Biden, Still Grieving His Son, Finds That Not Everyone Wants to Hear About It

[PaladinSolo]

Pretty sure i've said this before, but editorial sections should all be shut down and their contributors shot into the sun.

[CayceG]

49 minutes ago, PaladinSolo said:

Pretty sure i've said this before, but editorial sections should all be shut down and their contributors shot into the sun.

 

 

Yes. 

 

But this wasn't an editorial, or even in the opinion section. It was presented as a full on news story. 

 

In Invoking Beau, Biden Broaches a Loss That’s Guided His Presidency - The New York Times

WWW.NYTIMES.COM

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Referring to Beau Biden with families of U.S. Marines killed in the Kabul airport bombing drew criticism, but the president remains haunted by memories of a son he described as “me, but without all the downsides.”

 

[Guest]

Biden's tough meeting with relatives of the troops killed in Kabul - The Washington Post

WWW.WASHINGTONPOST.COM

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When Biden met this week with families of the service members killed in Afghanistan, a president known for empathy came face-to-face with grief that his decisions helped create.

 

Maybe Schmitz is a hack, just trying to harm the president. Or maybe he is just a grieving father who got upset?

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

2 hours ago, CayceG said:

Yes. 

 

But this wasn't an editorial, or even in the opinion section. It was presented as a full on news story. 

 

In Invoking Beau, Biden Broaches a Loss That’s Guided His Presidency - The New York Times

WWW.NYTIMES.COM

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Referring to Beau Biden with families of U.S. Marines killed in the Kabul airport bombing drew criticism, but the president remains haunted by memories of a son he described as “me, but without all the downsides.”

 

 

 

His advisors should advise him that he should try a different approach in similar future situations and ease up on the Beau invocations or completely drop them.

 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

 

His advisors should advise him that he should try a different approach in similar future situations and ease up on the Beau invocations or completely drop them.

 

 

Agreed. I appreciate his desire to connect with people, but it legitimately could rub families the wrong way.

 

One of the other things that came across as fairly likely and just unfortunate in the moment was Schmitz claim below:

 

Quote

Schmitz did not want to hear about Beau, he wanted to talk about Jared. Eventually, the parents took out a photo to show to Biden. “I said, ‘Don’t you ever forget that name. Don’t you ever forget that face. Don’t you ever forget the names of the other 12,’ ” Schmitz said. “ ‘And take some time to learn their stories.’ ”

 

Biden did not seem to like that, Schmitz recalled, and he bristled, offering a blunt response: “I do know their stories.”

Certainly this could be incorrect, but it reads pretty genuine and reminds me of the way Biden tends to respond to feeling attacked, whether on the debate stage or in press briefings. He sometimes has these curt responses that in most scenarios are probably fine, but part of being the CIC, doing these dignified transfers with the families, it’s taking the heat from grieving families even if it isn’t “fair”. Hopefully he won’t have to do very many of these during his term, but when he does maybe this will be a learning experience.

 

It honestly seems like maybe the single hardest part of the job of president to look these deceased soldier’s family in the eye knowing you are ultimately responsible for them being in that situation. I don’t think many people are built for that, so being prepared is incredibly important.

[Jason]

1 hour ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said:

 

 

His advisors should advise him that he should try a different approach in similar future situations and ease up on the Beau invocations or completely drop them.

 

 

 

Then we'll have chuds running to Fox News complaining about that. 

[Iculus]

You never stop grieving the death of a child. That's what Biden is doing. Grieving.

 

Is it appropriate? Who gives a shit. Leave the man alone. 

[Ghost_MH]

5 hours ago, Iculus said:

You never stop grieving the death of a child. That's what Biden is doing. Grieving.

 

Is it appropriate? Who gives a shit. Leave the man alone. 

 

My mother had a fourth child they died during child birth some thirty years ago. My mother still talks about her sometimes and remembers her birthday every year. That's forever, and Biden telling folks that even well meaning people don't understand grief, even if they've lost someone is about as understanding as I've ever heard a president get at one of these things.

 

Right wing media will never not find something to complain about. Fuck twisting ourselves in knots to meet some non-existent standard that will never appease them.

[Remarkableriots]

52% of Voters Think Biden Should Resign Over Afghanistan Withdrawal

WWW.RASMUSSENREPORTS.COM

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The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was so badly handled that President Joe Biden should resign because of it, according to a majority of voters. However, most don’t think Vice President Kamala Harris is...

 

[ort]

This is the stupidest fucking opinion ever. Fox News and the right wing media machine is so effective it's scary.

 

Their reaction to the Afghanistan withdrawal has been downright disgusting.

 

I wish the multiverse was real and we could see how the world would have reacted if Trump withdrew the troops and it went the exact same way.

 

His aggressive stance on leaving was about the only thing I agreed with him on.

[Ghost_MH]

29 minutes ago, ort said:

This is the stupidest fucking opinion ever. Fox News and the right wing media machine is so effective it's scary.

 

Their reaction to the Afghanistan withdrawal has been downright disgusting.

 

They only care insofar as it will give them a perceived political advantage.

 

 

[Keyser_Soze]

Well if they can rope Newsom into a recall election over nothing I'm sure they'll try to do this with Biden.

[PaladinSolo]

Rasmussen isn't a real pollster anymore, and hasn't been for quite some time, its mask off full on right wing propaganda now.

 

 

 

[ort]

Those are the worst poll questions I have ever seen in my life. What the fuck is that shit?

[stepee]

54 minutes ago, ort said:

Those are the worst poll questions I have ever seen in my life. What the fuck is that shit?

 

lol this question from the poll in the ot:

 

2* Do you agree or disagree with this statement: “I think Joe Biden deserves to be impeached because he’s abandoned thousands of Afghans who fought with us and he’s going to abandon some American citizens because he capitulated to the Taliban to a 31 August deadline”?

 

MAN, I love when poll questions have my opinion written out for me so I can answer the question and tell you exactly why I answered that way afterwards!

 

But yeah they exist just to be quoted by right wing pundits as a counter to actual polling. I assume they do actually “poll” but just target their polls with a similar methodology as gerrymandering. 

[brucoe]

One of the worst problems of Biden's approach is a complete misunderstanding of grief on the part of the victims experiencing it. On the surface, there's a sense that yes, you can understand the loss someone is feeling because you may have experienced a horrific experience yourself in the past, but, and this is the important "but", a victim going through remorse at that exact moment doesn't care or want to know anything about the grief you experienced in the past while grieving their own loss. Basically, it falls into the error of practically every criticism that was waged against Trump in that he always made every incident about himself, stopping just short of going full Trump and demanding credit as being center of attention.

 

As someone who has consoled people who have lost people to the great loss that a death can impact, one thing you learn quite quickly is to let the person experience what they need to be feeling without trying to "fix" their situation, especially by comparing yourself to their circumstances. Some people just want to know that the people in charge are listening to their grief, not sharing their own instead as if it's some kind of coping mechanism.

[stepee]

1 hour ago, brucoe said:

One of the worst problems of Biden's approach is a complete misunderstanding of grief on the part of the victims experiencing it. On the surface, there's a sense that yes, you can understand the loss someone is feeling because you may have experienced a horrific experience yourself in the past, but, and this is the important "but", a victim going through remorse at that exact moment doesn't care or want to know anything about the grief you experienced in the past while grieving their own loss. Basically, it falls into the error of practically every criticism that was waged against Trump in that he always made every incident about himself, stopping just short of going full Trump and demanding credit as being center of attention.

 

As someone who has consoled people who have lost people to the great loss that a death can impact, one thing you learn quite quickly is to let the person experience what they need to be feeling without trying to "fix" their situation, especially by comparing yourself to their circumstances. Some people just want to know that the people in charge are listening to their grief, not sharing their own instead as if it's some kind of coping mechanism.

 

This is basically exactly it. It could be a great teachable moment that Biden and then all future presidents or really anyone in such a situation could learn from. Unfortunately nobody is actually interested in any of that.

[Spawn_of_Apathy]

I get wha Biden is doing. He wants to be relatable, and to help them through the grief. Maybe some will appreciate it, but some won’t. 
 

I lost my mom when I was 13. I had people trying to relate who lost a parent while they themselves were in their 40s, or people my own age who lost a grand parent. Not being comparable doesn’t help. 
 

but even if was comparable, fuck that. Somebody else losing somebody doesn’t make my loss hurt less. I don’t care they also lost somebody. I want my person back. I don’t want to feel abandoned, but I want the world to just fuck off for a while. Nothing anyone can say will make it better. But not having to think “what to do next” is a weight off for a bit. 
 

I don’t envy any President that has to do this. But they should. What’s the right way. I don’t know, but unless the next of kin engage, the verbal interaction should be brief. Sitting in silence with somebody can feel far less anger inducing than having somebody try to fill the air with the sound of their own voice.