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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsGeorge H.W. Bush apologized for what he did. How weird is it...
Last edited Thu Oct 26, 2017, 12:24 AM - Edit history (1)
...that that apology was almost, briefly, noteworthy?...
(edited to clarify that it's the apology, rather than the act apologized for, that I was describing as "almost, briefly, noteworthy).
Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)I think that he is disabled (he could get handicapped plates).
He is surrounded by Secret Service.
So sexual assault is unexpected.
It is newsworthy. People still write about JFK, and he has been gone for years.
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)Last edited Wed Oct 25, 2017, 08:29 PM - Edit history (1)
Yes, he apologized. But the apology is an admission that he did what he did.
And I'm not sure how his disability status entered into this.
Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)Will edit the post you responded to remove any implication that it was from a long time ago.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)Not weird at all if we allow the context an individual brings to both an act and the results of that act, rather than simply concentrating on the act alone, in and of itself without context.
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)Mediumsizedhand
(531 posts)stood so close to him. 4 yrs later, he apologized his humor was not appreciated.
Kali
(55,514 posts)great username, btw
Mediumsizedhand
(531 posts)It happened four years ago. The actress was bothered seeing Obama, a man she respects, bonding, laughing, shaking hands with HW. From what I understand, when she saw a man she respect being kind to HW, it triggered her comment.
eissa
(4,238 posts)"Assault" is a pretty strong word in this case. Have some people never been in a nursing home? Elderly, particularly those suffering from some form of mental deficiency, say/do things that they never would have normally. My elderly aunt, a devout and meek woman all of her life, started swearing like a sailor and stealing blankets in her final years. It's cases like these that cause many to roll their eyes and cast doubts on actual cases of sexual assault.
bluepen
(620 posts)Most people are going to roll their eyes at this one.
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)eissa
(4,238 posts)Assault? I think that's more than a stretch.
elehhhhna
(32,076 posts)Assault legal definition of assault
The Free Dictionary legal-dictionary ...
Assault. At Common Law, an intentional act by one person that creates an apprehension in another of an imminent harmful or offensive contact.
Please note that or means or . Please note that offensive is defined by what the average normal person would find offensive. Most of us think that having someone randomly grab our ass or the front of our crotch, or breasts or penis/balls if we are a man is offensive. Heads up this all goes double if it happens to our children.
what is wrong with you?
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)n/t.
eissa
(4,238 posts)Not all are lucky enough to retain all their faculties. Im no fan of the bushes whatsoever. If there had been any evidence of past behaviors on poppys part, then we could point to a pattern of behavior, and senile or not, of course he would be rightly condemned. But Im not going to label some feeble, wheelchair-bound 90-year old as a sexual abuser if he doesnt have full control of his mind. To use another relative as an example, when my uncle was in his mid-90s he got into the habit of proposing to random women, much to the annoyance of his wife. There by the grace of god... who knows how any of us will behave when we get to that age?
Btw, I say this as sexual abuse survivor, someone who takes these issues very seriously, hence my annoyance when someone tries to exploit a definitely inappropriate situation and claim assault. It does nothing but damage the many claims of those who have truly suffered actual assaults.
Cicada
(4,533 posts)A friend of mine grew up near a school for the blind and was sent there for dances. She said the blind boys shamelessly felt them up using the excuse of their blindness.
Ms. Toad
(35,194 posts)I do know that demential can cause individuals to be unable to exercise normal behavioral controls, and that for some the behavioral they are unable to control is sexual in nature.
Feeling people up is not a normal part of blindness. Losing the ability to conform to social norms (in a whole variety of ways - including sexual behavior) IS a normal part of dementia. They are not parallel situations.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)if, say, Bill Clinton had grabbed her rear end.
Ken Burch
(50,254 posts)Nothing there was meant as minimization...and I'd be glad to change the wording on the OP to remove anything that read as minimization if you have any particular suggestions.
I don't think it's ok for anyone to grab another person's body without consent. Ever.
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)But he had dementia and lost his inhibitions even though in his young days he was a straight arrow. He would touch females inappropriately and make very inappropriate comments. It was sad.
Not liking on the Bush clan, but 90 year olds get a more understanding from me.