Hillary Clinton- A testament of (poor) character (My Washington Caucus experience 2 of 3)
This is the second installment of the series regarding my Washington state caucus experience, and to me this one is the most damning evidence regarding the character of Hillary Clinton.
After we performed our first round of caucus voting (there are 2 rounds), individuals were allowed an opportunity for a brief speech to convince voters to change their minds. Since Sanders had 45 to 2 edge over Clinton (there was 1 undecided), I decided not to speak. However, the last speech was incredible and it confirms my assumptions regarding Clinton. Moreover, it seals the deal for me that I will not vote for her, ever.
Our Precinct Captain, which stated upfront she was a Sanders supporter and verified we were okay with this support and her being our captain- very transparent. She gave the last speech in favor of Sanders, but added at the very end of her speech that she had an opportunity to meet with Secretary of State Clinton in Central America, the story is as follows (summary version).
The Precinct Captain was working for the Peace Corps in Central American several years ago (as a college student), and her group had the opportunity to meet with Hillary Clinton at one of the American consulates. She was very excited to meet with her idol. After traveling for over 8 hours through jungle and rough terrain in 100 plus degree heat, their group finally got the opportunity to meet with Secretary Clinton. (My understanding her group was not very big). The meeting was very brief and coarse, the Precinct Captain (I will not give out her name), was mad because as she stated, “Hillary, refused to shake my hand, refused!”.
This one act caused Hillary to lose the respect of this professional woman and caused this same person to campaign against her and I believe not to support her during the general election. Moreover, this person is the heir apparent to be the leader of this Caucus (10 precincts). (I overheard her speaking with the retiring Caucus leader).
Think about this second hand account, why would you not take two seconds of your time to shake the hand of admirer that traveled hundreds of miles just to meet you? Moreover, this young person was doing admirable work- helping the less fortunate. In my book, that makes the person a number one douchebag. I guess if she had money her hand then Hillary would have gladly shaken it.
In the words of John Wooden, a great basketball coach and an amazing person of true character, “The true test of a man's (person’s) character is what he (or she) does when no one is watching.” To me Hillary Clinton is a person of weak character.
Comments
"Refused"?
OK, look, this seems odd to me:
What does "coarse" mean in regard to this meeting? Was somebody swearing? Or what? And I do wonder at the claim that Hillary Clinton "refused" to shake somebody's hand. It seems unreasonable. There's not enough context to suggest a reason why she would do that.
I'm a Bernie supporter - but I'm inclined to question claims against his opponent when they seem a bit far-fetched. This one does.
Context
Coarse meaning rough, brief or unrefined, my word. Besides the Precinct Captain wearing her Peace Corps shirt and her husband of latin descedecent, you could be right. However, why make up this story? If you go to the length of creating a story why not tell a truly outrageous story? I work as project manager (over 20 years) so I have a good BS meter. She also was truly pissed, tough to fake pure outrage. Finally, does the story not fit Hillary, can you picture it? If not that is fine but I believed her account.
I had an experience once...
...when putting out my hand to shake that of a celebrity performer, my hand was not taken. Afterward I realized that it was for the person's protection. They must have to be so careful about everything. It does seem that this would have been overkill on Clinton's part, but she may have been instructed not to let people touch her. I agree. Need more information.
Seems she is more than willing
to shake hands and hug people on the campaign trail... and the key to this whole thing is, were there cameras present?
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Cameras, journalists, or money bags
Their presence drives Hillary Ver. 3.0. Otherwise you are stuck with Ver. 2.1, a very buggy, troublesome, inept OS. Somehow her focus group app fails to communicate with 2.1, and her polling data cannot be accessed without crashing the system.
The only problem with 3.0 is the amount of energy it takes to run. You get about 15 minutes of actual use before you have to shut it down and recharge the lithium batteries. That, and the access costs require at least two private fund-raising sessions just to keep the app operating.
Context missing
I agree with mini above - why was the handshake refused? Is this a general thing for her? Doesn't have to do with Secret Service, does it? Unclear.
'What we are left with is an agency mandated to ensure transparency and disclosure that is actually working to keep the public in the dark' - Ann M. Ravel, former FEC member
Did not ask
My guess is Hillary does not like to associate with the common folk. A handshake is not threaten but it takes a little bit a humanity to give one.
I understood the story as soon as I read it.
To me, Hillary wouldn't have wanted to shake the sweaty dirty hand of someone who probably also smelled bad from her long journey in the heat. After all, Hillary was probably showered and fresh and clean. Lord knows where that Peace Corps volunteer's hand had been in her dealings with grubby brown people. Probably had cooties ...
You know, when a plumber or an electrician or a repair person comes to my house to do me the favor of fixing a problem, I don't CARE if his hands are dirty or greasy when he's all done. I give him a check ... and a hearty, two-handed handshake ... period! It's what you do when good people do you a service.
That woman was doing a difficult service for her country. As a person of authority from that country, Hillary should not have even hesitated to reach out and acknowledge that service with a handshake.
"Long term: first the rich get mean, then the poor get mean, and the rest is history." My brother Rob.
Thank you
It is the little things that makes us good people. Thank you for understanding.
By the way, 30 years ago I had a chance encounter with Bob Knight (former basketball coach for Indiana University). I was a Freshman football player going to get injuiry treatment. Anyway no one was in the Assembly Hall hallway but him and me. I was going one way and he was heading the other way. I say "hello Mr. Knight", and he looked right thru me and said nothing. I am 6'3" and at that time built like a tank (22" neck and 54" coat) so he could not have missed me. Heck I would have taken a little wave or head nod, but nothing. His actions demonstrated who he was a jerk (by the wayhe was fired several years later for physically and verbally abusing his players). Is this story true, as God is witness yes. So if behave like a jerk then in all likeihood you are a jerk.
Cold Heart ,Cold Smile, Icy Stare =Hillary
"That woman was doing a difficult service for her country. As a person of authority from that country, Hillary should not have even hesitated to reach out and acknowledge that service with a handshake."
Perfectly stated. The Secret Service wouldn't have allowed the Peace Corp worker anywhere near the Secretary of State unless they were confident of the Secretary's safety, so the fact that Hillary didn't shake that woman's hand was Hillary's decision alone and totally in keeping with her cold and distant demeanor that people find off-putting on a visceral level.
Your comment reminded me of the time...
...when GWBush and Bill Clinton were in Haiti. Remember Bush wiping his hand on Clinton's shoulder after having contact with one of the Haitian people they were with? That was unbelievable.
My HRC story is similiar
Posted it here in another thread a week or so ago...short version, a Bernie volunteer who is a successful lawyer worked at HRC's law firm when she first got her law degree in the 1980's...according to this co-volunteer (whom I trust) Hillary mandated that all women (and men) in the office must wear drab black or blue suits/clothing - only HRC could dress in colorful & stylish outfits - she had to stand out like a flower among the weeds.
Nice boss heh?
FEEL THE BERN: "But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing." - Thomas Paine
"Here I Stand, I can do no other." - Attributed to Martin Luther, 1521
Thanks
As my grandpa use to say where there is smoke there is fire. I shared this story with everyone to demonstrate that her actions speak for her behavior. If you act like a jerk then in all likelihood you are a jerk.
The John Wooden quote reminds me of the time Bernie met Sandra
Bland's mother (who eventually endorsed Clinton ??). http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-sandra-bland_us_56201...
Perhaps Hillary was in the midst of trying to
avoid sniper fire? Who knows. I'm sure there are lots of people in Latin America that didn't want her being there.
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - JFK | "The more I see of the moneyed peoples, the more I understand the guillotine." - G. B. Shaw Bernie/Tulsi 2020
Hosni Mubarek refused
to shake my hand, once.
Just sayin'...
"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X
a response of similar kind to motocat over there
I posted it before fully reading chaoslilith's rebuttal:
But yeah, pretty much in a nutshell what I see over there.
So long, and thanks for all the fish
We can't fathom the rationale because...
...we haven't spent our entire lives "on the make."
The Handshake is a time-honored symbol of a completed transaction. In shaking hands we give each other something.
Why would she shake hands with someone who had nothing to give her?
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Thanks Borkrom for #2; I'm looking forward to the third. I got
the point immediately, as did most folks on the thread. I'm from colonial Africa where the incident you describe was commonplace between colonial masters & mistresses (in the colonial sense of the word) and workers. Clinton would have fit right in. You're right, character is what you do when folks aren't looking.
It used to make my teeth grind to see people refuse common courtesy to another human being. Back in Africa, we had a saying when angry, "It's enough to make the (baby) monkey bite it's mother." I bet that's how your caucus leader felt.
Clinton is like most privileged people in that they just don't acknowledge ordinary people as human "enough" to even see them - right in front of their very eyes. "We see the world not as it is, but as we are."
Thanks for #2 and I'm looking forward to the next one. Best wishes,
Resilience: practical action to improve things we can control.
3D+: developing language for postmodern spirituality.
You are welcome and thank you for the feedback
I appreciate you understanding my point and feedback. Several people were asking about content and maybe there was a misunderstanding about the situation. Guess what, I just did not see why Hillary Clinton could not just shake someone's hand especially a young, energetic person, and performing charitable works that traveled hours and hundreds of miles to meet her idol. Spot on, the caucus leader was not happy about the experience- it shaped her world.
You are spot on about the privileged point of view. I am a white guy, and I did not realize (will never fully understand it) this point of view until my mom taught me a valuable lesson about it.
Quick story, my mom was a very high level banking executive (worked her way thru the ranks without a college degree in the male dominate world of banking industry during the 70s/80s/90s) and when I was in college we met for lunch. Keep in mind I was about 21 or so with a few days growth of a beard and wore a tee shirt with shorts while my mom was in a business suit and a very polished professional. When the server was coming to bring us the check, my mom said watch Jeff she will give you the check to pay because you are the man. I of course was a little panicky since I was a poor college student. However, she told me that there is bias in this world and you need to realize and work against it. So guess what, the server set the bill in front of me to pay and I quickly handed it to my mom saying she will pay the check. The moral of the story is all of us need to realize, recognize, understand and work to overcome these privileges because we are all one people (at least in my mind). Please note this is simple and very limited experience, but one that I hope makes me a better person that relates to your point "We see the world not as it is, but as we are." My goal is to try to be better and understanding, and teach and cultivate with others and my family.
By the way, the third story will be a fun one about Bernie.