As Beto O’Rourke begins his campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, he has also begun the apology tour that seems to be a necessary part of almost everybody’s campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. As noted in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday:
“At several stops [Mr. O’Rourke] used a stock campaign line that his wife, Amy, raised their three children, ‘sometimes with my help.’ He meant it to be a self-deprecating joke and a note of gratitude to his wife, but in today’s identity-politics hothouse he was quickly denounced for his male privilege.
‘Not only will I not say that again,’ Mr. O’Rourke soon responded in Iowa, ‘but I’ll be more thoughtful going forward in the way that I talk about our marriage.’”
Senator Kamala Harris will be pressed to apologize for some of the decisions she made when she was Attorney General of California as to what cases to handle and how to handle them.
Given the length of former Vice President Joe Biden’s political career, and his tendency to say things that are not entirely accurate and/or to say things in unusual ways, who knows if there is enough time between now and the election for him to get all of his apologies done.
It is interesting to compare the hyper-sensitivity of people and groups in the United States, and the willingness of our politicians to kowtow1 to them, with a recent example in Germany. Annegret Kamp-Karrenbauer, the new leader of the center-right Christian Democratic Union, joked that intersex toilets were for men “who don’t know yet if they should pee standing up or sitting down.”2 LGBT activists in the CDU demanded an apology. Ms. Kamp-Karrenbauer (known as “AKK”) refused, saying that people should lighten up and that the joke was just a part of the German tradition of carnival fun. She also said, “I have the feeling we are the most uptight nation that ever walked the earth.”3
However, if a politician in the United States told this kind of joke, consider the reaction:
- He/she would be charged with discriminating against LBGT people and other minorities.
- He/she would be accused of ridiculing people with emotional and/or other needs that require them to use intersex toilets.
- He/she would be said to be demeaning people and/or communities who have a right to live as they want without outsiders making them feel unsafe.
- Etc., etc.4
In fact, one wonders if there are any politicians in the United States who would have the courage to tell AKK’s joke5 and then stand up to the outrage over it – other than Donald Trump, of course. Which may explain some of President Trump’s appeal. People are getting tired of being criticized, and worse, by those who can’t take a joke, who think “microaggressions” are one step removed from slavery, and/or who think disagreeing is disrespect. I wonder how many of these arbiters of political and other correctness, who see themselves as society’s betters, understand that President Trump is one of the consequences of their attitude.
Which is really unfortunate because there is so much that is bad about President Trump and what he says and how he says it. But if other politicians aren’t willing to stand up against the powers of political correctness and moral absolutism, then those who have been or may still be called deplorable (or worse), or who merely have a sense of humor, are going to stay with President Trump. Because they are tired of being criticized by the guardians of PC for their alleged prejudice and so-called privilege.
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1 I wonder if one can say “kowtow” anymore, without insulting Chinese people.
2 Guy Chazan, “AKK strives to make clean break from Merkel era,” Financial Times, March 18, 2019.
3 I think many people would dispute AKK, claiming the crown for at least certain parts of the United States.
4 I’m not sure I can really come up with all, or even most, of the possible outrage. I’m just not that smart – or creative.
5 You know you are in trouble when the Germans seem have a better sense of humor than we do.
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