I’d agree with this. If she were even 31, I’d be inclined to cut her a break. But not after a mere 4 years.
Are (aspiring) politicians accountable for racist, etc., comments they made on social media as teens
Back when “I didn’t inhale” was buzzing in the news, I kept asking at what point did things one did as a teen/student/young adult no longer matter. And is there a difference between doing dumb things (like streaking a football game) and espousing dumb things (like claiming a certain group was incapable of doing a certain thing because of who they were)?
I think it’s pretty easy to ignore the “doing” when there’s ample evidence that the person no longer does that dumb stuff and hasn’t done it for a good amount of time. Opinions can be more difficult to dismiss in that a smooth talker can give every appearance of holding the politically expedient views according to the situation. That’s not to say that a person’s thinking can’t change - I was way more inclined to see everything as black or white with no shades in between, but as I’ve gotten older, I can see that few things are as obvious as I’d once thought. Still, someone who knew me way back when may decide I’m blowing smoke with my more enlightened views.
My own recommendation: anything you do before age 25 gets a pass unless there’s compelling evidence that it extended beyond “stupid things we do when we’re young.” Getting drunk and spending the night puking on the lawn may be relatively normal for a college student, but when you’re 35 with a career and a family, it’s no longer one of those “stupid things.”
Absolutely they should. How I’d respond to them depends on their reaction now. If it’s “kids will be kids” they’ve clearly learned nothing. If it’s “I was young and stupid but I’ve learned better and regret my previous statements” I’m more likely to be ok with that.
Yes, I agree. it’s too short of a time. She needs to explain what occurred in four short years that made her such a different person.
I think someone who is running for office at 21 would need to be mature beyond their age.
I think someone who says those sorts of things on Twitter at the age of 17 is not mature beyond their age. They are just the same as everyone else.
So for me, even though those things happened in the past, I wouldn’t feel that the 21-year-old candidate is mature beyond her age because she wasn’t showing signs of it at the age of 17.
I agree with **kopek **that it wouldn’t be a be-all-end-all deal breaker and would vote for her if the was still the best candidate. But I probably wouldn’t vote for her over someone who has the same platform but is older.
For me it was high school vs college. In High school you pretty much keep your head down and do what everyone else does. In College you find out…pretty much no one gives a shit.
My true self didn’t really feel free to come out until college.
Now I’m not saying she fits this role. I’m just saying, often even the bullies and the meanies were a lot nicer in college - they no longer had to conform to the stereotypes imposed on the pretty girl, etc.
The girl in the OP may very well have panicked because she got caught, but I’d have to look closer at her to decide.
I was born in 1950 and I said some horrific things growing up. Some of this was due to my sense of humor that (I thought) was satirical in nature, but most mostly it was just because I was a smartmouth jerk. I like to think that I would have been smart enough not to commit those thoughts to a medium available to everyone forever, but I doubt it.
I agree with this. And also I would compare it to their speech and actions today. If someone said something racist when they were young, and only apologized because they were caught and they know it looks bad, they’ll probably still say racist things today, or support racist policies. But if someone has genuinely learned, they won’t support racist causes, and they’ll not say racist things, or if they do say something they’ll apologize immediately with a sincere apology. Same with sexist or homophobic or other offensive remarks.
Even more reason for getting rid of her, since it cannot matter in Alberta. If Trudeau doesn’t get rid of her, it is just more evidence of his tone-deafness. Four year old comments of such nastiness cannot just be forgiven as youthful indiscretion.
She quit yesterday.