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Comment by michannne | Hacker News Reader

Yet it is, but for the sake of fast-forwarding the disagreement, let's assume for now that Drake, or any other male rapper celebrity, or any other celebrity period, or any semi-famous man has never in private conversation talked about how easy it is for them to take advantage of their celebrity status to get what they want from women.

When you assume that, then the president looks quite like the rare unique case, wouldn't you say?

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At the very best then, it'd be the way he said it (so, the phrasing) combined with the fact he's the president (or was running to be), a role which we expect not only the highest levels of decorum but also humility and respect for the citizens, and combined with the fact that just because Drake might do it, it doesn't mean it's an OK thing to do. I don't know about other people, but I'd definitely criticize anyone for not only using their status to grope people, but then to brag about it. To brag about it betrays a certain mindset and characteristic of disrespect for people, and in this case, women.

In other words, I'd think lesser of my friend for saying something like that to me, or overhearing him in another conversation. The same goes doubly for the leader of the most powerful nation on the planet.

You're perfectly free to decide how you view someone based on what they've said. My issue is do not then assume that everyone who isn't as offended is somehow being unreasonable or that the world has descended into nonsense. I don't condone what he says, but I understand that people do say those things, and I separate what he says in confidence from how he acts in situations where it matters - I see a 0% chance that the president will talk about groping when having a discussion with Vladimir Putin.

>a role which we expect not only the highest levels of decorum but also humility and respect for the citizens

That has never been the case. Nixon was known to vilify journalists, Clinton had already been known for his womanizing and sexual unforwardness, and LBJ pissed in the street casually. Never have we had a highly curated robot as a president, they all have quirks that would turn off segments of the population if it were common knowledge.

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