Clothes and the Man

Not since Davy Crockett took to the House floor in Congress has a member of the national legislature been dress-shamed like U.S. Senator John Fetterman, who was quick to take advantage of new relaxed dress codes in the Senate that no longer require suits and ties for men or formal office wear for women in the Senate floor.  Fetterman even took over presiding over the Senate floor in an outfit (below) that suggested he was going to the convenience store or going out to mow the lawn.

It was Senator Charles Schumer, the Senate's current Democratic and majority leader, who relaxed the dress codes, much to the opposition of Republicans and to those who have taste (strange bedfellows, for sure).  Schumer seems to be begging to be excoriated by MAGA Republicans for being part of a Radical Left plot to destroy dress standards to trivialize and cheapen the august nature of Congress and define deviancy down.  

Well, I agree that members of Congress should wear formal business attire when conducting the nation's business (provided they ever get around to actually doing that).  On the House or Senate floor, you should look presentable and dignified and so a little respect for your constituents. lest your colleagues think your constituents, like you, are too lazy to keep a suit coat on (yes, Jim Jordan, I'm talking about you!)   

MAGA Republicans will have a case for blaming so-called radical leftists and so-called progressives for trying to undermine standards of dress and appearance, as then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went into a direction not unlike Schumer's You will recall that Pelosi supported legislation that would have barred white male corporate officers from enforcing hairstyle rules that forbid cornrows and dreadlocks (or unorthodox hair-dye jobs) because they discriminate against people of color, and that bill was thankfully never passed. As I said in a post about this joke of a piece of legislation, unconventional hairstyles look inappropriate in the workplace, and if you take a job with a private employer, you're working for the man, and you have to follow the man's rules at the workplace just like members of Congress ought to follow a sense of decorum,  and adopt a formal look for the greater group.  

But some people are still uncool about that.  I mentioned earlier that I was run off the social media platform formerly known as Twitter for making unfavorable comments about someone's selfie.  Well, I'm more comfortable to explain the circumstances for leaving the platform in full detail now.  That someone was black Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Tia Mitchell, and the comment I made was about her cornrowed hair.  I left a comment saying I thought she looked better without her hair cornrowed.  That's when all of these black Twitter users and a few white female liberals bashed me like an automated car slamming crash test dummies into the wall.  I had to block a few of them to make them stop harassing me.  

Some of their comments were so nasty and incendiary, including some anti-Caucasian and misandric tropes, but nothing like Tia Mitchell's own response, as she said she normally didn't pay attention to comments of such "foolishness" like my own comment but chose to highlight what I said to make an example of my white male intolerance.  As I said before when I was trying not to name names, I wrote an apology with an explanation to Tia Mitchell and decided to wait until I got an acceptance or at least an acknowledgment of my apology.  Then I was going to quit the platform.  After a few hours, I went back on the platform only to find  more incoming insults.  That's when I decided to quit the platform immediately.  I didn't want to wait for a reply from Tia Mitchell herself.

As for any respect I had for Tia Mitchell as a journalist, well, I've since lost it.  I don't even watch CNN's "Inside Politics" anymore because I know she is a frequent panelist on it and I don't want to even be reminded of her anymore.

Speaking of journalism, I have a public meeting to cover tonight. As always, I'm covering it virtually, from home - so I can dress down.

And I don't have to worry about my hair being combed. 😝