The joyful Minnesota governor is a valuable spokesperson for Harris whose background and personality can help the Democratic ticket undermine Trump’s efforts to woo America’s men.
Tim Walz’s first official speech on the Democratic ticket displayed all the reasons that Kamala Harris has been lauded for picking the Minnesota governor as her running mate. Personally, I think one outshines all the rest.
Walz’s military background and his work as a high school teacher and football coach, along with his palpable joy and open expressions of compassion for people in need, offer America a vision of what manhood can look like — he’s a “joyful warrior” offering a vision in contrast with what’s being offered by Donald Trump’s bravado-driven campaign.
And he’s clearly willing to challenge Team Trump on that front. He displayed that even before he received the call to join Harris’ campaign, using public appearances to refer to Trump and his allies as “bullies” who are truly weak at heart and by mocking the GOP ticket for “running for He-Man Women Haters Club or something.”
Tim has been a great choice.
As much as I think a “would you like to have a beer with the candidates?” is a stupid way of measuring things…I wouldn’t mind having a beer with these candidates.
They’d show up late, drink too much too fast, try to order off your tab, ramble about bullshit conspiracy theories and talk over you at every opportunity, act like a sleeze to the waitress and get too handsy. Then they’d want to play pool but refuses to rack, blames the cue or someone in their field of view for their bad shots but does anything to try and distract you, hits the ball off the table multiple times but tries to get constant do-overs, claims every time you hit it’s a scratch and quote obscure rules, at least once they try to sneak one of their balls in the pocket when it’s your turn, when they lose they just toss their cue onto the pool table or lean it against instead of putting it away, and spends the next 45 minutes constantly saying how they should have won…
Walz says he has given up alcohol entirely after his DUI years ago. But I bet Harris is super fun once she gets into the box of wine in the fridge.
It’s not that stupid of a lens to use to evaluate candidates. But it is absolutely overused and overvalued. Sure it’s a good thing knowing you can relate enough to sit down and be comfortable but it doesn’t really tells us too much on it’s own, and depends a lot on who says it; for example a fascist voter would probably love to site down with a fascist politician.
The irony is both Walz and Trump don’t drink alcohol (unsure why Trump doesn’t but I found it frustrating since I don’t drink and want nothing on common with the guy lol). Harris and Vance probably do drink though, and Harris wins there as she is probably a giggly drunk. Vance is probably just an annoying drunk. Not mean, but perhaps more whiny about rural folks he hates and maybe a like tech bro vibe.
Of course, that’s of you that this bar literally; it obviously means “who would you rather hang out with” and to me, that means “who would you rather play Super Smash Bros Melee with after school” and the Harris/Walz camp got that beat. Plus I’m only letting Walz bring the mountain dew, last time Vance did and we all passed out-- you know how expensive it is getting upholstery cleaned? Big oof.
unsure why Trump doesn’t
I’ve heard that one of his brothers was an alcoholic and that turned him off of it.
His dad destroyed both him and his brother, and his brother turned to alcohol to soothe the pain. DJT watched this and placed the ENTIRE blame on booze, which may or may not be fair. I don’t know if his brother could have turned it around. Not drinking can be a healthy decision (it certainly has been for me, it was a hard choice and one that has made my life better for every single one of the 6 years I haven’t been drinking), but I don’t think DJT has confronted his demons properly because his generation doesn’t do that. He may have been worse with alcohol in the mix, but the fact is I don’t think alcohol is what destroyed his brother. His brother was destroyed by the same thing that destroyed him: trauma.
I wish so much I could find a comment about this on the old site. It said “Donald Trump does not drink alcohol” and every word was a link to a real photo of him with an alcoholic drink in hand. I tried searching but Google has turned to shit and the images are all Photoshop shit.
Its also proof to the dipshits we don’t hate masculinity. We hate toxic masculinity. In fact, we find Tim Walz brand of masculinity refreshing and delightful
I like my men like I like my coffee: refreshing, delightful, and able to provide a sick burn
I like my men like I like my coffee
“Ground up and stored in the freezer.”
Sliding off the roof of my car as I drive to work.
Or my preferred one
I like my women like I like my coffee.
I don’t like coffee.
This right here.
Being a man isn’t about strength, or appearance, or body count, or power over others.
It’s about accountability, honesty, resilience (NOT bottling everything down), and meaningful effort.
Yeah it might not be the most physically attractive all the time, but I see my purpose in life to make sure we all have better so that we can all do better.
Walz joining the VP has really given me a new sense of courage I’ve been lacking lately, and I’m really happy to see others recognizing it to.
or body count
Aww, man. Are you telling me my Cawl O Doodie K/D ratio won’t impress the girls‽‽‽
/j
I see masculinity as a bit of a spectrum – there’s traits a lot of men share, but not all men necessarily have them, and women can have them too, and that doesn’t make anyone lesser.
Helping people, protecting people, being true to yourself, conducting yourself with honor. That’s what I see as masculinity. I guess in some ways, it’s the idealized perfect knight haha
The ultimate fictional portrayal of the journey of toxic vs nontoxic masculinity is Zuko and Iroh. And what does Iroh teach Zuko and us? Manliness/masculinity isn’t defined approval, its defined by acceptance. To be a “man” isn’t about using violence in showy ways for the sake of being acknowledged. To be a “man” is to accept and love people, including one’s self, for their true nature. If violence is to be used, it must be in this context. Violence should never be used by a true “man” for anything other than protection. Violence can be wielded when it is to protect ones own true nature, or to protect someone else who doesn’t have the power to protect themselves from a domineering situation. The ultimate conclusion of this is asking the question of what emotions is a true “man” allowed to access. We are shown through Zuko that the only emotion the toxic culture is allowed to access and control is anger. We are shown through Zuko how hard it is to transition out of this culture of anger and violence and toxic masculinity. The ultimate conclusion to both his arc, and the arc that Iroh went on before the show, is that true power comes from accessing the entire emotional spectrum that dwells within and turning this into power. True “manliness” is more than just anger and violence. True “manliness” is passion. That passion can be rooted in anything. We watch Zuko learn that he can draw power from joy, sorrow, and empathy. Toxic masculinity is Zuko’s origin story: pure hatred. True masculinity is Zuko’s finale: empathy so strong and so powerful that he sees one of his greatest torturers as sad, tortured, broken girl; one that if he returned her lightning to her he would lose the part of himself that he’d cultivated and grew to love.
Being a man isn’t about strength
One of the few things that I disagree with in your statement and, really, it’s down to semantics. The are more types of strength than physical strength. There’s strength of character, there’s emotional strength, and more. But, like physical strength, all of these can be “exercised”, for example contemplating ethical quandaries can strengthen one’s character and ethical self-identity.
While much more abstract, I do find “strength” in this usage part of my model of masculinity.
Now, about this:
Yeah it might not be the most physically attractive all the time,
I guarantee that to someone, you absolutely are. Remember that practically noone just “sees” another human being, they perceive them. Our visual perception is NOT raw data. It is filtered by the context, real or imagined, that we associate with the person that we’re looking at. It’s the combination of all this in a non-straightforward manner that will impact how physically attractive someone finds us.
but I see my purpose in life to make sure we all have better so that we can all do better.
You know what I was saying above? Yeah. This is exactly the kind of thing will influence how you are perceived, even visually.
Walz joining the VP has really given me a new sense of courage I’ve been lacking lately, and I’m really happy to see others recognizing it to.
I’m sorry that you’ve been feeling less courageous lately. The world can fuck us all up from time to time. If it gets too severe, I’d definitely recommend seeing a therapist, if you are comfortable and able to do so (and aren’t already).
A therapist, really? I mean anyone would benefit from a therapist at any time but the slightest downturn at any moment isn’t a sign of some severe problem that needs solving.
Suffering is completely normal and a true necessity if you are striving towards any sort of development of “self”.
Even down to a caveman level, the role of a strong man was to be the protector of the tribe/family. Using your strength to protect others is what makes a strong man.
Inflicting your insecurities on others and feeding your ego by attacking vulnerable people are the actions of a bully, not a strong man.
Coincidently the latter are the traits of a strongman though. So remember kids, be a strong man not a strongman.
I thought strongman was about lifting, pulling, carrying or even throwing heavy things?
Walz’s military background and his work as a high school teacher and football coach, along with his palpable joy and open expressions of compassion for people in need, offer America a vision of what manhood can look like — he’s a “joyful warrior” offering a vision in contrast with what’s being offered by Donald Trump’s bravado-driven campaign.
Manhood is when you serve in the military and play football. Really open and progressive ideas here.
You’re missing the point. He did those things and isn’t a complete and utter tool as a result. They aren’t his identity or opportunities to “be manly.” They were acts of service.
You’re missing the underlying assumption, which is that military and football are for men. They’re “typical man things” and Walz is showing that a man doing manly things doesn’t have to be an asshole.
But that still assumes there are manly things, that armed service and football are manly. Subtext.
It doesn’t assume that they are “typically manly” it observes that they are traditionally considered manly. A statement over which there isn’t an argument to be had.
While more progressive people have recognized the pointlessness of gendering military service and playing football, conservatives haven’t and its something we can use to our advantage. Like the entire calling them weird thing. It’s literally the kind of insult a 5 year old would come up with but they’re absolutely blowing gaskets over it and it’s hilarious.
Know your enemy and you’ll have the advantage.
You are missing the point.
That’s what MAGA assumes.
And Walz is there to prove their assumptions wrong.
I can also tell you that most military personnel I met in my life were not ‘manly’ people in any way. Just normal and decent people.
It’s MAGA mongoloids that link military to manhood. Or guns. Or football. Or beer.
Edit: and what is really amusing to me is that zi am not American, nor life there, but I did get excited about Walz. Because he seems like a normal human being. Imagine how crazy the world is when we get excited about (apparently) a normal human being in politics.
You’re missing the point. He did those things and isn’t a complete and utter tool as a result. They aren’t his identity or opportunities to “be manly.” They were acts of service.
I think the most egregious examples of “toxic masculinity” are the men who think that since they’re so Alpha, the world owes them everything on their own terms. Like the President who us so upset that the hurricane went the other way that he has to “prove” he was right all along. Or the Senator who prefers to be called “Coach” because he likes to think of himself as the Big Man On Campus, and not 1 of 100 equals. Or even the incel living in his parents’ basement who is so bitter about not having a girlfriend because he can’t understand that girls are humans too and don’t exist just to please him.
Walz is refreshing because it’s clear that he went into Politics to make a difference, not to make a profit. We’ve been conditioned to think all politicians are greedy assholes, probably by the politicians who prefer it that way because it lets them get away with shit. Then this guy comes along, with genuine integrity, and it threatens to collapse it all.
Republicans have built a political movement out of the belief that all government is bloated and ineffectual. If Democrats start electing people who can show that Government can be a net benefit to ordinary people, it kills 50+ years of Republican messaging.
Republicans have built a political movement out of the belief that all government is bloated and ineffectual
They complain about that when they’re not in power, and then demonstrate exactly that whenever they happen to be in power.
