April 20, 2015

Should NYT columnist Frank Bruni get in trouble for calling the relationship between Hillary Clinton and Huma Abedin "marsupial"?

Bruni wrote: "'Everyday Americans' specifically included 'everyday Iowans' when Clinton traveled across the heartland in her Scooby van with Huma Abedin, who clings to her so tightly that their relationship could be called marsupial."

Instapundit says: "HUH. I WONDER WHAT HE’S TRYING TO SAY WITH THAT?" I wonder what Instapundit is trying to say with that. I assume what I assumed when I read Bruni: He's saying — with deniability — that Hillary and Huma are lesbians.

Now, Frank Bruni himself is openly gay, so there's no reason to imagine him to be antagonistic to lesbians or to think it's amusing to float the rumor that the 2 women are lesbians. Or... maybe not. It's possible that an openly gay person would want to pressure closeted gay people to come out. Bruni must know that he's giving air to a rumor that some anti-Hillary people get off on.

And to use an animal to say something about a person...



... you are inviting trouble if you're using that animal to represent membership in a traditionally discriminated-against group.

52 comments:

Bob Ellison said...

...Frank Bruni himself is openly gay, so there's no reason to imagine him to be antagonistic to lesbians...

Come, now, let us be frank. There is antagonism between the L and G communities. They don't need each other except as political allies, and they are naturally opposed to each other. That's how it plays in the real world.

Brando said...

I take it at face value--they're so close that they are figuratively marsupials--figuratively one is in the other's pouch. Why make the "lesbian" leap here? Does everything have to set off our offended sensitivities radar?

Maybe Hillary and Huma have good reason to bond together, besides having terrible foreign policy instincts. Both are married to creeps who can't help but troll for sex with anyone they're not married to, and were willing to risk whatever humiliations it meant for their wives. But of course it's the OTHER party that is engaged in a "war on women."

Brando said...

"They don't need each other except as political allies, and they are naturally opposed to each other."

Should they be? From a lesbian's standpoint, a gay man means less competition for the limited pool of women who might be open to straight or lesbian relationships, and vice versa. It is straight men, and other lesbians, who are competition for the lesbians.

Bob Ellison said...

Brando said, "Should they be?"

No, they shouldn't. But they are. It's a censored antagonism.

CJ said...

Not that there's anything wrong with that......

Sebastian said...

"Now, Frank Bruni himself is openly gay, so there's no reason to imagine him to be antagonistic to lesbians."

Funny.

Bob Ellison said...

The L/G antagonism is a tribal thing. My tribe, your tribe. If you wear leather and ride a Harley, you'd better be one of my tribe. If you wear leather and ride a Harley and you're from the other tribe, then watch out.

There seems to be a political allegiance these days, but I doubt that it will last for very many years.

Laslo Spatula said...

"Bruni must know that he's giving air to a rumor that some anti-Hillary people get off on."

Maybe gay people are tired of covering for her. They lived with her facade of opposition to gay marriage until it became politically safe for her to agree on her timeline, not theirs.

Perhaps they are tired of now covering for her hiding in the closet and letting them take the anti-gay hits personally while she gets to remain plausibly abstract.

Maybe gays are tired of this inauthenticity, and going to Kohl's to buy Bill some socks won't work.

I wonder what Larry Kramer thinks. Maybe someone should ask him on his book tour.

I am Laslo.

Tank said...

"Now, Frank Bruni himself is openly gay, so there's no reason to imagine him to be antagonistic to lesbians."

That is not my impression of how gays think, but I admit it's a limited (but not THAT limited) sample.

Big Mike said...

Interesting. I took it to mean that if someone says "the sky is a pretty shade of blue today" that Hillary looks over to Huma to determine whether the right political move is to agree.

chickelit said...

The public's interest in Huma Abedin is legitimate. Even from a distance she appears to be closely entwined with Hillary. It's perfectly natural to assume that she exerts influence on Hillary's day-to-day cares and solutions to problems.

When Barack Obama was elected, did anyone realize the extent to which he'd bring Valerie Jarrett in tow (or was it the other way around?). What if the press had been as curious about Jarrett as they were about Karl Rove?

Why is the Rodham/Abedin relationship--especially at the profession level--so off-limits? It certainly should not be. Surely there are honest question that can be asked and answered without offending large numbers of people.

MayBee said...

When Barack Obama was elected, did anyone realize the extent to which he'd bring Valerie Jarrett in tow (or was it the other way around?). What if the press had been as curious about Jarrett as they were about Karl Rove?

Why is the Rodham/Abedin relationship--especially at the profession level--so off-limits? It certainly should not be. Surely there are honest question that can be asked and answered without offending large numbers of people.


Amen Amen Amen

MayBee said...

As for outing, it is my impression the gay activists are the biggest group of outers of closeted gay people.

Regular people, gay and straight, are titillated by, but not invested in, the straightness/gayness of public figures.

Eleanor said...

I didn't see it as a sexual allusion at all. Maybe it would be a maternal one. I just figured he didn't want to use the cliche "tied at the hip". Which I suppose could be sexually charged, but I've never thought of it that way.

Bob Ellison said...

Who needs a man?

Steve M. said...

The writer who originally floated this rumor, Michael Musto, is also openly gay.

Clayton Hennesey said...

The leap from "marsupial" to "lesbian" is probably understandable for those confounded by marsupials and their behavior, specifically the young tightly clinging to their mothers or riding in their pouches.

But viewers of Animal Planet of all ages would be equally unlikely to point and say, "Pfft...get a load of the gay tree rats".

damikesc said...

Bruni must know that he's giving air to a rumor that some anti-Hillary people get off on.

Nobody can get off on anything involving Hillary.

Literally nobody.

MadisonMan said...

The most common marsupial in Iowa is likely the Opossum, Didelphimorphia.

Bruni is *obviously* alluding to the very famous lesbian, the Oracle of Delphi, lover of Artemis.

Not only that, but note the morphia in the name: Bruni is suggesting they're both drug addicts too.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

Anybody who thinks of a cute, furry animal mother nurturing her tiny animal babies and then thinks of an old lady and a middle-aged woman having lesbian sex really ought to have their head examined.

Bob Boyd said...

So "marsupial relationship" means Huma likes to hop into Hillary's sack?

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

So if Hillary's assistant were male, what would the rumor be then?

Laslo Spatula said...

"...then thinks of an old lady and a middle-aged woman having lesbian sex really ought to have their head examined."

Sure: an old lady and a middle-aged lady, but the two-foot veined double-headed bulging black dildo is brand new.

I am Laslo.

Sammy Finkelman said...

Well, we could check and see where else, if anywhere, marsupial has been used but I think it would mean that Huma Abedin is in Hillary Clinton's pocket.

https://www.google.com/search?q=in+someone%27s+pocket+meaning

"in someone's pocket
phrase of pocket

1.dependent on someone financially and therefore under their influence.
2.very close to and closely involved with someone.

Sammy Finkelman said...

Say, why didn't Elena Kagan ever get married?

Eliot Spitzer decided to marry a shiksa instead.

Nonapod said...

If Hillary came out as gay and divorced Bill, would it help or hurt her chances at the Presidency?

MadisonMan said...

It's like a smoke-filled room, where everyone is hacking and coughing, just waiting for the Air Freshener.

traditionalguy said...

Momma Hillary: The first marsupial president with a baby sucking in her pouch. She wants it all about glass ceilings, not glass walls.

clint said...

"damikesc said...
Bruni must know that he's giving air to a rumor that some anti-Hillary people get off on.

Nobody can get off on anything involving Hillary.

Literally nobody."

Not even Huma?

mccullough said...

Huma is the non-Bill daughter Hillary always wanted. Chelsea reminds Hillary of Bill.

CWJ said...

New thread. Should chickelit get in trouble for saying "...she appears to be closely entwined with Hillary." Makes as much sense as this one.

bbkingfish said...

Marsupials are gay?

The Perfesser should have dusted off her OED before serving up this howler.

I guess our hostess believes in the old GOP formulation, "Illiteracy in defense against Hillary is no vice."

What is Jaltcoh's take on this raging bumpkinism?

Wilbur said...

"Chelsea reminds Hillary of Bill."

No less true statement has ever been made on this blog.

Chelsea reminds no one of Bill.



BudBrown said...

Marsupial? My first thought is kangaroos are cool. Very nurturing but able to kick ass when needed.
Different from say a devil wears whatever the hell that is allusion.

holdfast said...

This election will separate the tabloid press from the real newspapers (and demonstrate why hiring Bruni as a columnist was not a smart news move.)

It was the tabloid press that got the goods on John Edwards - not only his affair and bastard child, but the financial shenanigans (i.e. illegalities) that he used to pay for it. Don't dis the tabs - at least they aren't too scared to investigate Dems.

Balfegor said...

I'm sort of with Brando here -- I don't see how "marsupial" turns into "lesbian." Unless you work in pederasty there somehow, seeing as the ones in the pouches are the marsupial's young. Rather, I'd take it as a possibly creepy-close mother-daughter kind of relationship. No?

holdfast said...

For what it's worth I read Bruni as saying that they (Hillary and Huma) have a very weird and creepy relationship considering that it is non-sexual.

holdfast said...

How about "Chelsea reminds Hillary of her "marriage" to Bill." ?

Would that work?

damikesc said...

Not even Huma?

Given her husband, I suspect Huma is gifted at acting.

damikesc said...

No less true statement has ever been made on this blog.

Chelsea reminds no one of Bill.


In her defense, Chelsea is also really, really unmemorable as a rule.

Unknown said...

Yeah, Brando gets it right. Huma is in Hilary's pocket. No sex implication but a kind of outlandish metaphor. Betrays hostility.

Mark said...

If I recall correctly, in the 70s and 80s there was a subset of the Gay Rights community that believed that "Outing" any closeted homosexual was beneficial to the community because it raised awareness of the size of the community.

Etienne said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

Huma is underweight and frail looking. I can see her clinging to Hillary and getting carried around; she must weigh half of what Hillary does. But I suspect she is the brains of that particular duo. So who's carrying whom?

Anonymous said...

Mark wrote: "If I recall correctly, in the 70s and 80s there was a subset of the Gay Rights community that believed that "Outing" any closeted homosexual was beneficial to the community because it raised awareness of the size of the community."

The size of that particular community seems to be 1 1/2 percent of the population, at least from what I've read. Seems to be a small piece of the pie to raise such a fuss over.

I'm still not sitting next to Barney Frank, no matter how tired I am.

The health issues alone should keep this group inside as much as possible.

Bryan C said...

"Now, Frank Bruni himself is openly gay, so there's no reason to imagine him to be antagonistic to lesbians..."

Gay people can't be antagonistic to other gay people?

And even if Bruni is implying that Hillary and Huma are gay, why would it be antagonistic? You seem to assume that he or his readers would regard that as an insult. Frankly I don't think most people would care.

Rumpletweezer said...

I've never been more envious of a choice of words in my life. "Marsupial" is genius.

averagejoe said...

"Now, Frank Bruni himself is openly gay, so there's no reason to imagine him to be antagonistic to lesbians"
Althouse must not have much exposure to gay men and lesbians to not know that there is much antagonism between the two groups. First comment on this thread by Bob Ellison is exactly right.

Darrell said...

Huma wishes every day that she would have told the Muslim Brotherhood that she wanted to be a suicide bomber rather than Hillary's Pet and handler.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

Lesbians that I know commonly refer to gay men as "faggots", and treat them with derision. Not sure if this is due to them being gay so much as them being men.

chickelit said...

Althouse wrote...you are inviting trouble if you're using that animal to represent membership in a traditionally discriminated-against group.

Ridiculous on its face. Think of the term male chauvinist pig,* as a derogatory epithet against a "non-traditionally discriminated-against group."

Why is an excuse for the goose slander for the gander?
_______________
*Also, why are a minority of minorities running around calling cops "pigs" not called out in these pages?

Anonymous said...

"Now, Frank Bruni himself is openly gay, so there's no reason to imagine him to be antagonistic to lesbians"

Wow, you don't know many gays or lesbians, do you?