JD Vance, no fan of gender-neutral bathrooms, was photographed in his high school yearbook next to three girls posing in front of urinals in a bathroom during his senior year.
JD Vance, no fan of gender-neutral bathrooms, was photographed in his high school yearbook next to three girls posing in front of urinals in a bathroom during his senior year.
I basically agree with you, but the subtext is a little different.
I don’t think this photo is damning in any way. It looks like some kids having fun in a pretty typical way. It’s pretty normal for kids to “joke,” and play around with gender. But this dude had some fun as a teen and now he’s trying his damnedest to ensure no one ever gets to express themselves in a way that is incongruous with their agab. It’s worth pointing out that that’s shitty for some specific reasons.
He’s a piece of shit because his policies are terrible. Whether or not his current actions are congruent with his actions as a teen, which is true for most all of us, are two separate things.
I don’t believe he’s genuine, but if he is, like I am with my current beliefs, stupidity as kid shouldn’t be held as some evidence against who he is now.
Don’t get me wrong, when I first saw this my reaction was “he’s the gift that keeps on giving” but after some introspection, the more I think about it, the less I like it.
See that’s just it I don’t think this picture shows that he was stupid as a kid I think it shows that he’s unwilling to grant the freedom of self-expression and self-discovery that he went through to kids today.
It’s not his participation in this picture that is damning in any way, It’s who he is now that damns him.
The kid in this picture was doing normal kid shit, I can’t even figure out why someone might be offended by it but I know a Republican WOULD immediately reach for their pearlsif they saw this picture thinking it was taken recently. They would call it wokeness, and attribute it to the deep state.
That’s a good point. It’s just kinda funny because my reaction to it is basically “wow. maybe he actually used to be a real human.”
I think probably this just illustrates that he’s not genuine. That said I like your reflection that past behaviour should not be used as evidence against who a person is currently. That’s probably a good baseline, even if the past evidence could actually be viewed in a positive light.
Anyways. Thanks for the thoughtful exchange.