Joe Biden’s statement

I am a staunch feminist. I grew up in a time when men putting their hands on women was an every day occurrence. Rubbing your back, putting their arm around you and other uncomfortable touching. That doesn't happen too much now days but it happened frequently back then. There is a huge difference between uncomfortable touching and rape or sexual assault.

I learned very early on to ask men politely not to touch me the first time it happened. The second time they did it I would very loudly say, if you touch me like that again I will break your fucking arm. It never happened a third time. It is up to the women to not allow uncomfortable touching and to do it in no uncertain terms.

Women can't go back forty years and complain about men who were out of line and who touched them and made them uncomfortable. It was up to the woman to deal with it then, and put a stop to it. People, in general, will do to you what you allow them to do.

Rape and sexual assault is an entirely different thing.

Frankly, I don’t know what to think.

I used to be a lobbyist for a non-profit advocating for disadvantaged youths, and I was all over the Capitol many times in the late ‘70s and very early ‘80s. (Now, I know Reade’s allegations are from the early ‘90s.) I cannot even think of a corridor or hallway that would be considered semi-private that one could effectively hike up a woman’s skirt and rape her with fingers. I emailed a former colleague of mine who I used to work with often. She was an aide at that time and she also could not recall any corridor that would offer some measure of privacy. At the time I was there, tons of people would be walking up and down those corridors during the working hours, and at any time, people could be in and out of all the offices.

Even if there was a complaint filed, Reade herself says she did not file a complaint for sexual assault; her complaint was about inappropriate touching – sexual harassment (and 21 staffers contacted by the Associated Press do not recall any complaint lodged). Biden has always been inappropriately handsy with women until he was pressured to knock it off, and that has always bothered me, but I’m finding it a bit difficult to accept Reade’s current allegation, especially since it has morphed from something inappropriate last year to something criminal this year.

The DNC can hire an independent investigator for this and I wish they would so we can get to the truth. Biden is not the Democratic nominee. He is the presumptive Democratic nominee, meaning another candidate can very well be chosen by the DNC if there is any shred of truth to the allegation. The convention isn’t until August 20. There’s still time.

Thank you for that explanation! I did wonder why they said they "suspended" their campaigns.

All of this. Well said katybee


1,000,000 over.

Also—your last paragraph. This could be exactly why Ms. Reade is telling this story NOW. So that any/all records could be delved into, for the sole purpose of finding dirt on Biden—-or even just like what trump/gop did regarding Ukraine—start talking so much shot that it puts doubt in the mind. OR so that Biden has to refuse to release records/notes, etc., and the harp on that. You can see now, that trump/gop/Guiliani never had a god damned thing to hang on Biden regarding Ukraine, they just created an illusion of distrust.

Same with the media. Trump has publicly stated that he attacks the media like he does so that when the report the truth on him, people are leery to believe the media because he’s sowed so much distrust.

And the GOP/trump party has worked overtime hours to sow discord amongst Americans. They’ve divided the nation line no other—and ON PURPOSE. It’s easier to rule a nation divided.

And it fucking pisses me off that these fucking republicans DEMAND info/hearings/records/testimonies from the Democrats and/or accusers if Democrats —for the same or worse shit that they do and refuse to hand over information, refuse to allow people to testify, and ignore subpoenas.

The GOP, trump, republicans are a fucking danger to America.

Wow, I didn't think about that. I worked in a highrise which also housed Morningstar in 1996. At the time Morningstar was famous for allowing their employees to wear whatever they wanted to the office - pajamas, flip flops, anything goes. They were a media sensation because of it. One day I got a run in my stockings and had to do a mid-day emergency run to the convenience store in the lobby to replace them. I remember complaining to a Morningstar guy in the elevator - "I hate wearing these things and I don't understand why women are required to wear them." To which he replied "Just don't, see what happens." And I remember feeling bitter and resentful because he had no idea what it was like to work anywhere professional other than Morningstar.

We know Reade said that. What Red was saying is (and what I recollected from working in a professional setting at that time myself) was that women typically DID wear stockings with dresses or skirts as a rule and it would be highly unusual not to. Most professional workplaces at the time practically demanded it, at least mine did. If you didn’t want to suffer with wearing hose every day then you wore dress pants with trouser socks, which is what I typically did.

No one would know, but it would be unusual for that period of time, and in that type of workplace. When Red pointed it out (and she said she actually spent a lot of time in the Capitol at that time) I noted that it was something that had crossed my mind too. That’s all. It just seems weird for that time, in that type of place.

Was I the only one who wore thigh high stockings in the 90's? While I didn't work in a place that required them, I do remember it was a fashion statement somewhat to wear colored or pattern hose and appropriate in certain situations with fancier dresses (not with simple summer dresses for instance). It was so hot in the summers where we lived, I remember wearing thigh highs with the elastic at the tops and having them in a few different colors to go with different dresses.

Plus I HATED the roll that full on pantyhose always did because I am so dang short those things could be pulled up to my chin. No thank you in the summer triple digit heat!

No, you weren't.  When I needed to wear hose, I wore the thigh-highs.

Of course only you knew you were wearing them.  But would a perv trying to get his jollys off or trying to put the little woman down by showing her he can do whatever he wants really care what she was wearing?  So a man has never groped or felt a woman up over her pants or shirt before?  Feeling someone up over their pantyhose (which a lot of women don't even wear underwear with) wouldn't be any different.  Grabbing her by the pussy certainly can be done over clothing.  

It was stated earlier that she says he penetrated her with his fingers and others said impossible if she was wearing pantyhose.  Penetration is certainly possible if she was wearing thigh highs.  

I was trying to remember the timing. It kind of feels like some people are talking about the 80s instead of the 90s.  I'm also a bit younger.  But I did not wear hose in 90s - although I was still in college in 1993.  I was working in an extremely conservative field in the late 90s and no one wore pantyhose - granted it was CA and NY, so perhaps we were ahead of some regions.  

Sure, but she said she was wearing no stockings. Not thigh highs. No stockings.

I’m from DC, and was working there in the mid-90’s and agree with the other posters that it was unheard of to have bare legs at work. I kept back up pairs in my purse. And I absolutely hated stockings. Even with dress pants, I’d wear those ankle stockings because even having bare ankles was a no-no.

Can you link to her actually saying this? The AP story I read where she gave the initial interview didn't discuss hosiery at all.