• testfactor@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Does it not feel… a bit misogynist, to say that a woman can’t be grieving her husband because of what she’s wearing?

    Like, idk guys. I get Charlie Kirk had abhorrent and racist politics, but that doesn’t mean his wife didn’t actually care about him. This hate-circlejerk just feels gross to me.

    • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
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      3 days ago

      I received fundraising spam in the mail from her saying that if I send money it will be a “personal reply” to Erica herself! She is absolutely grifting the fuck out of her husband’s death. It’s got nothing to do with gender and everything to do with republicans grifting shitheads.

      Assuming all women are by default above criticism is very sexist and infantilizing towards women.

      • faythofdragons@slrpnk.net
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        3 days ago

        Yeah, but none of that has anything to do with how she’s dressed. Like, she’s a horrible person, why are we focusing on her clothing?

        • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
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          3 days ago

          If by “we” you mean the collective of Lemmy, thats just not true. I’ve seen a shitload of criticism of her here, very little of it pants-related. The only thing pants-related on this post is the title, not even the image itself.

      • testfactor@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        I don’t think, “she deserved it, just look what she’s wearing, and if you tell me that’s a wrong thing to say it’s because you’re infantilizing women by saying they can’t be wrong,” is quite the defense you seem to think it is.

    • becausechemistry@lemy.lol
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      3 days ago

      It is not okay to make fun of someone for something they had no influence over. Their height, or race, or how rich or poor they grew up.

      It is 100% okay to make fun of someone for their terrible decisions. Like wearing skintight leather pants to your late husband’s funeral where you publicly got to like first base with the vice president and sold merch.

      • testfactor@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Idk man. Is this really meaningfully different than when the right was piling on Obama for wearing a brown suit?

        And any time the narrative is “look at what this woman decided to wear and judge her harshly for it,” I think it’s worth taking a moment to step back and evaluate if you might be the baddie on this one.

        And I feel like “getting to first base with the VP” is overstating it. It’s a weird hug for sure, but it’s not egregious. She moves her hand to his head for, like, half a second. I’ve known parents who kiss their kids on the lips. Is it weird? Hell yes. But I don’t think they were plowing their kids. They were just weird in how they did social affection. And this is way less weird than that.

        And look back at that image again. Imagine this was about Michelle Obama. Let’s say that she wore something the right found questionable to her husband’s funeral, and decided to make a “lying grifter bitch” outfit about her? It would be, at best, in bad taste. And while they could always defend themselves with, “well she shouldn’t have decided to dress like that if she didn’t want to get mocked,” I think that I’d rather not associate myself with that kind of rhetoric, personally.

        • halfeatenpotato@sh.itjust.works
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          3 days ago

          My sister-in-law did something similar after my brother drowned and it made a traumatic experience even worse, somehow.

          She made money, collected attention, and built her music “career” off of it. Her debut song was at my brother’s church funeral (he was an atheist).

          Fuck this type of person.

        • becausechemistry@lemy.lol
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          3 days ago

          Jesus, man. The false equivalency is just so terrible.

          The devil never asked for an advocate, and those nazi wannabes didn’t either. You don’t have to defend them, especially with language they’d laugh at.

          • Prunebutt@slrpnk.net
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            3 days ago

            They’re not defending anybody. They’re just stating that punches below the belt aren’t cool, even if you’re hitting MAGAs.

          • testfactor@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            Let me be clear, I’m not being a devil’s advocate here.

            I genuinely believe it’s not okay to tell a widow she’s grieving wrong.

            I also genuinely believe that telling women how they should be dressed is some sexist BS.

            I also genuinely don’t think those pants were particularly egregious. And I thought her hug with Vance wasn’t particularly scandalous. And I also genuinely believe if it wasn’t someone you were already primed to hate, you’d feel the same way.

            And I don’t think the solution to any of the problems were having in this country is more dehumanization. We get plenty of that with this current administration thanks. And just because they suck doesn’t make it okay to abandon your principles.

            • becausechemistry@lemy.lol
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              3 days ago

              Gosh, you’re right. I was already primed to hate her. By her and her husband’s repeated statements that people I love should not exist.

              I genuinely believe that enforced decorum benefits the powerful. “I get to do whatever I want without consequence but you’re terrible for saying something mean to me” is a thing an oppressor says.

              • Ahardyfellow@lemmynsfw.com
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                3 days ago

                I think their point is hate her, or poke fun at the actual reasons that she is a terrible human. Wearing leather pants to a funeral and awkwardly hugging Vance are not the reasons she should be shunned. It’s her idealogy and actions that are.

        • jacksilver@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          I get where you are coming from.

          I think the hard part is it’s hard to know how sincere these people are behind their personas. Like Trump playing down covid while taking the vaccine himself, where does the grift start and end.

          I’m sure she really did grieve his passing, but at the same time it feels like this is all publicity stunts to cash in on his death. I know I wouldn’t be up to a big public appearance like that if my SO had been murdered.

          • testfactor@lemmy.world
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            3 days ago

            Sure, you wouldn’t, but this is someone who was already in the limelight anyway.

            And to be clear, a lot of people make public appearances after tragedy. Left and right alike. It doesn’t invalidate their grief just because they don’t react the exact way you would. There’s no right way to grieve.

            And genuinely, if Charlie Kirk had been a great champion for the left, and his widow was doing the exact same things to continue his legacy, would you still say she was grifting? Do you really believe in your heart of hearts that would be your reaction?

    • D_C@sh.itjust.works
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      3 days ago

      If we take these two disgusting horrible people out of all this then skin tight leather trousers would still be inappropriate for a widow to wear at her husband’s funeral. It doesn’t matter who it is wearing the trousers.

      Then when you see who it is wearing them trousers it is a bit more open for criticism. Then when we tack on the grifting she did the days after the shooting. And the selling of merch at the funeral I think it is entirely ok to give her shit about it.

      Now if she had come out after the shooting and said “I’m devastated, please let me and my kids grieve and mourn” I would defend her right to that. And if she had worn dark coloured clothing to the funeral instead of the usual black mourning attire I would also defend her right to do that.

      The fact is she did the grifting within days of his death. And she was the one with the final decision to sell merch and wear those skin tight trousers. Her decisions turned it into a circus, so should be pulled up for looking like a clown.

      And I’d say the same if it was Mrs Obama. Except I wouldn’t have to because she has some class, whereas, obviously, the Blonde Nazi Wife does not.

      • vzqq@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        3 days ago

        If we take these two disgusting horrible people out of all this then skin tight leather trousers would still be inappropriate for a widow to wear at her husband’s funeral. It doesn’t matter who it is wearing the trousers.

        Who made you the fucking clothing police?

        • Soggy@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          It’s an observation on existing social mores, funeral garb is expected to be fairly modest. There’s social value to fitting in with norms.

      • testfactor@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Idk man, I feel like I’m taking crazy pills. I think the pants were a 2/10 “scandalous” decision at best.

        And I don’t feel like “if she grieved the way I think would be appropriate, then her grieving would be valid, but she’s grieving wrong so I’m gonna judge her for her slutty outfit,” is the defense you seem to think it is…

        And I think the fact that the huge rally that his funeral was had things being sold at it to help support the organization he dedicated his life to isn’t quite as tacky as you’re trying to paint it as being.

        Look, I’m not defending either one of them as a person, but I just genuinely don’t believe that you’d have any of the same criticisms if Kirk was a huge left wing policy advocate who was killed, and literally everything else played out exact the same way.

    • Wilco@lemmy.zip
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      3 days ago

      She is going to be fucking Vance within a few months. This will be a political marriage once Vance figures out how to divorce his wife without looking too terribly racist … the religion explanation might not actually work on MAGA.

      • testfactor@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        I don’t think, “you don’t understand, she wasn’t grieving the way women are supposed to grieve, and she was dressed like a slut,” is exactly the defense you seem to think it is…

        There’s not a “right” way to grieve. And someone isn’t “wrong” because they process trauma differently than you would. And none of that is an excuse for slut shaming.

        • ayyy@sh.itjust.works
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          3 days ago

          By not selling merch and sending out spam begging for money in exchange for “personal messages” that aren’t personal at all.