Potty politics
civil discourse? it’s a thing of the *&*%@*# past
WATCH YOUR mouth — or someone might accuse you of sounding like you work in politics.
A vulgar tirade from Anthony Scaramucci, the White House communications director, is just the latest low in what some experts see as a coarsening of America’s political discourse.
“I think a lot of people are clutching their pearls,” Christina Greer, a professor of political science at Fordham University, said. “One, because it is so vulgar. Two, because this is a person that is a representative of the President of the United States.”
President Trump has called women he dislikes “dogs” and was caught on tape saying he could grab a woman by the “p---y.”
“Because the man who is holding the office doesn’t respect that office, we are sort of normalizing behavior that is totally inappropriate,” Greer said.
In his rant to a New Yorker reporter, Scaramucci threatened to fire staffers unless the reporter revealed a source. Then he offered up pithy insights like: “I’m not Steve Bannon . . . . I’m not trying to suck my own c--k” and “I want to f---ing kill all the leakers.”
Patricia Napier-Fitzpatrick, founder of the Etiquette School of New York, said she usually doesn’t comment on politics — but found the coarsening of the conversation “disheartening.”
“Whatever happened to dignified, civil behavior? What kind of example are we setting for the youth of our country? What does the world think of us?” she asked. “I believe that most of those representing us in the government and Congress are civil and dignified, and show the proper respect for the offices they hold. Unfortunately, it only takes a few people to make everyone, as well as the U.S.A,, look bad.”
And it wouldn’t fly in most workplaces.
“It is not civil behavior and should be against company policy — if it isn’t already in most offices,” Napier-Fitzpatrick said.
Vulgar language is a bipartisan issue — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez have both dropped “s--t” bombs in recent speeches.
And after state Republican Chairman Ed Cox called a top staffer to Gov. Cuomo a “petty thug,” Charlie King, a close ally of the governor and a former Democratic Party leader, used a lewd play on the GOP leader’s name that added “sucker” to the end.
Sal Albanese, a former city councilman challenging Mayor de Blasio in a primary run, deemed the mayor an “a-----e” on Twitter.
Eric Phillips, de Blasio’s press secretary, has deemed news stories or observations from reporters as “b------t” on Twitter.
King said people will often say something in private that they wouldn’t in public — and of late, “that line has been blurred.”
Some of the lack of civility stems from a disrespect of other people’s opinions — leading them to be depersonalized.
“You feel like it’s acceptable when it happens, at the moment. And then some people may take it back, some people may not,” he said. “I think it cheapens everything to get into this kind of . . . reality, shock television kind of language. It’s problematic for American discourse in politics and government.”
Albanese said he typically doesn’t use the language he did to describe the mayor — but was “exasperated” and “frustrated” about de Blasio’s Germany trip in the wake of a police assassination. “That drove me over the top,” he said. “I should have called him a jackass. You won’t hear me use that kind of language in the future.”
Phillips declined to comment — but in an earlier story about his Twitter habits, de Blasio spokeswoman Freddi Goldstein said online conversation was sounding “more and more like” the real world. “Heaven forbid we occasionally use language that New Yorkers use in real life,” she said.
Defenses of Scaramucci, too, noted a propensity among New Yorkers to swear.
King argued that may be true in private, but not necessarily among public figures. “It’s not like Mario Cuomo was throwing out F-bombs or talking about genitalia . . . . it’s not like we are saucier when we’re talking about American politics than the rest of the country,” King said.
And King has sought to make amends. He sat next to Cox at a breakfast last week and insisted on buying him lunch soon. “I felt like I was cheapening everything after I did it,” King said. “Maybe I scored some points, but they were cheap points and it bothered me in the long term. And it’s going to cost me a lunch.”
What kind of example are we setting for the youth of our country? PATRICIA NAPIER-FITZPATRICK