female person who spends a lot of time in the company of men in a wide variety of circumstances, most of which eventually involve the ingestion of food and many of which are one-on-one, let me just say that I am impressed and grateful by how tolerant and understanding the wives and girlfriends have been about my presence in their husbands’ world.
It’s not necessarily easy or simple, and it took me a bit of time to realize that. I wasn’t as quick as I should have been to realize how important it was for the womenfolk to have a chance to get to know and trust me and understand my role.
Yes, the presence of women in the workplace—especially in situations where there is guaranteed to be both concealment and emotional intensity (out in the woods looking for an armed and dangerous escaped felon for example) can present temptations and messes can be made. I had to be a lot more mindful of this when I was younger—not that anyone would turn all Creepy-Bill-or-Anthony on me (these are Mike-Pence-types) but since they were often coming to me during times of vulnerability, they might find themselves feeling grateful, affectionate, even romantic…and then be uncomfortably worried that lines had been crossed. I considered it my job to manage those boundaries so that everything stayed nice and clear. Now that I’m older, with a grandmotherly vibe, it’s a whole lot easier.
Re # 65
For lying and liars used to permanently stain the reputation of a man who was probably innocent of the wrongdoing of which he was accused, nothing beats the the campaign against Chief Justice Clarence Thomas.
Pence knows, if he’s never alone with a woman other than his wife, the same can’t easily be done to him.
You’re making it too complicated. It’s simply the smoking gun that proves the Russians hacked our election. But we need to go through the motions of an investigation, just the same.
The left wants people free to be very autonomous. So they want to marginalize or eradicate traditional “heteronormative” married-couple signaling because, when widely practiced, it does put a damper on everyone . For example, it’s true that a young woman in the 1950’s, and her married male co-worker or boss, couldn’t go out to lunch alone together to discuss work related business without inciting gossip and disapproval.
Conservatives want to be free, and want others to be free, to establish and maintain good relationships in their families and communities. So they support married people’s efforts to avoid temptation, misunderstanding, slander; and they do or should understand and support the married couple’s need to make time for each other.
The two kinds of freedom are not compatible. And our society is at war over which kind of freedom should take priority.
This scandal over Vice President and Mrs Pence’s desire to act married to each other has galvanized me to continue arming us ( myself and Gramps) with play dough, finger paints and good books for three year olds. (We often watch the grandkids when my daughter and her husband want to go on one of her unavoidable business trips together.) Seriously, it’s reminded me that, these days, married couples actually need support and encouragement to do what they once were not just permitted but expected to do—to put their marriage first.
Ah Ha! Proof positive that …… Now where was I going with this?
I think the chaperone culture is still a thing for Romani gypsies.
Or shake hands with one (although daughters and close female relatives are acceptable)!
Late to the party, but I know that if I had *ever* had a policy (whether Pence or Coates) of planning ahead rather than hanging out & seeing what happened, my life would today be very different… congratulations to both for CHOOSING, and then following through!