Thoughts On Ted Yoho’s “Apology”

There are two ways to apologize. There is the sincere apology in which one truly feels contrite for what their actions or their words. Then there is the forced apology in which the words are said, but the speaker feels none of the emotion.

Earlier this week, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), had an apparent run in with Representative Ted Yoho (R-FL). According to news reports, he called her a b*tch, among other things. When he was publicly called out by her on the House floor, his apology included the following statement:

“Having been married for 45 years with two daughters, I’m very cognizant of my language”.

His “apology” if you want to call it that, was bullshit.

Aside from the bullying and sexist aspect of his chosen phrasing, I would like to call out two important aspects of his “apology”.

1. That word is a female slur, equivalent to other racial, religious, and sexual orientation slurs that I will not repeat. I would love to see the Representative’s reaction if his wife or one of his daughters was called that name. I doubt he would be so callous in his response.
2. If AOC was Caucasian, older and agreed with the Representative’s political views, I doubt he would have chosen that particular phrasing.

The fact is that over the millennia, men have become too comfortable in the power that has been theirs from birth. Now that women are speaking up, stepping up and taking that power, some men can’t handle it.

Women are not going to scurry quietly back to the neat little boxes that we have been forced into for far too long. We are going to take what is rightfully ours. It’s about dam time that we did.

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Flashback Friday: Breaking the Magician’s Code: Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed (1997-1998, 2002, 2012)

From the perspective of an audience member, a magician performing on stage must truly have magical abilities. But like any performer, this magician has tricks of the trade that the audience is not privy to.

Breaking the Magician’s Code: Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed aired three times of the last twenty or so years (1997-1998, 2002 and 2012). Starring the now unmasked Val Valentino, the premise of the show was as follows: a series of magic tricks would be presented as the viewer is used to seeing them. Once the trick is done, the magician and his assistants take the viewer through the step by step processing of creating the “magic trick”.

I have mixed feelings about this series.

I can perfectly understand why the rest of the magic community would not be pleased with this series. But, at the same time, I feel like it it challenges other magicians to up their game when it comes to their own performances.

Watching this program gave me a new appreciation for the female assistants. They are not just there to be cut in half or levitated. Their role is just as important as the magician’s is.

However, that being said, I hate the commentary with a passion. It is so completely sexist that it makes my skin crawl. I would have also preferred that the women who work with the magician wore a little more than tights and a version of a barely there swimsuit.

Do I recommend it? Maybe.