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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJohn Kerry criticized for saying Trump has 'the insecurity of a teenage girl'
Former U.S. secretary of state John F. Kerry is being criticized for comparing President Trump to a teenage girl during an appearance on HBOs Real Time with Bill Maher.
Kerry visited the late-night talk show Friday to promote his new memoir, Every Day is Extra. Shortly after Kerry sat down, however, host Bill Maher brought up a Trump tweet from the day before, in which the president had accused the former secretary of state of having illegal meetings with the Iranian government.
-snip-
Online, though, Kerrys comments were not as well received. Though some lauded the comparison as absolutely priceless and a mic drop moment, many expressed disappointment in Kerry, even if they agreed with his assessment of Trump.
Others cited young women like Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and Parkland shooting survivor-turned-anti-gun-violence activist Emma González or even their own past teenage selves as examples of teenage girls who were far from insecure.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/john-kerry-criticized-for-saying-trump-has-the-insecurity-of-a-teenage-girl/ar-BBNpJ2Y?li=BBnb7Kz
Loki Liesmith
(4,602 posts)Sneederbunk
(14,300 posts)A HERETIC I AM
(24,377 posts)That always seems to help
Stand and Fight
(7,480 posts)pennylane100
(3,425 posts)I would use a sarcasm sign here but I do not know how.
pennylane100
(3,425 posts)He should have thought it through.
Demovictory9
(32,475 posts)Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(108,192 posts)USALiberal
(10,877 posts)Loki Liesmith
(4,602 posts)phleshdef
(11,936 posts)pnwmom
(108,994 posts)That's what made it okay, but it's often quoted without that part.
phleshdef
(11,936 posts)When you are that age, sometimes comments that no one would've thought twice about in the "old days" are gonna slip. I have to remind my grandmother about certain things she says all the time... like she had no idea the R word for people with mental disabilities was a big no no now.
pnwmom
(108,994 posts)that progressives are more aware of as problematical now.
Caliman73
(11,744 posts)and most of my friends were the epitome of insecurity. Though we masked it and feigned confidence with crude jokes, sports talk, and other masks; insecurity is not a feminine or masculine trait. It is a human trait.
Kerry is right about the insecurity, but he definitely could have done without the gendered insult.
donkeypoofed
(2,187 posts)No disrespect to toddlers intended.
Also - I think John more.meant the teen girl comment as an ode to "drama"
Caliman73
(11,744 posts)They lack the self awareness to be insecure. Unless there is some kind of attachment injury, they are pretty secure and the world tends to revolve around them.
I think Kerry could have said, "teenager" and it would have been just fine.
donkeypoofed
(2,187 posts)Caliman73
(11,744 posts)Which is why I mentioned that unless there is an attachment injury. Toddlers are not particularly insecure. Separation anxiety occurs when the primary care giver of the child leaves. The child becomes anxious, but is fairly quickly comforted. Once the primary care provider returns the child happy to see them. Separation Anxiety has to do with a lack of object permanence in the child. Once the child understands that the primary will return, then they are fine.
The kind of insecurity that Kerry was speaking about is the self doubt that permeates people in this culture because of the messaging that we are not good enough. It can certainly stem from childhood experiences, but teenagers (boys and girls) are notoriously insecure which is why Kerry made the comparison.
Trump likely suffered an attachment injury based on his inability to empathize with others, to remain in any kind of committed relationship, and his need for constant praise.
BlueTsunami2018
(3,503 posts)And attack our own people for the slightest infraction.
Eyes on the prize people, Kerry isnt our enemy.
BootinUp
(47,187 posts)TheBlackAdder
(28,211 posts)WhiskeyGrinder
(22,431 posts)BannonsLiver
(16,448 posts)dflprincess
(28,082 posts)never had to deal with my nieces between the ages of 12 and 16. - I still have nightmares.
jalan48
(13,883 posts)Zambero
(8,965 posts)A 180 reversal of Kerry's blurb. Sound any better?
spanone
(135,873 posts)rusty quoin
(6,133 posts)Kerry was on point of what it is like. Not every girl was like that, but the system is like that.
My wife had been through it and thank God my daughter was much like my wife and hardly gave into that system of peer pressure to the point of being a social outcast.
It was more important to do what they believed. But I dont think most girls do so, because of insecurity.
Hekate
(90,793 posts)For gods sake I imagine it really pisses him off to be compared to a teenage girl, and that is the point after all.
Concerned. So concerned. Sooooo concerned.
Behind the Aegis
(53,987 posts)Soon as I heard him say it, I knew there would be those hypersensitive assholes who would jump into action. No surprise. We can see it in play here too. Again, no surprise. It really does make one wonder, who is really the enemy?
Kurt V.
(5,624 posts)loyalsister
(13,390 posts)Those who were sick of people spoiling their fun by pointing out the bigoted sentiment behind exploitating demeaning stereotypes loved his in your face hate. It set them free to reclaim the joy of scrapping civility and decency while disregarding what it means to be the subject used to ridicule someone who couldn't be more deserving of criticism.
The evils of political correctness were interfering with the the satisfaction of flinging a snark they hope will be recognized as clever. Now they have a champion who is willing to cut loose sitting in the oval office.
shanny
(6,709 posts)was being deliberately provocative. This is our former top diplomat, the one who put together the deal with Iran.. What on earth would possess him to say those things?
Unless he was trying to spark a galvanic reaction. #TFA
politicasista
(14,128 posts)"Trump is a vile, racist, sexist, xenophobic piece of trash." We all know he is, but nothing wrong with repeating that truth