“Was first on scene to big accident, see pic of car in the house,” Josh tweeted. “I lifted 4 people out to safety. All ok. Thankful.” Accompanying the tweet was a the moral equivalent of a selfie of Josh standing proudly in front of the wrecked SUV that had just destroyed some homeowner’s kitchen.Poor Josh Romney. Even when he's out there saving lives, he must be ever on guard lest he create evidence that can be used to say, one more time, Romney is out of touch.
Weirdly, he is grinning—the symptom of either a relentlessly sunny personality or else an alarming incapacity to empathize with another person’s horrible luck.
By the way, Barack Obama is always smiling — including while standing in front of wrecks worse than a car that crashed into a kitchen but didn't injure anyone. Somehow his smile always fits the preferred media framing: Whatever happens, we still love him as a person.
IN THE COMMENTS: MadisonMan said:
How is that a selfie? Is his right arm 25 feet long with multiple joints?CWJ said:
[M]y take was that either Josh reflexively smiled when the camera was pointed at him, or that the amateur photographer might actually have said "cheese" or its equivalent.I said:
Yeah... I can imagine a lot of jokes that could be made, like "Hey, where's Seamus?!!!"More seriously, Paddy O said:
I think of news people who always need to be on the scene of a disaster. That's much worse, I think.And I said:
For people who grow up in social media, this is a way of sharing what happened, a traumatic event that ended better than it might have. Maybe the smile was out of place, but it's very human.
If a person didn't start by hating the Romneys, this wouldn't even be an issue.
Property damage is worth laughing at when you know the people are all safe. If you've ever been in a situation like that, you know we're all safe is everything. Then you look at the wreck and you can laugh.ADDED: On the "selfie" issue. The article at The Daily Beast does say "the moral equivalent of a selfie," as I've quoted, and the headline at the link is "Josh Romney’s Awkward Car-Crash 'Selfie,'" with "selfie" in quotes. You might argue that "selfie" is in quotes because it's slang, but The Beast can say it's in quotes because it's not actually a selfie, but it's the moral equivalent of a selfie. And the failure to put "selfie" in quotes in the phrase "moral equivalent of a selfie" squarely refutes the quotes-because-it's-slang interpretation.
The people who don't understand that kind of laughing should reflect and then give thanks if what I suspect is true: They never lost a loved one in a car crash.
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51 comments:
Why is he not allowed to take a picture of himself after rescuing people?
He's grinning because he rescued 4 people, not because he caused a wreck.
Fuck the lefty media and the idiots who run it.
Lloyd Grove is one nasty piece of work.
Maybe he's happy because he thought people were going to be dead or horribly injured and none of them were? A perfectly natural reaction to anyone who is not himself "a nasty piece of work". Who doesn't smile when a grim-seeming story has a happy ending, especiailly if he's had some part in making the ending a happy one?
Who doesn't smile when a grim-seeming story has a happy ending, especially if he's had some part in making the ending a happy one?
Lloyd Grove, apparently.
It ain't the heat.
It's the humility.
Yogi Berra
We know Josh Romney is bad and can only do bad things. If he does a good thing it is for a bad reason. How do we know Josh is bad? His father tried to thwart the ambition of a Democrat politician. Since Democrats are only trying to help people, opposing them is the same as trying to stop people from getting the help they need. That is bad.
Josh did not denounce his father nor support the democrat. He is bad. Bad bad bad. He should not be smiling. His smile is bad.
He's smiling because he saved lives which are vastly more valuable than material wealth. If you can't see that then perhaps you value things over people a bit too much. Other than that, this is just more Romney bashing visited upon the next generation.
How is that a selfie? Is his right arm 25 feet long with multiple joints?
I think of news people who always need to be on the scene of a disaster. That's much worse, I think.
For people who grow up in social media, this is a way of sharing what happened, a traumatic event that ended better than it might have. Maybe the smile was out of place, but it's very human.
If a person didn't start by hating the Romneys, this wouldn't even be an issue.
Property damage is worth laughing at when you know the people are all safe. If you've ever been in a situation like that, you know we're all safe is everything. Then you look at the wreck and you can laugh.
The people who don't understand that kind of laughing should reflect and then give thanks if what I suspect is true: They never lost a loved one in a car crash.
To call it a rescue is a little overblown.
A smile would be entirely appropriate, especially if the homeowner in good spirits took the picture.
This wasn't the first time a vehicle came crashing through their home from that intersection.
Agree that its awkward. However, I would find it impossible to manage my emotional facade 24/7 to satisfy political demands for empathy. All the more so with a hostile press waiting to pounce.
As Althouse said, BHO grins into the camera nearly nonstop, and he's deemed charming. WJC famously felt our pain. Even my sainted RR constantly projected good humor.
As I think the joke goes; Sincerity, if you can fake that, you've got everything.
Althouse. You're right. Relief often releases emotions that may seem inappropriate viewed from a warm living room. I thought that as well. In fact, my take was that either Josh reflexively smiled when the camera was pointed at him, or that the amateur photographer might actually have said "cheese" or its equivalent.
Photo is still politically awkward when viewed through a partisan lens.
CWJ:
It may be "politically awkward", but it's even more politically useful in detecting which of our fellow citizens are so eaten up by political bigotry that they can't resist sneering at it. Helps us know whom to avoid.
"In fact, my take was that either Josh reflexively smiled when the camera was pointed at him, or that the amateur photographer might actually have said "cheese" or its equivalent."
Yeah, as noted above, it's not a "selfie," and we don't know what the photographer said. I can imagine a lot of jokes that could be made, like "Hey, where's Seamus?!!!"
Liberals would rather let the people die and be seen grieving about it publically. Showing grief is the height of empathy and better that preventing it in the first place.
Bob Boyd hits it square in the nuts..
More here, and I've linked you up, Althouse, 'Leftists Attack 'Douche' Josh Romney After He Tweets Photos from Car-Wreck Rescue'.
There's ABC News video at the link as well.
Three years ago we were on a mountain road in Norway and came across a VW minibus in the ditch. The driver and a couple of passer-bys were standing there, looking at it mournfully. My friend, who has always had a can-do, bull-in-the-china-shop personality, jumped out, organized everybody, and we basically picked the damn thing up and put it back on the road.
I regret, to this day, that I didn't take a picture.
This is a peeve of mine.
Passers-by. Not Passer-bys.
(phew)
And yes, a picture would have been great. Video even better. Think of the YouTube hits!
This is sort of like John Kerry having home movies taken of himself so that he could prove he was a Vietnam war hero.
Attorney-Generals (that'll keep you up all night).
This same friend and I did a dangerous stream crossing in the Jasper backcountry. I was so pumped up, I didn't get a picture of that, either.
We did a somewhat less dangerous stream crossing in Yoho. Not getting a picture of that, I sent him back across the stream and had him do it again. That picture hangs on his wall to this day.
SUV in KITCHEN = FUNNY.
In Obama Gang Media Land, a white male believer in God CANNOT be a hero... no matter what happened. Let it be written.
If I ever helped 4 people from a wreck, I would be pretty pleased with myself too. What would those with Democrat empathy do? - look sad, walk away and enact more regulations banning future car wrecks?
Everyone survives an accident... that's a good thing. Cheers to Romney and everyone who helped.
The more I think about this, the more I think Lloyd Grove (who I've never heard of), is a Class A asshole.
SUV in KITCHEN = FUNNY.
and it is "microbus," not "minibus."
My favorite comment: Josh Romney saves four people, which is four more than were able to sign up for Obamacare.
Its probably the underlying truth of that comment that has Grove's panties in such a bundle.
Endorphin rush. Can't help but smile.
"Romney can't swim."
Haters gonna hate. Lefties gonna left. It's all politics all the time.
Yea, some nitwit "journalist" criticizes a man for having had a photo taken after helping 4 individuals out of a wrecked vehicle and feels the need to write an article about it. The first comment that comes to my mind is....Mary Jo was unavailable for comment. Christ these lib shits are such fucking assholes.
Good lord, this is just typical guy stuff. There is something about a crunched car that turns men into happy boys.
Any attempt to paint this in a bad light = microaggression!
Regardless it shows a stunning lack of situational awareness. Not someone I'd want with the nuclear briefcase.
Empathy, tolerance, a broad humility and respect for human life, a lack of constant, childish in-group loyalty tests....
Come see what the modern, progressive Left has to offer..
Join a spittle-flecked, activist chat room near you.
Join a spittle-flecked, activist chat room near you.
Well that goes without saying. One needs to wear a rubber suit going into those places.
I feel you're not properly respecting my personhood and right to freely share my feelings, Alex.
Down twinkles.
Twinkies are bad for you, I'd recommend to switch to more expensive butter-filled desserts that us hoity-toity rich folks consume.
And furthermore, your speech echoes the dark corridors of a gendered, patriarchal, feudal and racist HIStory, oppressing those of us huddled in bands of oppressed minorities and alternate narrative histories.
Just think of the future and freedoms to come!
We have removed the scales from our eyes!
Yaaarrrghhhh!
I second Edward Lunny: " Christ these lib shits are such fucking assholes."
That said, I do not want any more Romneys running for national office. No more Bushes either. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt.
This is for Original Mike and MadisonMan
http://www.theonion.com/articles/william-safire-orders-two-whoppers-junior,3351/
The photo seems awkward and unnecessary. I would not be comfortable with this if it were me.
I've learned my lesson, richlb. Now, if we can talk MM off the ledge, all will be well.
I hate the word "selfie".
It at once sounds like masturbation and a mythical seal. I know people who use the word with innocuous accuracy, but if the term was not invented for abuse, it is ripe for it. Q.E.D.
First of all, Romney didn't really save anyone. From the news stories, nobody's life was threatened. Second, to brag about your charitable work is pretty vain. Third, who gives a shit?
If Romney or one of his sons found a cure for cancer, the newspaper headlines would be "Romney puts doctors out of work!".
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