Progressive Hero Gets Stuck In Semantic Morass Over Online Comment
At issue is the meaning of phrase, "back of the hand"
Former labor secretary and progressive YouTuber and influencer Robert Reich — a hero for decades among progressives — got caught up in a semantic quagmire over his criticism of Sen Kyrsten Sinema's refusal to back filibuster reform.
As expected, Sinema — an outlier Democrat from Arizona — and Sen Joe Manchin of West Virginia, the other Democratic outlier among the Senate Democratic caucus on Wednesday night refused to back a rules change which would have allowed the voting rights bill up for consideration to be immune from a Republican filibuster.
Passing voting rights legislation — in the face of voter-suppression laws at the state level among red states in the country — has been a top priority for President Biden and most other Democrats.
Manchin and Sinema’s defections late Wednesday were a bitter pill for Democrats and progressives.
Following the vote, Reich, who headed the Labor Department under President Bill Clinton, tweeted: “Tonight, Republican senators lined up to shake Kyrsten Sinema's hand. Democratic senators should have given her the backs of their hands.”
The tweet immediately touched off a firestorm from some suggesting that Reich was advocating the use of violence against Sinema — or at least demonstrated an insensitivity towards domestic violence.
Reich sought to defend himself, while allies online worked to do likewise. He resurfaced a tweet from July 2020 which included a quote from Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and his comment on it.
To the quote which read, “This issue is [about] a culture of violence and violent language against women, and an entire structure of power that supports it,” Reich added, “I implore all men to let this sink in, and ask yourself how you're going to upend that power structure.”
Ultimately, Reich deleted the tweet in question from Wednesday.
“Last night I deleted a tweet because it was widely misinterpreted and distorted by conservative media. ‘Back of the hand' is an idiom for rebuke. I wholeheartedly condemn violence against women,” he wrote Thursday.
That, however, didn't stop the outcry.
Even some of Reich’s allies had a problem.
“Dude, I am a fan and follower and I defended you in an earlier tweet. You didn’t mean it literally & folks on the other side of the aisle say things like this too, but… we know what you said & what it meant. No misinterpretations. Better to own that one,” wrote the owner of the Twitter account MilkyBear360.
Others sought to move on.
“We're human and make mistakes. You recognized an issue and clarified. Thank you for explaining. You're really awesome!” Paula Bonaparte tweeted.
Still others continued to defend Reich based on the meaning and etymology of the expression.
“‘1. A rejection, snub, or rebuke; a display of contempt or scorn for someone or something.’ Where does it say physical rebuke. I would understand if he said that she should be backhanded, but this is not what he meant. Literal and figurative speech must be hard to understand,” posted the owner of the account going by Eat Me, I’m A Danish!.
Another Twitter user posted a screen capture of the definitions, noting that the expression apparently dates to the 18th century.
A user named Michael B Damen also appeared to argue for moving on, with perhaps an acknowledgement from Reich.
“Good people say and do bad things. But the bad things should not define us unless they reflect a pattern of bad behavior. I’ve seen no evidence that Robert Reich has ever physically harmed a woman. But he needs to acknowledge that phrase should never be used in reference to women,” he said.
Do you find this post of value?
Please subscribe…