David Cop-a-Feel?

George H.W. Bush, legendary ass-grabber.

Grolnick told Deadspin that “he reached his right hand around to my behind, and as we smiled for the photo he asked the group, ‘Do you want to know who my favorite magician is?’ As I felt his hand dig into my flesh, he said, ‘David Cop-a-Feel!’”

Solhberg confirmed Grolnick’s account, saying that Bush’s behavior didn’t shock her because other theater staffers “always complain that he’s kinda creepy.”

“They warned us, he gets pretty handsy,” she said, adding that “everybody in the room nervously laughed” after Bush “grabbed [Grolnick’s] ass.”

Oh Obama, please come back.

11 thoughts on “David Cop-a-Feel?”

  1. Girl from the North Country

    cleek, I just wanted to thank you for your general attitude to these matters in the other place, and most particularly for your “moral bankruptcy” comment. I am currently operating under a severe kind of self-denying ordinance regarding that commenter; I decided not to directly engage with him when his mysogyny and sexism became so obvious in another thread (coincidentally when directed at JanieM and me, but as far as I was concerned it was not personal) and it is really clear that russell, lj, the Count and others value his contributions highly. In fact, I have valued his contributions in the past, particularly when they were not quoting vast reams of impenetrable critical theory, and still think he has interesting things to contribute. Nor do I want to be involved in anything that might drive another contributor from the site – it’s bad enough that sapient has gone off in a huff and that I contributed to that (although I stand by everything I said). In any case, as soon as I saw his attitude to women for what it was, and observed his manipulative pre-emptive attempts to insulate himself from being called on it, I couldn’t un-see it. Sorry for this long comment, but I guess I’m venting my own pent-up feelings! Anyway, thanks again for being an honourable male voice in this discussion.

    1. cleek Post author

      i have no patience with the kind of abstraction Mr m. operates in. and i have no idea what about it the others find interesting. to me, it seems like a way to avoid reality entirely by pretending to be above it all. it’s pseudo-intellectual privileged pompous preening bullshit. and perhaps it would be simply amusing if, when his real self peeks through, it wasn’t often so hideous. alas.

      but he comes and goes.

      i’m waiting.

      1. cleek Post author

        by total coincidence, i picked up my Kindle and started reading where i’d left off in The Corrections . within two minutes i’m reading about a critical theory class:

        “What’s wrong with making a living?” Melissa said. “Why is it inherently evil to make money?”

        “Baudrillard might argue,” Chip said, “that the evil of a campaign like ‘You Go, Girl’ consists in the detachment of the signifier from the signified. That a woman weeping no longer just signifies sadness. It now also signifies: ‘Desire office equipment.’ It signifies: ‘Our bosses care about us deeply.’ ”

        The wall clock showed two-thirty. Chip paused and waited for the bell to ring and the semester to end.

        “Excuse me,” Melissa said, “but that is just such bullshit.”

        “What is bullshit?” Chip said.

        “This whole class,” she said. “It’s just bullshit every week. It’s one critic after another wringing their hands about the state of criticism. Nobody can ever quite say what’s wrong exactly. But they all know it’s evil. They all know ‘corporate’ is a dirty word. And if somebody’s having fun or getting rich—disgusting! Evil! And it’s always the death of this and the death of that. And people who think they’re free aren’t ‘really’ free. And people who think they’re happy aren’t ‘really’ happy. And it’s impossible to radically critique society anymore, although what’s so radically wrong with society that we need such a radical critique, nobody can say exactly. It is so typical and perfect that you hate those ads!” she said to Chip as, throughout Wroth Hall, bells finally rang. “Here things are getting better and better for women and people of color, and gay men and lesbians, more and more integrated and open, and all you can think about is some stupid, lame problem with signifiers and signifieds. Like, the only way you can make something bad out of an ad that’s great for women—which you have to do, because there has to be something wrong with everything—is to say it’s evil to be rich and evil to work for a corporation, and yes, I know the bell rang.” She closed her notebook.

        “OK,” Chip said. “On that note. You’ve now satisfied your Cultural Studies core requirement. Have a great summer.”

        He was powerless to keep the bitterness out of his voice. He bent over the video player and gave his attention to rewinding and re-cuing “You Go, Girl” and touching buttons for the sake of touching buttons. He sensed a few students lingering behind him, as if they wanted to thank him for teaching his heart out or to tell him they’d enjoyed the class, but he didn’t look up from the video player until the room was empty. Then he went home to Tilton Ledge and started drinking. Melissa’s accusations had cut him to the quick. He’d never quite realized how seriously he’d taken his father’s injunction to do work that was “useful” to society. Criticizing a sick culture, even if the criticism accomplished nothing, had always felt like useful work. But if the supposed sickness wasn’t a sickness at all—if the great Materialist Order of technology and consumer appetite and medical science really was improving the lives of the formerly oppressed; if it was only straight white males like Chip who had a problem with this order—then there was no longer even the most abstract utility to his criticism. It was all, in Melissa’s word, bullshit.

        since i just met Melissa, approvingly quoting her might be premature. but Chip, whom i also just met, seems like an asshole, so i don’t mind that she’s beating him down.

        1. Girl from the North Country

          Very apposite! And heartfelt amen to your previous, all of it really but particularly the bit about the occasions when the real self peeks through. I am reminded of the great P G Wodehouse, speaking specifically about aunts in the voice of Bertie Wooster, but it is of frequent real-life application “Sooner or later, out pops the cloven hoof!”

        2. sapient

          The Corrections is one of my favorite books ever, but I didn’t remember that this was why. Time for a reread. Thanks, cleek!

          Also, thanks so much for the pie filter, which I would highly recommend to those who can’t bear certain commenters, such as the one in question here. Should probably have applied it to another one, but I think he appears there to troll me, so …

          Weird that today ObWi people are talking about the equivalent of manicures when the US constitution is having a litmus test. It’s fine – home schooling is important too – or is it – I really don’t know. (Yeah, to be honest – today it’s tax cuts over there. Whatever – nobody who cares what’s happening in this country wants to spend so much time talking to those 10 guys – or maybe 10 men and four women – anymore, when the front pagers ban people at the drop of a hat for mentioning what is really happening with each other, and their view of things. )

          Anyway, cleek, I won’t continue to pollute your site as a “Taking It Outside” alternative. But thanks again for reminding me of The Corrections (Franzen too suffers from knee jerk hate from critics, among whom was Adam Kirsch, an incredibly prestigious, and sometimes good, critic, who reviewed a Franzen book while admitting that he hadn’t even read it).

          I visit your site regularly, cleek, but refrain from commenting. I hope to continue to lurk here. Don’t ban me! Or tell me before you do! Thanks.

  3. Girl from the North Country

    Yes, nice to see you sapient! I have expressed my sincere affection and admiration for you many times, and would never want you to withdraw (even if only slightly) on my account – you can always use the pie filter on me if necessary! If (as I hope and believe) you withdrew rather than being banned, come back whenever you feel it is worthwhile. The Count has already called for you to come back, and I am sure that apart from me others would want you to as well.

  4. sapient

    Thank you, GftNC. It wasn’t you who caused me to leave. I will take a break in the hope that my outlook will improve – perhaps I’ll catch up on my reading, and other things.

    I did want to thank cleek for his Franzen find. cleek is a bit younger than me, so I don’ t know whether he will discover in The Corrections something that I felt, a feeling that a lot of my contemporaries shared when reading it: that the book was modeled on my particular family, and my particular parents.

    I always enjoy peeking in here to see what’s on cleek’s mind. I will continue to keep up with you and the gang over there too, mostly lurking, mostly quiet, if I can manage that.

    Best, sapient

    1. cleek Post author

      i’m only a few dozen pages in so far, but it’s clear that Enid and Alfred are nothing at all like my own parents. on the other hand what i’ve read so far reminds me a lot of the parents of one of my wife’s close friends. so when i picture them, i see the R___’s.

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