# There's no Pit thread on the Romney bullying story yet, so . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 11, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582 "2012-05-11T02:30:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/301 "2012-05-14T15:48:29Z")
> [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > It’s not as though that person would be unable to go to college when they got back from their term of service. Except that in the old meat grinder days of war, the odds of not coming back were pretty good. Throwing away an intelligent brain in war is as bad as not giving that brain financial assistance so they can attend school even if they aren’t rich. > [@RickJay](#): > > I would suggest to you that if putting off someone’s education for a mere twelve months - people delay their education by a year to go backpacking, for God’s sake - is more damaging to the nation than that person being unavailable to fight an active war, the war being fought is self-evidently not enough of a concern to merit drafting anybody. This, on the other hand, seems more or less sound to me, and I think I was confusing current day with past practices. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/302 "2012-05-14T16:00:22Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Thanks **Airbeck**. Could not have said it better myself. No problem. I get really sick of the whole “you would say something different if things were reversed” argument. Like it actually adds anything to the conversation or wins any points. Its a completely empty statement. I mean how can you defend yourself against what someone claims you would do given a set of imaginary circumstances. All you can say is nuh uh, no I wouldn’t. Its like the “no you are” gambit. Pointless and a sign of someone who is on the losing side of the argument. ---
**Author:** ![Sacrilegium](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f05b48/32.png) [@Sacrilegium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sacrilegium)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/303 "2012-05-14T16:03:21Z")
Because if there’s one thing better than _tu quoque_, it’s hypothetical _tu quoque_. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/304 "2012-05-14T16:33:18Z")
Romney weas a bully. He singled out easy, safe targets. And he apparently needed 'a back up or posse" to do it. So he was a pussy too. It doesn’t seem all that complicated. A bully and a coweard. ---
**Author:** ![mister\_nyx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@mister\_nyx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mister_nyx)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/305 "2012-05-20T07:16:05Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > It sounds like Romney was exactly the sort of terrifying, braying bully who used to make my life hell in high school. Most of these people grew up and matured and we could now be the best of friends, let bygones be bygones. > > But Romney grew up to be someone who _wants to rewrite the Constitution to discriminate against gays_. Which means he is \*still \*a terrifying, braying bully. I abandoned this thread because all the excuse-making for disgusting behavior was bumming my high and also making me really upset but this is an excellent post. ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/306 "2012-05-20T13:52:16Z")
> [@mister\_nyx](#): > > I abandoned this thread because all the excuse-making for disgusting behavior was bumming my high and also making me really upset but this is an excellent post. I’m posting a reply that will be read by three people, but I just want to say. I like to think of myself as a good person. When I consider the goodness of my person, I can’t escape the fact that I was an absolute douchebag to this kid in 7-8th grade. I wasn’t a ring leader, and there wasn’t one. We were just a bunch of pubescent assholes who wanted to feel better about ourselves by tormenting someone, so we picked the weakest kid we could find and tormented the shit out him. I felt bad about that shit by the time I was a freshman. A 65 year old man claiming _pranks and hijinks_ without making a sincere apology is, quite frankly, a douchebag of the highest order. And behavior of anything close to that as a high school senior is beyond reprehensible. I have another thing that bothers me a bit less, but it still bothers me. In either sophmore or junior year of high school, me and some buddies were out hiking a stream. We were all high and somehow wound up massacring a bunch of toads. I can’t explain how the fuck that got started, but it ended in silence. We all realized how fucked up that was after it happened, but never talked about it. The fact that Romney “doesn’t remember” is bullshit. You remember shit like that. He’s a fucking world class pussy for denying it. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/307 "2012-05-20T14:03:28Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Except that in the old meat grinder days of war, the odds of not coming back were pretty good. Throwing away an intelligent brain in war is as bad as not giving that brain financial assistance so they can attend school even if they aren’t rich. Except it’s not true at all. In WWII, 16 million Americans were in the military, and about 350,000 died. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/308 "2012-06-08T02:20:27Z")
Weirder and weirder: In college, Mitt Romney [used to impersonate](http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/mitt-romneys-ethics-problem-creepy-fake-cop) [a Michigan State Trooper.](http://www.nationalmemo.com/did-young-mitt-romney-impersonate-a-police-officer-another-witness-says-yes/) And pull people over and stuff, for yux. (He got the uniform through his Dad, apparently.) ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/309 "2012-06-08T04:05:45Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Weirder and weirder: In college, Mitt Romney [used to impersonate](http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/mitt-romneys-ethics-problem-creepy-fake-cop) [a Michigan State Trooper.](http://www.nationalmemo.com/did-young-mitt-romney-impersonate-a-police-officer-another-witness-says-yes/) And pull people over and stuff, for yux. (He got the uniform through his Dad, apparently.) The only new development here is that he was showing off the uniform while in college: Said Madden in a recent interview, “He told us that he had gotten the uniform from his father,” George Romney, then the Governor of Michigan, whose security detail was staffed by uniformed troopers. “He told us that he was using it to pull over drivers on the road. He also had a red flashing light that he would attach to the top of his white Rambler.” In Madden’s recollection, confirmed by his wife Susan, who also attended Stanford during those years, “we thought it was all pretty weird. We all thought, ‘Wow, that’s pretty creepy.’ And after that, we didn’t have much interaction with him,” although both Madden and Romney were prep school boys living in the same dorm, called Rinconada. This isn’t news. It’s widely understood that Romney is a little creepy. There’s no need to delve into it. And there’s no evidence that Romney impersonated a police officer - a well known crime in most jurisdictions - when he was over 18. So does Romney have some sort of bizarre attraction to uniforms? Of course not: otherwise he wouldn’t have dodged the draft and spent a comfortable 2 years in France on mission. After all, he was an active supporter of the Vietnam war. So I really don’t see why we have to discuss this. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/310 "2012-06-08T04:11:45Z")
I see this as good news. Now we know we don’t have to elect him president. He’ll buy a 747, a fleet of armored limos and security vehicles, and _pretend_ he’s president. This is a win win for America! ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2012, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/311 "2012-06-08T12:50:48Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Weirder and weirder: In college, Mitt Romney [used to impersonate](http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/mitt-romneys-ethics-problem-creepy-fake-cop) [a Michigan State Trooper.](http://www.nationalmemo.com/did-young-mitt-romney-impersonate-a-police-officer-another-witness-says-yes/) And pull people over and stuff, for yux. (He got the uniform through his Dad, apparently.) I’m sure he doesn’t remember this. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/312 "2012-06-09T05:43:36Z")
Those were distant times, when assault, battery, and impersonating an officer of the law were just considered a form of youthful hijinks, at least if your father was Governor. In other news, bail of $5000 was posted by a 17 year old from the state of Texas who is charged with [impersonating a police officer](http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/2012/06/tomball-teen-accused-of-impersonating-a-police-officer/). Law-enforcement officials do not find it amusing when a someone impersonates a police officer, said Tomball police Capt. Rick Grassi. “This is something that law-enforcement doesn’t take lightly,” he said. “We don’t want want these people placing fear of law-enforcement in people. We want people to know that we’re here to help them and to serve them.” None of that applied during the 1960s of course, so the situation is totally different. The general tenor of the 2012 comments is that the kid is a moron and he should have the book thrown at him. Not that I give such opinions more than a feather’s weight. I’ll post an example anyway: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA. Aspirations of becoming a police officer just got reduced to aspirations of becoming a mall cop in sharpstown. What are people thinking when they do such BONEHEAD things. I hope he gets charged as an adult so this follows him to every fast food application he ever fills out. More stories: [http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8689666](http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=8689666) [http://www.click2houston.com/news/Teen-charged-with-impersonating-police-officer/-/1735978/14617676/-/wf9t7yz/-/index.html](http://www.click2houston.com/news/Teen-charged-with-impersonating-police-officer/-/1735978/14617676/-/wf9t7yz/-/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/313 "2012-06-09T05:51:16Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I’m sure he doesn’t remember this. I"m sure that never happened, and if it did, I don’t remember it. If I did remember it, I’m sure I would apologize to anyone who was offended by my youthful hijinks." ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/314 "2012-06-12T03:38:28Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > In other news, bail of $5000 was posted by a 17 year old from the state of Texas who is charged with [impersonating a police officer](http://blog.chron.com/newswatch/2012/06/tomball-teen-accused-of-impersonating-a-police-officer/). I may have given the wrong impression about the alleged crimes committed by Clayton Davis Kelly, 17, of Tomball, Texas. For that I apologize. Police say the teen mounted police lights on his truck and used them to pull cars over, before pausing and driving away. There are no reports of Mr. Kelly playing dress-up with official uniforms: that didn’t happen. None of the reporters mention that Mitt Romney did worse when he was 17, nor do any of the comment threads attached to the stories, at least yet, AFAIK. Opinion seems to be divided between those who believe that Mr. Kelly is a moron and should have the book thrown at him and a minority who say he is a good kid who did a stupid thing. None trivialize the crime: none dismiss it as a prank. When Romney dresses up as a police officer though, conservatives compare it to, “…cheating at jacks” in elementary school. Also, Obama consorted with radical scary radicals! ---
**Author:** ![Waenara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/50afbb/32.png) [@Waenara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waenara)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/315 "2012-06-12T14:22:28Z")
I know I’m responding to **Martin Hyde** ’s hateful list from several pages ago, but as far as I could see reading the thread, no one has specifically responded to this particular statement of his (my emphasis added): > [@Martin\_Hyde](#): > > **I don’t believe I’ve said the second part, that the mentally ill should be unable to vote**. I’ve said that in some States that is the case, but I don’t believe just a mental illness diagnosis should prohibit you from voting. If I’ve said or typed something that seems to say the mentally ill should not vote, then that was not my intention or a reflection of my actual beliefs. > > Someone who is committed to a psychiatric in-patient facility, I’m comfortable with them being unable to vote, but if they aren’t committed and are able to function in society I am fine with them voting. Well, you yourself proudly linked earlier in the thread to a list of your “[controversial beliefs](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7905768&postcount=205)”, including: > [@](#): > > \*\*I believe homosexuality is a mental illness. > \*\* > _\_ > > I believe there should be a property or income requirement to vote, and a **prohibition on voting for anyone who is mentally ill** or indigent. So when you said you thought that anyone who is mentally ill should not be able to vote (and by clear inference that all homosexuals should not be allowed to vote), was that a “misstatement” or have you just changed your mind since then? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/316 "2012-06-12T15:19:18Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > I like to think of myself as a good person. When I consider the goodness of my person, I can’t escape the fact that I was an absolute douchebag to this kid in 7-8th grade. I wasn’t a ring leader, and there wasn’t one. We were just a bunch of pubescent assholes who wanted to feel better about ourselves by tormenting someone, so we picked the weakest kid we could find and tormented the shit out him. When I was eleven, I called a girl in by class fat, in front of the entire class. I STILL, 29 years later, feel bad about that. We ended up being friends for years, all through high school, but I’ve never forgotten doing that and I’ve always felt I did something really, really wrong. I have actually been a mouseclick away from sending her a message on Facebook to formally apologize, and the only reason I haven’t is I’m worried she’s forgotten about it and that bringing it up would make her feel bad about it again. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/317 "2012-06-13T15:24:22Z")
> [@Measure for Measure](#): > > None of that applied during the 1960s of course, so the situation is totally different. The general tenor of the 2012 comments is that the kid is a moron and he should have the book thrown at him. You know, in the 60s, impersonating a police officer was de rigueur. Part of the experience of growing up for every Anglo-Saxon heterosexual male. A few college professors and liberal police officers have intervened and now we’re supposed to have a fit of righteous indignation whenever we hear of people impersonating police officers. Not I, friend. Conservatives are more apt at knowing which crimes are [truly threatening and harmful](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15071426&postcount=45). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/318 "2012-06-13T15:26:53Z")
> [@gamerunknown](#): > > Conservatives are more apt at knowing which crimes are [truly threatening and harmful](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15071426&postcount=45). Well, they certainly have a good idea of which types of voting malfeasance are truly threatening and harmful. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/319 "2012-06-14T20:25:09Z")
Do you know who else liked to [impersonate a police officer](http://www.crimemuseum.org/Ted_Bundy)? [spoiler]No, not Hitler. \*Ted Bundy tried to impersonate a police officer and an officer from the fire department to make his victims do as he said. \*Always ask anybody who identifies themselves as an officer of any sort for identification. Do not let them flash their ID at you; make sure you look at it to see what it says. Make sure the person has a badge and Identification from the agency they are saying they are from. If you are unsure that the car trying to pull you over is an actual police vehicle drive to a well lit highly populated area before you pull over and do not get out of the car. If you think you are being stopped or instructed by a fake, call 911 and ask for help identifying the person talking to you or for back-up.\*[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2012, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582/320 "2012-06-17T16:15:10Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > When I was eleven, I called a girl in by class fat, in front of the entire class. > > I STILL, 29 years later, feel bad about that. We ended up being friends for years, all through high school, but I’ve never forgotten doing that and I’ve always felt I did something really, really wrong. I have actually been a mouseclick away from sending her a message on Facebook to formally apologize, and the only reason I haven’t is I’m worried she’s forgotten about it and that bringing it up would make her feel bad about it again. > **[HuffPost - Breaking News, U.S. and World News](https://www.huffpost.com/)** > > Read the latest headlines, news stories, and opinion from Politics, Entertainment, Life, Perspectives, and more. > [@](#): > > MADISON, S.D. – From the moment 73-year-old Carl Ericsson rang his old high school classmate’s doorbell in January, verified the man’s identity and then shot him dead, the question had been what prompted him to confront a man he hadn’t even spoken to in years. > > The startling answer, a prosecutor said Friday, was a 1950s locker room humiliation that festered in Ericsson’s mind for a half-century . She might very well remember. Though, you later befriended her so that might have taken the sting out. Apparently it festered in Ericsson all his life. Romney’s victim is dead so the Secret Service doesn’t have to worry about him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theres-no-pit-thread-on-the-romney-bullying-story-yet-so/621582.md?page=15)