Romney was a psychotic bully in High School
The Washington Post reports on how Mitt Romney, when he was a young adult at 18 years of age, was a homophobic bully who beat up and assaulted people he thought were different that he was.
Mitt Romney returned from a three-week spring break in 1965 to resume his studies as a high school senior at the prestigious Cranbrook School. Back on the handsome campus, studded with Tudor brick buildings and manicured fields, he spotted something he thought did not belong at a school where the boys wore ties and carried briefcases. John Lauber, a soft-spoken new student one year behind Romney, was perpetually teased for his nonconformity and presumed homosexuality. Now he was walking around the all-boys school with bleached-blond hair that draped over one eye, and Romney wasn’t having it.
“He can’t look like that. That’s wrong. Just look at him!” an incensed Romney told Matthew Friedemann, his close friend in the Stevens Hall dorm, according to Friedemann’s recollection. Mitt, the teenaged son of Michigan Gov. George Romney, kept complaining about Lauber’s look, Friedemann recalled.
A few days later, Friedemann entered Stevens Hall off the school’s collegiate quad to find Romney marching out of his own room ahead of a prep school posse shouting about their plan to cut Lauber’s hair. Friedemann followed them to a nearby room where they came upon Lauber, tackled him and pinned him to the ground. As Lauber, his eyes filling with tears, screamed for help, Romney repeatedly clipped his hair with a pair of scissors. […]
“It was a hack job,” recalled Maxwell, a childhood friend of Romney who was in the dorm room when the incident occurred. “It was vicious.”
Now, you can dismiss this as something that happened when Romney was young and stupid. I am sure we all have done things when we were young and stupid that we regret. But if what Obama ate when he was six years old is relevant to the right, then who Romney bullied and assaulted at 18 years old and why he did so is very relevant.
Oh, for the love of Aqua-Buddha – what is with these children of privilege?
Oh no, this isn’t something most of us have done. This is assault.
Oh for the love of…
Can we (and I mean the pundits, pols and observers) just focus on the fact that Obama came out in support of same-sex marriage and Romney opposes it? That difference alone is enough. Tie Romney’s opposition and the Grennell departure – recent examples – to him and leave 50-year-old stuff there.
Now we’ll have days and days of back-and-forth on this instead of weighing Romney down on the issue itself.
Is this incident bad? Hell yes. Does it paint an unflattering picture? Absolutely. But let’s not make this the focus. Use it as an example and stay on course about his current positions and how out-of-touch they are.
I’ve given wedgies, but never done something like this… Sheesh.
But are any of us really surprised that Romney wants to force conformity on people?
Not at all. Which is why I think this is relevant. Has Romney changed at all from that 18 year old bully? I don’t think so. He thought he was privileged then, and he does now. He was a control freak then, as he is now.
That’s odd… I would have pegged him as the kind of bully who takes your lunch money.
Is it me or is Willy straight out of central casting as the mega 80s movie antagonist douche?
Sweep the knee, Mittens!
You guys need a lunch break.
I did many stupid things when I was a teenager but nothing like that. That has a sociopathic quality that is disturbing. Also, as written, it’s not as if Romney went along with the crowd in this action. He initiated it. I cannot help but wonder if there isn’t a continuity between this act and Romney stating “I don’t care about the poor” (an out group).
“That’s odd… I would have pegged him as the kind of bully who takes your lunch money.”
And then loans it back to you at 25% interest.
@Von Cracker… man did you hit the nail on the head. He is such a dork, such a socially awkward cringe worthy person, and yet so evil…. you know who he reminds me of …
KENT FROM WEIRD SCIENCE!!!!
He reminds me of GHWB.
Lk hw bm s rmnscnt f ‘Lmr’ frm Rvng f th Nrds, lmp-wrstd thrwng styl nd ll?
Well, I went to prep and boarding school. I cannot tell you how this fills me with terror, even 30 years on. You are entirely at their mercy in these environments, far more than in a day school.
It’s wrong. It’s kitten squeezing wrong.
This was horrible. But probably good practice for a guy who would make his money putting people out of work, right?
The thing I want to know is when the wingnuts start sneering at RMoney and his boarding school the way they did for Al Gore.
Lamar and Obama are BOTH cooler and funnier than you, QP.
Gay bashing is SO Cranbrook 1965.
How was that gay bashing? Unless, of course, YOU are perpetuating stereotypes! Say it ain’t so.
I see what-cha did there. you arent smart enough to pull off that kind of snark. stop trying.
Not harmless. Not acceptable. Not psychotic. Not sociopathic.
Too much hyperbole. Too little analysis.
It’s amazing how Romney lies in what passes for his defense. He doesn’t remember doing it. But, if he DID do it, it wasn’t gay bashing b/c the victim didn’t come out of the closet until years later. As if gays or suspected gays were only persecuted if they came out of the closet.
Let’s be realistic here. You don’t forget something like this. Unless…you did SO many horrific things that this was merely one among many. You know, high-jinks and youthful pranks. As in, “GET him, hold him down while I cut his hair!” Romney displayed what kind of leader he’d be in prep school. I think we should pay attention.
Couple this with the Sheamus episode, and you have to wonder if you’ve got a psychopath running for president.
BTW, Davy, simple homilies are not exactly analytical, you know. Where’s YOUR analysis?
Throwing a sissy boy to the ground and cutting off his long hair with sharp steel scissors deserves more than an apology. Romney should wire his victim enough money to try to compensate for the hurt he caused.
Sounds like Dubya to me. Minus the compassion.
THIS JUST IN!:
“Inspired by the Mitt Romney high school bullying episode, Lee Greenwood, author of the Republican national anthem, “God Bless The USA”, has dashed off a new verse to be premiered at the Republican National Convention this summer:
“And I’m proud to be an American
Where at least I know I’m free
To drink some beers,
Beat up some queers,
And watch NASCAR on TV.”
The burden of proof is on the affirmative, El Somnambulo. Prove that Romney is a sociopath or psychopath.
And I’d like to see a source for that verse. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)?
It was a different world in the 1960s, but even then, cutting someone’s hair? I’m not going to judge someone for an incident that happened almost 50 years ago, but his milquetoast non-apology apology isn’t helping.
Romney should make some bold statements about bullying and its effects, so we don’t get more stories like this: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/08/rachel-ehmke-13-year-old-_n_1501143.html?ref=mostpopular
Romney probably leaked the story to burnish his bad ass street cred.
I have a question. This has been almost 50 years ago. Have we ever heard from the alleged victim. I know it’s been 50 years, so he may not be around anymore, but did the alleged victim ever bring this up before. He has had almost 50 years to do so. I will lay 10 to 1 odds that this “quote friend” of Romney is a democrat and just trying to help his guy out. This is very simple, just ask the
“quote freind”, who he is going to vote for. I am sure he will say obama. So, without any comment from the alleged victim, I think It would be impossible to just trust one man’s version of the story. I know in a court of law, a judge would need much much more evidence to show any wrong doing. I would have to hear from the alleged victim that sometime in his life he complained about this happening, and happening in the way romney’s “quote friend” describes.
just ask the “quote freind”, who he is going to vote for. I am sure he will say obama.
You don’t say.
DD – Are you touching yourself again, Willard?
🙂
Davy, it is sociopathic to derive pleasure from humiliating and hurting someone and to INITIATE such behavior. That’s a no brainer.
Yo, Rusty, did you even read about the incident? The victim is dead. Five, count ’em, five, participants in the attack talked about it. One of them is a former Rethug county official in Michigan. All of them had vivid memories of it and expressed deep regret. Everybody but Romney, who doesn’t have a ‘specific recollection’ of the incident. Here’s the bleeping article. Read it, you might learn something:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/mitt-romneys-prep-school-classmates-recall-pranks-but-also-troubling-incidents/2012/05/10/gIQA3WOKFU_story.html?hpid=z2
From the article: “He was not a natural athlete, but found his place among the jocks by managing the hockey team and leading megaphone cheers for the football team.”
Wow! He really IS just another crappy clone of G.W.Bush.
I had begun to suspect there’s something seriously wrong with Romney mentally well before this. The tipping point was what he said about the auto bailout.
I have met pathological liars. Romney is not one of those. But he appears to be a guy who needs so much approval from others that he can’t bear to simply say, “I’m glad the companies survived, but I still think we should not have treated them differently than any other business.” But apparently he can’t.
I have reached the conclusion that this “flip-flopping” is not indicative of someone who’s pandering for votes; he’s literally incapable of acknowledging being wrong about anything. In technical terms, he ain’t right in the head.
On the other hand, he was the ringleader. It might be the last time he showed any actual leadership.
Both sociopathy and psychopathy are subsets of antisocial personality disorder.
Under the DSM-IV-TR, a person has “antisocial personality disorder” only if the person displays “a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15 years . . . .”
How does Romney fit that definition? There are better candidates for a diagnosis of sociopathy or psychopathy.
I’m with you, Geezer. Romney appears to have a mental problem. The constant lying, unable to understand why people are shocked by his behavior – the dog on the roof of the car, this bullying incident. This is no longer simply “out of touch” behavior.
If it’s true, it is a relatively innocent event. So he cut a few locks of hair off a kid in the 60’s . Have you ever seen “Jackass”? Those guys are constantly shaving their buddies hair. Young kids are stupid.
I’m inclined to think that the misfortunate event probably added to Romey’s humility. The guilt he surely feels has most definitely added to his humility.
If your standard for a “good guy to be President” is Jackass 3, well… please get out of my gene pool.
I’m not saying he was a “good guy for President” in 1965. I’m suggesting that he has learned from his mistakes.
I’m suggesting that he has learned from his mistakes.
What in the world are you basing this on?
FBH, First he tried to pretend he didn’t remember any of it….. then he started denying parts of it, then he apologized for the whole thing… that is not the behavior of someone who has learned from his mistakes. Embrace his thugishness,
pandora
“What in the world are you basing this on? ”
My opinion is evolving on this particular information .
Dont any of you question why this storey was never brought up while the alleged victim was alive, so he could offer his version, and possibly dispute any embelshisment that 47 years would have contributed to. How bad could it have been. His sisters said he never even mentioned it.
Lets say I go to socialest bens house next week, and I try and talk him out of his socialiast ways, and he gets mad at me and punches me in the face(could happen, right ben), and pandora witness it. So I decide to leave. I have 2 options, mention the assualt to the authorities or not. Lets say I decide not to. Then lets say in the year 2059, I am running against ben for governor of delaware, and I bring it up, and panora says he just lightly slapped me, how important is that going to be to the 2059 election
@Rd “Dont any of you question why this storey was never brought up while the alleged victim was alive…”
Uhhh. Maybe because Romney wasn’t running for President?? Maybe?
@rd “His sisters said he never even mentioned it.”
Oh yea. You get beat up and owned at boarding school. You’re going to tell your sisters?
Once again, RD offers up a nonsensical argument to prop up his bully of a nominee. RD, you’re way in over your head here. Stop embarrassing yourself.
Here’s why I think this story is important: A revelation like this would be career ending for any Democratic candidate for President.
Now that Mitten R.Money’s past is being sifted through will anyone seriously dig into President Obama’s past?
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2012/05/10/Obama-High-School-Drugs
Hmm, puffing herb in high school vs a borderline hate crime. i’ll have that debate.. to quote someone.
Well, look at it this way, you are suspecting that mitt romney remembers this better than he says, even though it was 47 years ago. But when barack obama was 47 years old, he could not even remember what country he was born in. how is that for a bad memory.
By the way, it just came out within the last few days, that 4 days after sheriff joe launched his investigation in september, the selective service records retention rules were changed, allowing selective service micro film records to be destroyed. These rules were coincidentally changed just 4 days after sherriff joe started his investigation. But no one is paying attention to that, what you guys are talking about from 47 years ago is so much more
Important
@Rd “you are suspecting that mitt romney remembers this better than he says,”
What’s the worst thing you did to anyone in high school? Please don’t tell me what it was, but you do know. Right? You do know what it was… Basically, We all know that, even Romney.
Le, actually, every once in a while I see high school freinds. Sometimes we share old stories, but they alost always have to remind me of my ivolvement. They are always surprised that I dont remember as well as they do
Maybe that’s the difference between a conservative and a liberal. Only one of us has a conscience. Only one of us has any empathy.
Le, which one of us is that
So let me get this straight….the media can find out about Romney’s behavior in high school 50 years ago(!), but it can’t find anything about Obama’s past? No transcripts, no papers he’s written, no girlfriends, nothing? Romney’s behavior half a century back is supposed to tell us something about the man as we consider him for high office, but we’re not supposed to consider Obama’s life and actions similarly?
I read a NYT piece on this, and the whole article just made me question Obama rather than Romney.
We have a sitting Sussex judge who is being thrown off the bench for sexual harassment and improper judicial conduct, but its on hold until November so he can get 85k more in salary this year and be rewarded with a full pension. Thats where the outrage should be! Frankly, that is more important to Delawareans than some decades old stupid incident with Mitt Romney. Or likewise some pot smoking with Obama or what church he attended in Chicago. Get real folks. We should care more about how are these guys going to create jobs so kids won’t have 100K in student loan debt out of college?
Rockland, yes. Except for the part about the media not knowing anything about the President.
@JJ “Frankly, that is more important to Delawareans than some decades old stupid incident with Mitt Romney.”
I’m not so sure. Wouldn’t you want to know if Romney was still a bully? Wouldn’t you want to know if he’s going to treat Delaware like a troubled assett and simply milk it for all it’s worth for the benefit of his shareholders …I mean donors… before moving on?
The nature of his character is a relevant question. Everything seems to point to the conclusion that he’s a tax cheating lying piece of scum hiding his misdeeds, and most worthy of our scorn. He’s rather unfit for high office. Just ask the residents of Massachusetts.
Oh.. and elect him at your own risk. He’ll be worse than GWB… Much worse. Smart and evil is always more dangerous than stupid and evil.
Liberal Elite- Of course hes still a bully, he just bullies his opposition with $$$ now. Look at what his SUPER PAC’s did in the primary.
I can’t imagine Mitt being able to beat up anyone. He seems afraid of his own shadow.