Yoho’s ‘misunderstanding’

I take issue with the characterization of the puff piece by Bill Thompson, who seemed to support Rep. Ted Yoho’s non-apology apology to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez concerning his disgusting comments that he denied were about her.

For one thing, the piece starts out “according to media reports” the two bickered. Then it goes on to say Yoho “allegedly” didn’t make the disgusting remarks about AOC, even though the reporter from The Hill, Mike Lillis, heard him call her a “fu—-ng bi—ch.” Then, again, according to media reports, [the comment] “was not specific to anyone.” So, which is it? Did the media reports confirm the remarks by Yoho, or did they deny he meant them for AOC? Fact is, he said what he said, and there were no other females around — so who, exactly, was he talking about?

In any case, Thompson’s observation that Yoho was “appearing to become emotional” on the House floor is a bit presumptuous, wouldn’t you think, unless Thompson actually knew Yoho’s state of mind as he spoke?  Was this an effort to evoke sympathy, and are the readers supposed to feel sorry for him because he was on food stamps at one time in his life? If so, I’ll see if I can find my tiny violin!

The piece notes that Yoho did apologize “for any misunderstanding,” but he did not “sort of” apologize to AOC at all, as Thompson’s headline falsely claims. She — and many of her colleagues in the House — all agreed that whatever he said in his speech, it wasn’t an apology.

Of course, Ocasio-Cortez was having none of it because his comments obviously were demeaning. Who could blame her? Women, especially women of color, are continually dehumanized by powerful white guys in this country. Thompson’s article mentioned that AOC is “the darling of the progressive movement.” So, as such, yes, I’m happy AOC stood up to him!

Dan Dildy, Ocala