Reflections On Romney: Why Being ‘A Bully’ Is No Laughing Matter
This week we learned that U.S. presidential hopeful, Mitt Romney, is alleged to have bullied another kid at his prep school because he may have been gay. In his defense, Romney said, “Back in high school, you know, I did some dumb things.†Alas, the victim of his schoolyard ‘prank,’ John Lauber, died in 2004 and thus cannot receive the apology that Romney needs to give if the story is substantiated.
John Lauber did in fact come out as gay some years later but for all intents and purposes this is irrelevant; the fact that a young man, who today seeks to be President of the United States, believed he had the right to talk about a fellow classmate in derogatory terms and, 48 years later, laugh it off demonstrates that there will be no “It Gets Better†video from this aspiring world leader.
READ: Romney Was ‘Like Lord Of The Flies’ And His Gay-Bashing Was ‘Assault’
A few years ago, we knew very little about the life-course of bullies. Dan Olweus, a pioneer in the field of bullying behaviour, provided follow-up case-studies of former bullies that demonstrated that they were unsuccessful in life, had a history of failed relationships, maybe even a conviction or two – nothing that would endear a presidential hopeful to his party. However, more recently, Jaana Juvonen, a professor at UCLA, has shown that bullies are very different souls. We are told:
“Most bullies have almost ridiculously high levels of self-esteem, Juvonen’s research has found. What’s more, they are viewed by their fellow students and even by teachers not as pariahs but as popular — in fact, as some of the coolest kids at school.†(UCLA Today, May 3, 2012)
This would certainly explain how Romney has soared in the estimation of his party and the majority of those who will vote for him. So, is it the case that, for many people, bullies are cool? Do they add a little “frisson†into a mundane world? Do they make life exciting for others (albeit vicariously) through the persecution of those who are perceived to be different? If Juvonen is right, and I think she probably is, then perhaps we need to rethink how we socialize kids in school and perhaps stop the young Mitt Romneys of this world from hurting others.
And what of John Lauber? We know from reports by his family that he lived a somewhat “bohemian” life and certainly was not the success his alleged tormentor became. Whether his nonconformist lifestyle was related to these alleged experiences at school it is difficult to tell, but certainly he seems to have been a man with a desire to challenge conformity – a man many of us would have liked to know.
All forms of bullying are wrong but over the past few years we have become incensed by the tragic loss of life that results from homophobic bullying in particular. It is important that we acknowledge the legacy of homophobic bullying, and understand that long-term effects it can have upon those who leave school and try to build a life after years of torment.
In the studies I conducted in the 1990’s looking at the long-term effects of homophobic bullying, I found that 53% of former victims reported contemplating suicide as a direct result of the bullying they had experienced, 40% made one attempt to end their lives and three-quarters of those made two or more attempts. We also know that isolation and a failure to develop friendships as a result of ostracism by peers can often result in truancy and a desire to leave school as soon as possible. In some cases we find a history of depression after school and symptoms associated with post-traumatic stress. Many former victims do come through their experiences; they develop relationships and build successful lives however some do not. For others the world is filled with constant reminders of childhood and the pain it represents – a pain they continue to endure:
“For a long time, I had been calling it shame, but I realized recently that I think it might be flashbacks. It doesn’t just contain shame, but also fear, pressure to be different than I am, the feeling of being scary to other people, a feeling like I’m on a slippery slope and can do nothing right, a black alone feeling, sadness, a strong self-consciousness, feeling diminished, and other things. It’s more complex than just one feeling. I can go from knowing that someone is fine with me and my gayness, to all at once, because of a look on their face or maybe even my own word choice, feeling extremely unsure of myself, feeling like I’m a big ugly sickening monster to that person, not knowing how they feel about me.  It’s like a sudden realization of who I am in the world, but it isn’t who I am now, but who I was in the world back then. It feels like I’m back there.†(Jane, TN)
So, for the next few days or even weeks a debate will rage about Mitt Romney and his suitability to be the Republican nominee for President of the United States. But this debate is unlikely to rage within the GOP, it will rage in media, among Democrats and the LGBTQ community. Perhaps, in hindsight, Mr Romney feels some remorse, but with a staunch anti-LGBTQ agenda, I think the half-hearted apology for his teenage “prank†is as good as it gets.
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Ian Rivers is Professor of Human Development at Brunel University, London. He is the author of ‘Homophobic Bullying: Research and Theoretical Perspectives’ (Oxford, 2011), and has researched issues of discrimination in LGBT communities, particularly among children and young people, for nearly two decades.
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As Americans prepare for Thanksgiving, President Donald Trump is promoting Walmart’s 25% cheaper holiday meal as evidence that grocery prices are falling. But the discount reflects a smaller, bargain-focused menu with fewer items and fewer name-brand products — lowering the cost of a one-time holiday feast without addressing the broader fact shoppers are seeing at the checkout line, that overall food prices have hit a record high this year.
The fact-checkers at Snopes reported on Friday that the cost of feeding a family of four for one month hit an all-time high of $1,030 this year. Snopes cited data from the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C. think tank, whose October American Affordability Tracker compiled figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A separate report released Friday by Groundwork Collaborative, The Century Foundation, and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) found that many Thanksgiving basics have risen sharply, contradicting the claim that the Thanksgiving holiday meal is generally cheaper.
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“The full holiday meal is up nearly 10% this year, more than triple the overall rate of inflation,” the report found. It stated that onions are up 56%, creamed corn is up more than 20%, butternut squash and collard greens have risen over 12%, and french-fried onion topping for a green bean casserole has climbed 15%.
Meanwhile, citing “the highest inflation in decades,” CNN reported on Friday that the “Trump administration’s unprecedented tariffs, the immigration crackdown and global natural disasters have rattled the food supply chain. Grocery prices rose in August at their fastest pace in three years and increased again in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.”
“This is coming on the heels of the highest inflation in decades,” the news network noted.
Americans should not expect grocery prices to drop before Thanksgiving, The New York Post revealed on Friday.
“Grocery prices will remain stiff across the board through Thanksgiving despite President Trump’s recent cancellation of tariffs on beef, bananas and more — and coffee drinkers shouldn’t expect relief until after Christmas.”
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Image via Reuters
As President Donald Trump and his administration continue their focus on touting affordability — insisting prices for many everyday food items have dropped while consumers lament grocery store prices — the President will be hosting two one-million-dollar-a-plate fundraisers for his super PAC early next year.
Inflation remains high at 3.0%. The unemployment rate is now the highest it’s been in nearly four years. Prices for items like beef, coffee, and bananas have increased by double-digit percentages. Major corporations have announced plans to lay off thousands or tens of thousands of workers. And millions of Americans are seeing their health care premiums for next year skyrocket, as Congress leaves D.C. for Thanksgiving break.
The president, meanwhile, has insisted there is little to no inflation, and calls affordability a Democratic “con job,” as he hosted the crown prince of Saudi Arabia this week for a lavish black-tie White House dinner.
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“President Trump, who has been hosting fund-raising dinners at a pace unseen by any second-term president, is scheduled to hold two more early next year, according to copies of the invitations seen by The New York Times,” the Times reported on Friday. “Mr. Trump is slated to attend two high-dollar ‘candlelight dinners’ — one at Trump National Golf Club near Washington on Jan. 31, the second at Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s private club in Palm Beach, Fla., on Feb. 27.”
The Times also reports that politicians’ super PACs generally spend funds on the politicians’ own elections, but Trump is term-limited, according to the U.S. Constitution. While he has flirted with running for a third term, he recently acknowledged it is not permitted.
The White House has said Trump will be more focused on the cost of living in the new year.
Last month, a local CBS affiliate reported that “President Trump is expected to headline a $1 million-per-person candlelight dinner at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Oct. 17. The event is hosted by the Trump-aligned super PAC, MAGA, Inc., which raised $177 million in the first half of the year. The event is expected to have an impact on next year’s midterm elections.”
READ MORE: Trump State Department to Focus on God-Given Rights
Image via Reuters
One day after calling for six Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for “seditious behavior,” President Donald Trump is now claiming the military is looking into a video they recorded reminding members of the U.S. Armed Forces and Intelligence Community of their duty to refuse unlawful orders.
“I think it’s a very serious violation of the law,” President Trump told Fox News Radio.
“I know they’re looking into it militarily,” Trump claimed.
“I think Pete Hegseth is looking into it, too,” he said of the Secretary of Defense. “I don’t know for a fact, but I think the military is looking into it — the military courts.”
READ MORE: Trump State Department to Focus on God-Given Rights
The six lawmakers — four House Democrats and two Senate Democrats — in a recorded video said, “No one has to carry out orders that violate the law, or our Constitution.”
Trump lashed out on Thursday.
“It’s called seditious behavior at the highest level,” he charged. “Each one of these traitors to our Country should be Arrested and put on trial. Their words cannot be allowed to stand – We won’t have a Country anymore!!! An example must be set.”
“Seditious behavior, punishable by death!” he continued.
Some of the Democrats are speaking out.
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On Friday, U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), who is one of the six lawmakers, was asked if she believed illegal orders have been given.
“Well, what I will say is that over the last nine or ten months, about 600 pieces of lawsuits have been filed in response to executive orders or orders in general, that this president and this administration has made. Of those, 150 or so have been ruled as being unlawful, many of them by judges that have been appointed by President Trump.
“So, yes, you know, those kinds of things are going on,” she noted.
Trump on the Democratic lawmakers who released a video telling the military not to follow illegal orders:
‘I think it’s a very serious violation of the law. Pete Hegseth is looking into it. I know they’re looking into it militarily. The military is looking into it, the military… pic.twitter.com/CNDTPLBCtu
— FactPost (@factpostnews) November 21, 2025
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Image via Reuters
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