Joe Biden can't stop using the toxic "lock up your daughters" joke

[melman]

When Joe Biden issued a non-apology in April nodding to changing “social norms” in response to a series of accusations from women who said he had touched them inappropriately and without their consent, one thing was clear: Biden had little intention of actually changing, much less seeking forgiveness from those he had made uncomfortable. The former vice president has continued to treat the issue as a joke on the trail. Another uncomfortable habit of his surfaced on Wednesday that almost as clearly shows the type of retrograde personal approach to interacting with women Biden refuses to relinquish.

After meeting an Iowa voter’s 13-year-old granddaughter in Eldridge on Wednesday, Biden addressed the girl’s brothers, telling them, “You’ve got one job here, keep the guys away from your sister.”


--

Of course, Biden’s intended audience isn’t the girls he’s supposedly addressing, but any boy, man, or potential authority figure within earshot of those girls. It’s a verbal elbow nudge signaling to the girl’s father, grandfather, mother, or brother that they’d better keep their daughter/granddaughter/sister on lockdown, or reap the heavily implied consequences. Meanwhile, at no point do the girls and young women Biden addresses have the agency to say whether they feel like they need protecting. It also unnecessarily suggests to them that their appearance, which they cannot control, will inevitably put them in danger.

--


Biden has been able to use this line because some part of him recognizes that the people he’s addressing are largely powerless to respond. They are young girls and women who have already been taught to be embarrassed by their bodies and their appearance, who are now forced to listen and laugh nervously as a very powerful man uses their budding sexuality as the butt of his joke.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/06/joe-biden-iowa-2020-campaign-teenage-girl-fence-warning.html

[yuiyoshida]

1. No wonder Elizabeth Warren is gaining on him...

He best be careful or he will end up a non-electable Candidate.

[marylandblue]

2. Should we risk nominating a straight white male? SARCASM ALERT.

Last edited Wed Jun 12, 2019, 09:43 PM - Edit history (1)

Edited to add because people can't take a joke from the eighties when their candidate makes a joke even older than that.

[yuiyoshida]

3. I like Biden however...

My Candidate is Harris...

[mobeau69]

6. I can enthusiastically support Kamal if she's our nominee.

[yuiyoshida]

11. I will except whoever is nominee

Even if (sadly) its someone I don't care for. #GoBLUE!

[emmaverybo]

30. No, we must have a Black gay woman just to stay on the safe side. There would be no criticism

of such a candidate ever. SARCASM

[highplainsdem]

61. And we must make sure that female candidate humorlessly recites the most extreme talking points

every time any male in her vicinity, or any male she hears of, dares to breathe, let alone speak.




As a woman who's been a feminist since the 1960s, I am sick of the self-righteous self-appointed purity police who are now making a sad joke of an important movement.

[emmaverybo]

71. Thank you!

[marylandblue]

68. Sorry, I forgot my own SARCASM disclaimer. Didn't think I needed it. Sheesh.

[emmaverybo]

92. That was great sarcasm. Really.

[Fiendish Thingy]

94. Wanda Sykes would get my vote!

The ratings for the State of the Union would go through the roof!

[metroins]

84. Race, Gender or Sexuality shouldn't matter

So yes, whoever is the best candidate should be nominated.

[mobeau69]

4. Hell, he's barely spent any time In Iowa

and he's already gaffing it up.

Next up. We have a deep bench. Let's use it.

[zonkers]

86. Yup. Facepalm. He went there.

And it’s still the preseason.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

114. I thought Joe, as he explained, had realized that times have changed...

yet, he continues to make the same mistake over and over again. How is this possible?! Amazing!!


Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[ehrnst]

199. So, you're saying that when "times change" that politicians are supposed to adjust?

But I thought that meant they were "inconstant."

[Dream Girl]

5. Reminds me of that old joke - How many feminists does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

I get it, but sheesh...I have had people say the same thing to me about my gorgeous son, many, many times through the years. Were they making him the butt of their jokes...Were they really think about how powerless he would be to respond, how ashamed he was of his appearance or bodies, that would put him in danger? People say this kind of thing all the time...Agree that it's outdated, but jeez.

[58Sunliner]

12. How many does it take? Please proceed...

[Clash City Rocker]

32. The punch line is

“That’s not funny.”

It addresses the old notion that feminists don’t have a sense of humor. It’s unfair, because the rampant sexism that happens in this country isn’t a laughing matter. But, in the modern era, I think most feminists have a fine sense of humor.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

8. He's not going to change. He either doesn't understand that this kind of humor -- which relies

on how women and girls look, makes assumptions about how they want to live their lives and is condescending -- is tired and outdated, or he doesn't care.

Calling attention to the way Biden makes jokes does not mean he's unlikable or unelectable. When people I love say shitty things, I point it out to them so they can do better. I no longer expect Biden to do better, but I will certainly continue to object when he doesn't.

[Perseus]

18. It is not only these jokes, he tends to say a lot of stupid stuff that gets him in trouble

I like Biden, but I wish he was not running, he is from the old school, and he likes to pander to the repubs (they are all his friends), he wants to be liked by all, just like he said he likes Dick Cheney, Democrats hear that and they cringe...I cringe...

[spooky3]

65. Agree. Why doesn't he recognize that this behavior is

Offensive to many of us, and that he should stop it even if he just doesn’t understand what’s wrong with it? It is disturbing that he’s been told repeatedly about this, yet he doesn’t change the behavior. Maybe Pres. Obama needs to have a very frank chat with him.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

115. Yes, it's clear Joe is not going to change, no mattter how many people point out the obvious.

I don't get why he doesn't get it.


Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Demsrule86]

142. That works for me...why should he?

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

201. Maybe cuz he said he WOULD!!

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[Demsrule86]

212. I find no issue with what he has done before and there have been no breathless reports of shoulder

touching lately-it seems rather desperate to me...I guess Sirorta's plan backfired...

[ehrnst]

198. But not changing is supposed to be a good thing, right?

Staying exactly the same for 30 years is supposed to indicate "ethics" right?

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

200. It can be... never said otherwise. Here's what I actually DID say:

"I thought Joe, as he explained, had realized that times have changed."

In this case, Joe's realization that times have changed was a good thing and, in fact, I complemented Joe several times after he stated that he realizes times have changed, and that he would make adjustments in his behavior to reflect the fact that he realizes times have changed.

So, when someone like Joe finally realizes that times have changed, yes, a GOOD move by Joe to realize that, it's even a BETTER move, if, within just weeks of saying that he realizes times have changed, to NOT go back to saying things like he did before he realized times have changed.

In other words, once someone comes to the realization that times have changed, one should KEEP realizing times have changed, so people will believe that when you say you realize times have changed, that you really understood that times have changed.


Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[ehrnst]

202. Again... not changing when "the times" do, is considered by some to be a mark

of ethical purity.

[58Sunliner]

9. I don't understand why he doesn't get that it is demeaning and inappropriate.

He is sexualizing a pubescent girl. Creeeepy.

[Chemisse]

67. Almost all old men and all sexist men still think that is appropriate.

It's highly annoying and never cute or funny.

[Blue_true]

197. If I had children, I would tell them the same thing about sex when the time was appropriate.

That they should be cautious about their reputations and avoid getting into serious relationships at such a young age. And either avoid sex completely or make sure that both participants use birth control. The message would not be any different for a son than it would be for a daughter. My preference would be for a child to avoid sex completely through high school and even in college, dating would be ok, that is how they evaluate people, but dating can happen without sex.

[Scurrilous]

10. The author already DQed Biden over a statement he made back in May.

Last edited Wed Jun 12, 2019, 08:50 PM - Edit history (1)

Link to tweet

If at first you don't succeed....




Meanwhile, a blast from the past:

Bernie Sanders, Your Cool Socialist Grandpa

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/01/opinion/campaign-stops/bernie-sanders-your-cool-socialist-grandpa.html

[IluvPitties]

13. Making a big deal about nothing.

[left-of-center2012]

14. Biden haters got to hate

[WhiskeyGrinder]

15. It's shitty when Grandpa says it, it's shitty when a teacher says it, it's shitty when a parent's

colleague says it...it's shitty when Joe Biden says it, too.

[IluvPitties]

26. For most Americans, it's nothing but a joke.

That's all.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

27. What's funny about it?

Seriously, walk me through the joke.

[IluvPitties]

36. The joke is the ridiculous attemps of make Biden look like a pervert

in order to help candidates that currently ate trailing way behind. That is funny and sad at the same time.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

38. No no, I mean Biden saying "You've got one job here, keep the guys away from your sister" to

a teen girl's brothers. People keep saying it's a joke and meant to be funny, and that it's not harmful for him to say it, sooo....

[IluvPitties]

43. I care about real issues, not some lame joke by a politician.

[Ohiogal]

64. If I were the teen girl

That comment would make me very uncomfortable. That an old guy like Biden would be noticing me in that way.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

66. Same.

[Ohiogal]

73. And, as a teen girl

(granted, a million years ago) ....

I was a young pretty girl and I heard my dad and his friends say things like that about me. It always made me extremely uncomfortable. It just seemed like men couldn't think about a girl in any other way except sexually, even a young innocent one. I tried to just ignore it but it does rattle you. I don't think younger guys today would say such a thing, it's that Biden is of that generation. It's not a huge deal as far as him being President, if he ends up being the nominee, I'll vote for him.... but why can't men understand that these kinds of comments are creepy? It's not rocket science! Why can't they stop saying those things????

[emmaverybo]

78. I'd have been flattered poor me, was an ugly duckling at 13 and had no brothers.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

80. I'm sorry you had to deal wtih that.

[Vdizzle]

93. FFS... stop it! All of us.

Keep your mother effing eyes on the prize. Stop nitpicking over generational bullshit. Just stop.

We can deal with the details later. Now is the time to get the person that will get the orange shitgibbon ousted.

Stop with the PC and feelings hurt bullshit. Let’s lock it up and get it done. We can sort out the details of how PC and progressive we want to get later. Immediate needs first. Tertiary needs later.

Get it together. Get real. Stop bickering. Get the country back.

[emmaverybo]

96. Sensible advice.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

100. "We can deal with the details later. Now is the time to get the person that will get the orange shit

gibbon ousted."

I think we can do both. Focusing on the details can help us strengthen all our candidates. Women, black people, people of color, poor people, disabled people -- anyone who lives in the margins -- have been told time and time again to just wait until after the election, wait until we win, because this next election is the most important one ever, and THEN we can talk about these issues.

Respect, equality and a better world are not tertiary needs. Expecting our candidates to do better will help us all do better.

[Vdizzle]

111. Agreed.

I was more so requesting that we stop infighting. Yes Biden is flawed. So is everyone else in their way. I am just saying that we need to look to the one candidate that can and will defeat the current squatter in the White House. We need to pick our horse and rally behind them. We need to stop these nitpicks over every single issue. We need to stick to the macro issues. The ones that will motivate the most voters to turn out. The zealous and passionate among us aren’t my worry. They will turn out to vote for our candidate. The comfortable somewhat-progressive suburbanites that make up a large portion of our base are the ones I worry about. They can be fickle and prone to apathy. They can be caught up in their careers and think everything will work our one way or another. I want them energized. I want them to put down their iPads and Facebook. I want them mailing in their ballot or heading to polls as early as possible. I want them to give a shit. But when the main objective gets muddied with so many digs and criticism from angles they don’t necessarily relate to, they get to the point where it is just too much.

Keep it simple. To the point. Climate change, LGBTQ issues, women issues, abortion, corruption, electoral remedy, universal healthcare, universal education, proper immigration policy...... these are the main issues and there are already quite a lot! Stick with those. Hammer down our position in the media and on the campaign trails. Let the one with best policy positions prevail.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

112. Welcome to primary season.

[Lordquinton]

193. Well...

Climate change, LGBTQ issues, women issues, abortion, corruption, electoral remedy, universal healthcare, universal education, proper immigration policy

Bolded for emphasis.

[Lordquinton]

192. I think you have it backwards

Now is the time to work out who we want to represent us.

Any candidate can beat trump. Any of them. Now is the time we work out the details of who we want to put out there and say "This is our best"

[get the red out]

204. Thank you!

Bigger worries right now.

[emmaverybo]

95. I had a dad though. And yeah, he was protective when older boys in the neighborhood

encountered me alone in the schoolyard roller skating and said some truly scary and inappropriate
stuff. They never talked to me again and I imagine they thought twice about it with any other little girl.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

102. I'm sorry that happened to you.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

133. I hear ya... should be apparent to most who are aware, including Joe!!

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[customerserviceguy]

33. And who is the butt of the joke?

The brothers? Biden himself, engaging in a little bit of self-deprecating humor? No, it's the young lady herself in this case. It would be bad enough if he had made the remark about one of his own family members, but to make it about someone else's family member, after they had taken the initiative to introduce her, is embarrassing to everyone present.

Joe's gotta apologize for this one.

[IluvPitties]

37. Biden is being accused of horrible things by political opponents

and he is being facetious about it.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

42. Wait, so Biden is...making a joke like that to show...he doesn't make jokes like that?

[IluvPitties]

48. Your point is that Biden is a nasty old man. I got it.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

57. Actually, I think Biden is generally a good person -- a good person who is also out of touch about

quite a few things, some consequential, some not. I'm just not a fan of defending crappy behavior, whether it's from someone I like or someone I dislike.

[Ohiogal]

75. Agree 100%.

[customerserviceguy]

82. And good people

apologize when they've wronged someone, whether they intended to do wrong or not.

Can anybody imagine Trump apologizing for anything at all?

[True Dough]

87. Out of touch is exactly right

When it repeatedly needs to be pointed out and explained to him, we have reason to be concerned. He's not going to have an epiphany in regards to how the times have changed.

And, yes, he's a decent person overall. But he has a major blind spot when it comes to feminism and equality.

[Demsrule86]

145. I think many piling on Biden and repeating GOP memes are out of touch with reality...he will win. I

see no other candidate who will take a general...none.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

154. A person can think Biden is the only one who can beat Trump

Last edited Thu Jun 13, 2019, 12:19 PM - Edit history (1)

and also think he can do better. Expressing a wish for him to do better doesn’t mean someone won’t vote for him.

[shanny]

183. I think Biden's numbers are based on

universal name recognition and nostalgia for the Obama years. As such, I think it is as high as it will go and I think incidents like this are why his campaign is limiting his appearances.

I don't think he will be the nominee and I don't think it will be a blow to our party if he isn't. Already, before the first debate and wide exposure of our deep bench, polls show 5 of our candidates beating tRump.

Should we get complacent? Of course not. But we should also not get locked in to Biden because he's the only one / best we've got / etc.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

185. I agree.

[customerserviceguy]

45. He won't get away with that

if he has to debate almost any of our female candidates.

[IluvPitties]

56. If we keep eating our own based on trivial stuff

The GOP will eat us for lunch. We need to focus on what's truly important. People don't care about Biden's antiquated sense of humor, Beto's videos or Warren's Native American heritage. America needs to be saved from the bigoted kakistocracy ruling us.

Let's focus on issues, on true policy differences.

[customerserviceguy]

62. For the most part

there are not a lot of policy differences. If Trump taught presidential campaigners anything, it was to be as outrageous as you can be, to suck the oxygen out of the room to suffocate the opposition. I expect at least one of Biden's debate opponents to do just that.

[Demsrule86]

143. He is a great debater and if our female candidates bring up a Dad's protective urges towards his

daughters, they will look foolish to the rest of the country and it will harm their already slim chances.

[customerserviceguy]

168. I'm not saying it won't be counterproductive

for them if they do, but I expect at least Gillibrand to try this if she meets up with Biden at the first debate. She's already shown that she will toss any other Democratic politician under the bus if it meets her political needs. And she knows that she needs headlines out of her first debate if she's got any chance of there being a second one.

It would not surprise me if Warren joins in on the attacks, in my opinion, she's already looking past Bernie, and is itching to find a way to take support away from Biden.

[Chemisse]

72. That's right, for all sexist Americans it's a joke.

And most men don't notice that it's sexist.

But it is offensive to self-respecting women.

[IluvPitties]

76. So Biden is sexist?

[emmaverybo]

90. No, for many traditionals it isn't sexist, but real life. Fathers and brothers protect smaller, more

vulnerable family members, and especially females, from actual and aggressive sexist acts, as well as talk that is sexually abusive.
Turning tradition into a joking compliment is normal, not perverted or sinister unless one is doing it with a lacivious air, probably out of earshot of family, and as a grooming tool.
Don’t impose your brand of feminism on every girl or woman. Your brand is extreme, humorless, and harmful as it engenders distrust. Distrust can be a protective mechanism.
But distrusting conventional and harmless humor can be itself harmful.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

81. DU is not

like most Americans.

[Demsrule86]

144. You are right...Democratic voters are more conservative on the whole than is reflected at DU...this

is why Biden is ahead in the polls and will win the primary. I think he has a good shot at winning the general too.

[shanny]

186. Actually I think the reverse is true

and Biden is ahead in the polls because of universal name recognition and nostalgia. I don't think he will gain much support from here (something reflected on this board too) and will likely lose ground as other, lesser-known candidates make their cases.

Biden was at about 30% approval the day he declared, rose to 41% or so in the next two weeks...and has been dropping ever since. It's now back to a little over where he began (32%). There are more than 20 other candidates in the race, all with some level of support. All of those voters are familiar with Biden but are picking someone else. Will he pick up some? Sure. Enough? I doubt it...and the next 4 candidates rack up 41% of the vote.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html

[jalan48]

16. He knows Trump is going to try and paint him as some kind of perv. Check out the Internet

if you want an idea of what is coming. It looks like Biden's trying to take a humorous approach to counter Trump's dirty tricks.

[Perseus]

17. There is a saying in Latin Countries, it is meant for people who open their mouths and then...

they get in trouble.

Its hard to translate and make it sound right but here it goes:

"The fish dies by mouth." "El pez muere por la boca."

Biden is a fish, and has always been, he has gotten in trouble so many times for saying the wrong things, and I am concerned that he is going to do it again giving ammunition to the repubs. Has anyone wondered why the buffoon pretends to be worried about Biden? I believe Biden is going to give them so much to talk about that he is the ideal opponent for the buffoon.

Many will say, how about the buffoon? He says stupid things every day, almost every hour...true, but there is a big difference, Democrats don't have any idea how to make big deals about the stupidity that the buffoon says, granted that its hard to keep up, which is his strategy, so his constant stupidity is expected, but repubs know how to milk anything Democrats say that may break the mold, even if it is of no consequence, and Biden is going to give him that. As a matter of fact, these stupid jokes is the first gift.

[IluvPitties]

39. Biden es un gran servidor pblico.

Están ahogándose en un vaso de agua.

[customerserviceguy]

40. Good points

We can't beat Trump with Trump-lite. Joe needs to apologize and change his ways. If he draws Gillibrand as a fellow debater in the first debate, she'll savage him for this other questionable behaviors.

[IluvPitties]

50. Gillibrand? Bah.

[customerserviceguy]

59. I've read that she met the threshold for the first debate

Joe has a fifty-fifty chance of drawing her as a participant in his half of the debate. She knows that she almost didn't make the cut, and needs to do something almost desperate to get to the next debate.

She's hammered hard on the "Me Too" movement, and she knows she'd get headlines out of hoisting Joe Biden on his own petard. Nobody in the under 3% group is going to move on simply on saying, "What he/she said."

There's an old adage about well-behaved women seldom making history. I'm sure Gillibrand knows it.

[BannonsLiver]

173. So what?

[customerserviceguy]

175. It will weaken Joe Biden

as we head through the primary season, without necessarily elevating anyone making the charge into the top tier. If you're for a candidate other than Biden, I guess that's good news.

[BannonsLiver]

178. I doubt any of the candidates are scared of Kirsten Gillibrand including Biden.

It’s just as likely she would come off looking badly. She’s frankly not a particularly strong speaker. And besides, they’re all going to have a go at him.

[customerserviceguy]

181. Of course she'll look bad

Did that stop her from going after Al Franken? Did that stop Sens. Warren, Booker, Sanders, and Harris from dog piling on? Did that stop her from declaring her candidacy for president?

The news media are like sharks, they love the smell and taste of blood in the water. It will give her the headlines she craves to get to the next threshold of debate qualification.

[ucrdem]

19. Sounds like a Hyde article rescued from the recycler.

Should have stayed there as it makes Slate sound sillier than Common Screams. Both of which used to be good, sigh.

[Hekate]

20. I am so not impressed with this line of attack. *Someone* is trying to paint Joe as a perv

People who purvey this junk are not helping the Democratic cause nor are they helping any other Democratic candidate.

If you (plural collective you, I'm not picking on the OP) have a strong preference for another candidate, spit it out. Tell us why. Persuade us. Stop doing Donald Trump's dirty work by tearing down Our Democratic Candidates: Trump is not fit to wipe their shoes.

[sheshe2]

28. +1000

If you (plural collective you, I'm not picking on the OP) have a strong preference for another candidate, spit it out. Tell us why. Persuade us. Stop doing Donald Trump's dirty work by tearing down Our Democratic Candidates: Trump is not fit to wipe their shoes.

Brava. Thank you Hekate.

[lapucelle]

58. I read the article, and there is no quote about "locking up your daughters".

The toxic joke the headline claims is not there. Is this clickbait or projection on the part of Slate?

[Cha]

60. Really? Why

Last edited Wed Jun 12, 2019, 09:54 PM - Edit history (1)

is that the headline then.. do you think, lapucelle?

Never mind.. I see it's just meant to sensationalize.

Mahalo

[lapucelle]

104. Clickbait headlines probably helped to elect Trump.

So many people were tricked in 2016. We can't let it happen again.

Mahalo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[sheshe2]

83. Thanks, lapucelle.

You are correct. That "quote" was never "quoted" in the article.

[lapucelle]

108. The "line" refered to in the decontextualized excerpt

in the original post (the line that Biden "gets away with" ) is this:

“No serious guys until you’re 30”.

Here's the context:

It’s worth noting that Biden met his wife on a blind date when Jill Biden was just 23 years old, which shows the hypocrisy of his “no serious guys until you’re 30” rhetoric.

Biden resurfacing this joke on the campaign trail once again shows that he has neither the desire nor the will to confront his past behavior toward women. And why would he, when he has apparently been able to rely on this laugh line for decades?

Biden has been able to use this line because...

[emmaverybo]

41. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[HopeAgain]

110. I don't see this painting him as a perv

Just as not suited for 2019 politics.

[Hekate]

121. Read the interesting subthread of replies to my post. There was no such joke in the article...

...just a sensationalized headline as clickbait and/or shit stirring, take your pick.

Oh, and a DUer who chose to post it as an OP.

[Scurrilous]

131. ...

[Otto Lidenbrock]

21. Obama made this joke once about his own daughters

He might be super-busy, but Barack wants a certain trio of teen heartthrobs to know that he still keeps a very watchful eye on his two adolescent daughters…

The commander-in-chief used Saturday's White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, D.C. to issue a warning to Joe, Nick and Kevin, who were in attendance for the star-studded gala.

"Sasha and Malia are huge fans but, boys, don't get any ideas," the President said. "I have two words for you: predator drones."

[WhiskeyGrinder]

23. It was shitty when Obama did it, too.

[Otto Lidenbrock]

29. Given it was the WH Correspondents Dinner

I assume the whole room laughed.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

31. People laugh at shitty jokes all the time!

[Otto Lidenbrock]

44. Well I just find this overblown

It's an age-old joke. Not some patriarchal bullshit.

We live in an age where young girls have their own instagram pages and are pimped out by their own families, TV, the music industry and online networks. If people want a serious discussion on using young girls as objects start with that.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

46. It's an age-old joke that is also patriarchal bullshit.

We live in an age where young girls have their own instagram pages and are pimped out by their own families, TV, the music industry and online networks. If people want a serious discussion on using young girls as objects start with that.

Why not both?

[highplainsdem]

47. Y'know, being a feminist shouldn't have to mean being judgmental and humorless.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

52. Refusing to participate in your own subjugation is not being humorless, although oppressors

often describe it that way.

Biden can still be folksy, lovable and relatable without being telling tired jokes about women and girls. It's not hard. Plenty of candidates do it!

[highplainsdem]

63. Describing that joke as "subjugation" IS humorless. I guess Obama and Biden can't meet

your purity standards.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

69. Oh, I don't worry about purity. I vote for people I don't like all the goddamn time. But I do

think it's important to talk about how we can expect more out of our candidates.

[Skya Rhen]

99. You nailed it! To some, Obama is not even worthy. Maybe these pure people with their pure thoughts

and pure choice of words/language should run for President. They would make a perfectly pure role model for our children.

[Ohiogal]

105. Yes....this.

[emmaverybo]

51. I am sorry, but you must have difficulty surrounded by micro aggressions, even in songs, films,

reader’s digest cartoons...and how much more the really insulting stuff like, never mind.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

53. Thanks for the concern! Calling out bullshit energizes me.

[Demsrule86]

140. No one cares...seriously and Warren is not going to beat Biden either...face it.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

164. Not sure why you pulled Warren into it, but okay.

If Biden is our candidate, I want him to be better. That's all.

[LanternWaste]

150. There was no self-righteous criticism when he did it.

only now, when it's politically convenient, does it finally become a concern. Allegedly.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

162. There was -- but for joking about drones.

[Loki Liesmith]

152. Moral scolds need a better adjective than "shitty"

It’s played

[WhiskeyGrinder]

159. Disappointing? It's definitely disappointing. But unsurprising.

[Chemisse]

74. It's a funny way to express it, but it's still sexist.

Obama would not have said this about sons.

[Demsrule86]

141. My husband has said it so the idea that this is a sexist thing won't work...many Dads have said it

about their daughters...my grown accountant daughter is staying with us as she got a new job in our area...her Dad asked her as she went out on a date...don't you think that dress is a bit to short? This is how daughter and Dads have always been...and some just make themselves look small when they harp on something so silly...the same voters that elected Hillary will elect Biden in 20...I would bet on it. I don't see any other candidate able to win a general so it works for me... and I like Biden. He is a good man and deserves better from some on this site.

[BannonsLiver]

174. Most people not looking for a problem wouldn't bat an eye

[Chemisse]

210. This kind of comment has always annoyed me.

I would never have brought it up in the context of a political contest, but since it is the topic of discussion in this thread, I am happy to have a chance to denounce this relic of old-fashioned sexist attitudes toward young girls.

Just because you support a particular candidate doesn't mean you can't criticize certain behaviors. He can learn something from it.

[BannonsLiver]

211. K

[LibFarmer]

22. David Sirota is panicking

and sending communiques to devotees to rev up the smear machine.

[crazytown]

34. My thoughts as well.

Biden is not my preferred candidate, but I've got no time for this sort of trash. Sirota is bad news.

[zentrum]

24. The main thing he never

...got was the effect of how the treatment of Anita Hill made hundreds of thousands of women say to themselves, "This is why I can never come forward and tell what's going on for me. At work or at school."

As Chairman he set the whole tone for her public humiliation and worst of all---he refused to let testify the women who would have supported her. He let Thomas testify twice and Hill only once.

This is the part of the whole Hill travesty---the effect on masses of women. He needs to apologize to us.

If he did, I sure didn't hear him. Say it louder, Joe.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

132. The apology was generally FOR the way Anita had been treated... not FROM Joe himself.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[zentrum]

156. Sorry, but I'm not

...quite getting your point.

Isn't that the whole problem? He's not getting how, as chairman of the committee, he set the tone FOR how she was treated.

He's not yet apologized for a whole spectrum of things that were wrong with the questioning of Anita Hill.

[shanny]

187. I think the poster you responded to agrees with you:

Biden "regretted" the way Anita Hill was treated...as if he had nothing to do with it.

[zentrum]

194. Ah-ha. Thanks. Kind

Last edited Thu Jun 13, 2019, 05:22 PM - Edit history (1)

.....of like that old joke about the guy who loads a gun, aims it, cocks it---and then can't figure out how "shots rang out".

[CharleyDog]

25. These comments refer to the girl as a sex object. That's it. She's only that.

The comments imply she will be coming home pregnant (slut). He only sees her as her sexual role.

Pro tip for Biden: talk to girls the SAME WAY you talk to boys. "What's your favorite subject?" or "What do you want to be when you grow up?" It's not that hard.

[Skya Rhen]

79. Whoa! Keep it classy, now - keep it classy.

[Demit]

97. He's been making the same creepy comment to young girls for years.

First he asks their age. Then he either says "No dating till you're thirty" (har-har) or, if her brother is there, it's the "you got one job, keep the guys away from your sister."

To Biden, girls only exist in relation to the boys in their lives. Boys will be after them, and boys are the ones who will protect them. It's not a good message, if it ever was. He is hopelessly out of step with the times.

[DesertRat]

136. +1000 nt

[spooky3]

158. Sam Bee included clips of these over time, last night

on Full Frontal.

https://www.tbs.com/shows/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee/season-4/episode-13/june-12-2019

[shanny]

188. + a zillion

[Mme. Defarge]

35. By all means, go for it!

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287144065

[cwydro]

49. Yeah, I wish he'd quit that.

There’s no reason to do that, and it’s not funny in the least.

[highplainsdem]

54. What's toxic is that silly op-ed.

[Chemisse]

77. You don't have to be so defensive. It's sexist but we all will still vote against Trump.

If Joe is the one, the lock up your daughters attitude will still pale in comparison with having your daughters give you a lap dance.

[Scurrilous]

130. So toxic it couldn't go viral.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Joe+Biden+can%27t+stop+using+the+toxic+%22lock+up+your+daughters%22+joke&oq=Joe+Biden+can%27t+stop+using+the+toxic+%22lock+up+your+daughters%22+joke&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i61.1486j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

6 hours in and the OP and Justin Devon's Animal Forum are the only sites (so far) that have linked to it.

[Wash. state Desk Jet]

55. In the age of trumpism ?

Corey Lewandowski & Hope Hicks’ Affair: From Fire to Fury
https://www.earnthenecklace.com/corey-lewandowski-hope-hicks-affair

Jan 04, 2018 · Michael Wolff’s book, Fire and Fury: Inside the White House, alleges that Hope Hicks and a married Corey Lewandowski were having an affair.Hicks is Trump’s communications director while Corey Lewandowski was his campaign manager. The book also reveals that Trump told Hicks, “You’re the best piece of tail he’ll ever have.”

It just might not be a joke the way you think it is.

[hibbing]

70. Please retire from politics Joe n/t

[Skya Rhen]

85. Some wish this for this to happen but most don't. He will be our next President because we want him.

[shanny]

195. lol

No, we don't and he won't.

[Demsrule86]

146. No Why should he...he is the only one that will stop Trump and all of those who just want a

'progressive' candidate won't face the fact that these candidates will lose...Biden is a good guy and progressive in fact but appeals to moderates...he can beat Trump, and I am damned if I will go along with another left left attempt at destroying the candidate most likely to win...so far most see through this.

[pazzyanne]

88. I just decided to take the night off from DU.

Usually when I come here I get inspired and get my batteries recharged. Not tonight. I can not handle the snark here tonight. Have a good evening everyone. I will hopefully be back tomorrow. Peace!

[yaesu]

89. I'm not defending what he said but Biden is old school, back in the day this was a statement of

affection, it was something commonly said. We now know to keep our yaps shut about such things knowing the caustic world women & girls must live in.

[Tarc]

91. It's just boys talk in the locker room, right?

Harris, Warren, one of you please break this cycle.

[Scurrilous]

98. No one is saying that.

So, not right.

[Tarc]

163. This is exactly what Biden is doing

[emmaverybo]

101. This, which as it turns out he did not say recently, is not locker room talk. It is far from

that in anyone’s definition of the term.

[melman]

106. This was this morning

[emmaverybo]

109. He did not say anything about locking the girl up. Not quoted in the article as saying that line.

So, click bait head-line. Now pick apart what he actually is quoted as having said. I am more
interested in the fact that Trump has just signaled foreign governments that he is up for their dirt
on his rivals.

[oasis]

103. The horror...oh the horror!

[Aussie105]

107. Biden's jokes

are out of touch with current thinking and current sensitivities.

By about 20 years.

Update your thinking, buddy!

Funny once, now worthy of a facepalm.

(Is there a smiley for 'foot in mouth'? Can't seem to find one.)

[Politicub]

113. It makes him seem out of touch

To him and a lot of other people, it’s an innocent joke. But not to everyone.

The optics are bad, and I wish he would think twice before saying stuff like this.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

135. This exactly!! Not every thought in one's head has to come out of one's mouth...it's simple judgment

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[ecstatic]

116. Silly-season articles like this will only help Biden. His haters should

find another strategy. This isn't a winning one.

[melman]

117. Here's a thought

Maybe he should just stop saying stuff like this.

[George II]

119. Why? What did he say that was bad, and why was it bad? I'll wait.

[melman]

120. No need to wait

There's a whole article about it in the first post.

[George II]

122. Except that Biden didn't say "lock up your daughters" in that opinion piece (not article)....

....so still waiting.

[melman]

123. So you read it?

Then you know what he said.

[emmaverybo]

129. I just read it. On the occasion this hit piece recounts, Biden does not say the line used in the

headline. He does not say the family members should lock the young lady up. Let me repeat, the “Slate” hit piece does not quote him as having said that.

[Skya Rhen]

125. There is a hashtag for that - #BidenEnvy

[BannonsLiver]

177. His critics are going through a lot of ammo early in the race.

The Anita Hill stuff, Joe touches too much, Hyde and the “Biden is the cause of mass incarceration” lines of attack have all been played and used up to almost no effect. By the end they may be attacking his hair, or something equally inane.

[d_b]

118. Daughters can't resist shirtless, Trans Am Joe.

This is known.

[Scurrilous]

124. OTOH polls show shirtless, pant less Bernie is quite resistible.

Link to tweet

[Skya Rhen]

126. Quite resistable - ewww...

[mr_lebowski]

127. Sometimes I feel a bit embarrassed about being a liberal ...

Reading this article was one of those times.

SMDH ...

[MarcA]

128. Guess one of the brothers could have responded

"hey gramps, whose job is it to keep you on your meds?" I mean its just
a harmless joke about old people, right?

[shanny]

189. heh

[dalton99a]

134. Meh. The folks in the nursing homes like it

[elias7]

137. So my 13 year old is not going harassed by men/boys in this new age?

I guess I didn’t get the memo that times had changed. How is Joe outdated when I have read for years here on DU from female posters that they generally have gotten unwanted unsolicited comments from men since about age 13?

Well! I’m glad that’s over now and we don’t have to face the old reality that men/boys will harass girls once they hit puberty.

Next up, don’t have that cop talk with your kids, African American parents, because racism is outdated.

[Skya Rhen]

139. Agreed! Those who believe that teen girls won't have to watch out for boys are the DELUSIONAL ones.

[elias7]

148. And to complaints that he is sexualizing a 13 year old...

Society does that just fine without him and to say that it doesn't is just willful denial. To say that he is outdated for pointing out that she will be sexualized, so be on the lookout, is unfortunate. I wish it were outdated, and perhaps the days where females need or want males looking out for them in chivalrous fashion is passé, but what mother has not had "that" discussion with their 13 year old daughter?

[Demit]

161. You're right. Mothers have the discussion with their daughters. Not with her brothers.

A mother tells her daughter what to look out for, how to look out for herself. She doesn't imply that her daughter is helpless, that she needs a male relative to keep other males away.

[Skya Rhen]

169. A good mother would also tell her children to look out for each other. What a self-centered

society we are becoming if we are expected to tell our kids to look out for themselves only. It's just sad, actually.

[Demit]

170. Oh for heaven's sake. We were talking about whether girls need males to watch over them,

the way Joe Biden seems to think they do. You are changing the subject to something entirely different. Probably because you instinctively recognize that it is the PARENTS' job to address their 13-year-old daughters' budding sexuality, not men who meet them casually at political events.

[stonecutter357]

138. let's go Joe !

[Skid Rogue]

147. "Lock up your daughters"

is not it that text. Why are we exaggerating to make our own candidates look bad? I honestly believe we can leave that up to FOX and friends.

[LanternWaste]

149. Newest thing to throw at the wall. The splat will last less than two days this time.

I get you guys wanna nail him with something, but we're getting into shallow end of the pool territory here.

I've confidence you'll get better at this and do better at this, but this particular one just doesn't cut the mustard... just cheese. Find something you can really get a bite into, as this one is just to obviously 'hoping-it-sticks-to-the-wall'.

[melman]

167. Maybe he should just stop saying things like this

Seems like that would be pretty easy to do.

[Loki Liesmith]

151. Lol, don't care

[hueymahl]

153. Yawn

If that is the best his detractors can come up with, then we might as well name him the nominee now.

Clickbait by a journalist who previously penned such heavy hitting articles as "Don’t Get Tricked Into Swimming in This Swiss Vault Full of Money" (about the opportunity to literally swim in money like scrooge mcduck) and "The Internet’s Dream Job Listing: Cat Video Festival Coordinator"

[SouthernProgressive]

155. These are the attacks where Biden picks up support.

I'm glad that his opposition from the "left" is too limited in thought to recognize it.

Keep it up, please.

[aikoaiko]

172. That's not what the polls say.

[IMG][/IMG]

[SouthernProgressive]

184. It is what the polls say.

Pretty impressive numbers he has. The trend since February is clear. Hard to make a trend from smaller time-frames.

I so hope they keep these extremely weak attacks up.

[aikoaiko]

191. His numbers are going down and haven't bottomed out yet.

[spooky3]

157. Sam Bee called this behavior out near the end of last night's show.

https://www.tbs.com/shows/full-frontal-with-samantha-bee/season-4/episode-13/june-12-2019

[melman]

166. Interesting

Someone in the thread insisted this was all based on "communiques from David Sirota"

But it seems unlikely Bee would be receiving those. Maybe this will help some people realize it might be about more than that.

[marylandblue]

160. Right now, the media likes Joe, so they are letting these things go.

But one day they will find one of these irresistable and turn it into a gaffe.

I'm not saying it is a gaffe, but that gaffes are media creations and they can be deadly.

[OKNancy]

165. He probably should not make the joke anymore, however

Would saying this make him a less effective President? No.
He will be a good President and he will continue as in the past to be a proponent of fairness to women... and LGBTQ and labor and all sorts of people.

The author is trying to make this a disqualifier, but it is not in my opinion. Every Democratic candidate has a wart (or two)

[BannonsLiver]

171. ...

[BigOleDummy]

176. Yeah.....

I agree. This "joke" is not funny or humorous in any shape form or fashion. I like Mr. Biden but he's his own worst enemy and truth be told I cannot see him staying atop the list of candidates much longer. It seems like the more he campaigns the lower his numbers go. We'll see I suppose and if he does indeed win the nomination I'll back him to the best of my limited means but I have no passion for him and/or his campaign.

[emmaverybo]

205. Vice President Biden, not Mr. Biden. nt

[BigOleDummy]

206. If you look

at any of my other posts I always refer to individuals as Mr. or Ms., Ms. Warren, Mr. Biden. , Mr. Buttigieg etc. FORMER Vice President could be acceptable for me personally but I always use the noun. Calm down.

[emmaverybo]

208. They are not addressed as former. It's President Obama, President Carter etc. I am calm. :)

Good for you on the Ms. And the Mr. I always think just the last name is like PE class. They’d shout my last name and then “get up.” I used to like to lay down during hockey.

[BigOleDummy]

209. Mr. Carters campaign

was the first political volunteering I ever did. Before that I marched and sucked up more than one cloud of tear gas lol. Sorry.... Your mention of him brought back a flood of memories. Quite possibly the most decent man who ever held the office. NOT that I'm implying anything bad about Mr. Obama either who runs a close second imo.


And no, I'm not trying to be an ass or trying to be snarky by my repeated use of the Mr.'s . I'm old and that's the way I was taught. Some habits are hard to break.

[shanny]

179. There's a reason why Joe Biden's campaign

is dramatically limiting their candidate’s public appearances. Because every time he steps out, he steps in it.

<snip>

Joe Biden is a relic of the past, not because of his age, but because his thinking hasn’t evolved. The fact that he looks at the Democratic Party today, with its new spirit of empowerment—Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, the Dreamers, the Equality movement—and thinks that he is the answer America needs proves that he is unable to read the room. And his every action since he began running—from launching his campaign with a fundraiser hosted by a Comcast lobbyist to the way he treated that little girl—shows that he has no ability to rise to this moment.
(my bold)


https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/6/13/1864502/-Joe-Biden-is-a-relic-from-the-past-and-this-one-exchange-with-a-13-year-old-girl-proves-that#read-more

This sums up my thoughts exactly, which I have stated before: women, minorities, younger voters are our future; Biden is our past.

[mtnsnake]

190. I agree. So will a lot of voters in manistream American agree with you

especially once the debates begin and they see the quality being offered by so many of the other candidates running.

[nolabear]

196. But would he be a good president?

Yes, the language is old fashioned, well intentioned and rather out of touch with modern liberal desires about what is proper to say.

But what kind of leader of a powerful, damaged, frightened country would he make? I think a good one.

[Blue Owl]

203. I've been searching for a pearl to clutch...

But haven't found one yet...

[Bayard]

207. Oh for godsakes!

This is ridiculous. Maybe I'm old as dirt, but this is something you say as a teasing compliment to a kid. Like--oh my goodness, when you get older, they'll have to chase off the boys with a stick! Or, when you get older young man, you're going to have to run from the girls! Its like no one can tell a kid they're pretty/handsome without being accused of being a pervert anymore.

"Biden’s intended audience isn’t the girls he’s supposedly addressing, but any boy, man, or potential authority figure within earshot of those girls. It’s a verbal elbow nudge signaling to the girl’s father, grandfather, mother, or brother that they’d better keep their daughter/granddaughter/sister on lockdown, or reap the heavily implied consequences. Meanwhile, at no point do the girls and young women Biden addresses have the agency to say whether they feel like they need protecting. It also unnecessarily suggests to them that their appearance, which they cannot control, will inevitably put them in danger."

This is so far over the top, its just stupid. We have real issues to worry about.