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Once again, to my horror I find myself agreeing with George Will - this time about Shady Vance.
JD Vance vies for the gold medal in coarseness and flippancy
....Last year, a group chat of high-spirited Republicans, most in their middle to late 20s, two of them in their 30s, were recorded saying colorful things. (“Can we fix the showers? Gas chambers don’t fit the Hitler aesthetic”; “Everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber”; “watermelon people”; “expecting the Jew to be honest”; “I love Hitler”). Vance’s avuncular reaction (he is 41) was that “kids” do the darndest things: “Kids do stupid things, especially young boys. They tell edgy, offensive jokes. Like, that’s what kids do.” The kid Thomas Jefferson was 33 when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. ....
Vance has a knack for late — very late — adolescent naughtiness. It is not easy being transgressive in an era when there are few norms remaining to transgress. Undaunted, he tries. Of Europe’s largest war since World War II: “I don’t care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.” Very edgy.
Performative politics is almost the only politics on offer nowadays. But must it be a coarseness and flippancy competition?
Let it be said on Vance’s behalf that he refuses to present himself as other than what he is. But before celebrating him for his authenticity, attention should be paid to what he authentically is.
....Last year, a group chat of high-spirited Republicans, most in their middle to late 20s, two of them in their 30s, were recorded saying colorful things. (“Can we fix the showers? Gas chambers don’t fit the Hitler aesthetic”; “Everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber”; “watermelon people”; “expecting the Jew to be honest”; “I love Hitler”). Vance’s avuncular reaction (he is 41) was that “kids” do the darndest things: “Kids do stupid things, especially young boys. They tell edgy, offensive jokes. Like, that’s what kids do.” The kid Thomas Jefferson was 33 when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. ....
Vance has a knack for late — very late — adolescent naughtiness. It is not easy being transgressive in an era when there are few norms remaining to transgress. Undaunted, he tries. Of Europe’s largest war since World War II: “I don’t care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.” Very edgy.
Performative politics is almost the only politics on offer nowadays. But must it be a coarseness and flippancy competition?
Let it be said on Vance’s behalf that he refuses to present himself as other than what he is. But before celebrating him for his authenticity, attention should be paid to what he authentically is.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2026/02/11/vice-president-vance-obscenities-flippancy/
https://archive.is/Vw3q2
2 replies
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