Making it Whole: The (Bill) Clinton Problem

[TygrBright]

18. The term "skeeve" is a description of the behavior.

To be sure, I could have typed "engaged in predatory, exploitive, unethical and repulsive sexual conduct" over and over again, but "skeeve" is both a shorter, more expressive term (making the post more readable), and carries the emotional load of MY response to the conduct itself.

There is nothing defensible about this kind of behavior and it merits being described in opprobrious terms whether it's done by a Democrat or by a GOPpie.

I'm sorry you find the post offensive, although I did know that it has controversial aspects I tried to keep a sense of distance between the larger picture of Bill Clinton as a politician, elected official, and human being, and Bill Clinton as someone who skeeved. Or, if you prefer, someone who engaged in predatory, exploitive, unethical and repulsive sexual conduct.

We have a unique opportunity, here on DU, among the larger community of Democrats and progressives, and in the greater context of American and even Western civilization, to focus on one of the most entrenched, damaging, regressive and devolutionary flaws in our culture: The conferring of privilege on males to use and exploit females sexually without sanctions or consequences. And all the concatenated evils associated with that, from the inherently patriarchal valuation of half of our species based on characteristics of physical attractiveness as defined by males, to the economic and social disempowerment of women, to the culture of enabling, the protection of perpetrators, and the dismissal, devaluation, punishment, and retraumatization of the victims.

This is not a partisan cultural flaw. Democrats have done it, enabled it, dismissed it, covered it up, claimed it doesn't matter, attributed it to partisan rancor. Republicans have done it, enabled it, dismissed it, covered it up, claimed it doesn't matter, attributed it to partisan rancor.

What we now have the opportunity to do is differentiate between how Democrats will respond to this flaw: Changing behavior, requiring accountability from perpetrators and enablers, supporting victims and advocates, and working for long-term change; and how GOPpies respond: Claiming "Mary and Joseph did it so GAAAAAAWD must want it!" and further enabling, dismissing, covering-up behavior.

A close friend used to quote her grandmother: "Not a good idea to look in your neighbor's window and criticize the dishes in the sink when you got a sink full of dirty dishes at home."

DU is a place where we can, and should, engage in lively, vigorous discussion of all kinds of issues that affect the Party's strength, capability, policies, and future successes. Not a place where we leave flaws unexamined and shameful episodes euphemized, sanitized, and minimized into a "we're not like that" closet of denial.

One reason I chose to place this OP in the "Editorials & Other Articles" forum was my perception of this forum as a place where longer reads, more in-depth discussion, and a slower, less emotional pace of give-and-take applies. With such an emotionally-fraught topic, it could easily blow up into a long thread of flaming, personal inferences, assumptions of malicious intent, and serial alert button nightmares for the moderators, in one of the more heavily-trafficked fora.

I knew we couldn't avoid that altogether, of course. But I still think it's possible to have a discussion that's both passionate AND thoughtful here. I still don't think I'm wrong.

contextually,
Bright