Scott Brown: childhood victim of sexual abuse

[Brittain33]

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/02/sen-scott-brown-tells-60-minutes-he-was-sexually-abused-by-a-camp-counselor-video.php

No joke or snark. I've only read the title. Holy crap.

I feel badly for him and his family. I also imagine this would account for some of his political stands in the past and opposition to gay rights--and humanizes him much more to me, because before, I thought he was just mean and lacked empathy.

[Iosif]

That's some serious emotional baggage.

[memphis]

TMI.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

This explains a lot.

[DrScholl]

Insurance to guard against a strong challenger edging him out. Not lessening the seriousness of what he's saying, but it's all about getting sympathy.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

How can we be sure if it isn't public game, as he's looking forward 2012?

However, comment made by Mr. Moderate is outrageous. There's nothing funny in child sexual abuse.

[Capitan Zapp Brannigan]

This explains a lot.

In what way?

[Brittain33]

How can we be sure if it isn't public game, as he's looking forward 2012?

I can not imagine any benefit he would gain from making up a personal confession like this that he couldn't have achieved with something less, well, personal. Maybe he has motives for 2012, I don't know, but I don't think it matters. The fact is that he talked about it.

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He's being completely serious. It's been a bit of a mystery why Brown has been so steadfastly anti-gay while being a moderate on other issues and knowing the way these issues play in Massachusetts.

[Brittain33]

Insurance to guard against a strong challenger edging him out. Not lessening the seriousness of what he's saying, but it's all about getting sympathy.

He's also selling a book.

[Thomas D]

It's a horrible thing to have to go through, I wish him the best.

[Dan the Roman]

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He's being completely serious. It's been a bit of a mystery why Brown has been so steadfastly anti-gay while being a moderate on other issues and knowing the way these issues play in Massachusetts.

^This. Though he seems to be overcoming it in the Senate.

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

This explains a lot.

In what way?

Like Brittain33 says, it helps explain his political stances towards gays. Beyond that, though, it explains a lot more about his personality, which I'm intimately familiar with. I'm no psychologist, but I know a lot about childhood abuse and the way it affects peoples' behavior well into adulthood.

[SvenssonRS]

TMI.

That's seriously all you can think to say?

[FloridaRepublican]

TMI.

Seriously?  That's extremely rude. Come across as a douchebag much?  He was sexually abused as a child and now he is a United States senator from Massachusetts.  How about we act like adults in this situation and put partisan politics aside.  Wow.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

TMI.

Seriously?  That's extremely rude. Come across as a douchebag much?  He was sexually abused as a child and now he is a United States senator from Massachusetts.  How about we act like adults in this situation and put partisan politics aside.  Wow.

Well, I don't trust much politicians declarations.

[Marokai Backbeat]

TMI.

Seriously?  That's extremely rude. Come across as a douchebag much?  He was sexually abused as a child and now he is a United States senator from Massachusetts.  How about we act like adults in this situation and put partisan politics aside.  Wow.

Oh please, be holier than thou elsewhere. I'm conflicted on how exactly I feel about this public admission myself.

On one hand, I agree that it's a very serious and sad thing, on the other hand, we're gearing up toward 2012 campaigns and I think people actually trying to use this as why he just can't have it in his heart to appreciate gay rights is completely effing stupid. I'm sorry, he's a grown man, incredibly intelligent, and a Senator. It's a terrible and sad thing, but it's no excuse at all, IMO.

[memphis]

TMI.

Seriously?  That's extremely rude. Come across as a douchebag much?  He was sexually abused as a child and now he is a United States senator from Massachusetts.  How about we act like adults in this situation and put partisan politics aside.  Wow.

Has nothing to do with partisanship, although I do think it is rather convenient that the man has chosen this moment to bring up the subject. I'm beyond tired of America's undying obsession with child sexual abuse and the private lives of public figures. When it comes to politicians, if it's not about policy or corruption, it's extraneous.

[Brittain33]

All three of us are gay men in Massachusetts, so none of us sees this as an "excuse." On the contrary, this gives me hope that he may be able to work through some issues he has hidden from his closest family for decades... And perhaps become a better senator for the whole state as a result.

[redcommander]

An incredibly sad thing that anyone has to go through. I'm glad to see he's managed to triumph over the personal difficulties of his childhood. How exactly though is Scott Brown anti-LGBT? He did vote for DADT's repeal, which shows a much more progressive view on gay rights than most of his caucus. Opposition to gay marriage I think isn't necessarily an indicator of a person disliking homosexuality, seeing that many people are uncomfortable of it because of religious issues.

[Brittain33]

His vote to repeal DADT was a late-game change. He was a bitter ender for a long time. It's why I have hope for a turning point. Opposing gay marriage in massachusetts when it is settled law and completely off the table is an unnecessarily conservative position for someone younger than Marie Parente.

[redcommander]

His vote to repeal DADT was a late-game change. He was a bitter ender for a long time. It's why I have hope for a turning point. Opposing gay marriage in massachusetts when it is settled law and completely off the table is an unnecessarily conservative position for someone younger than Marie Parente.

I see your point. You might be right about him possibly having a conversion then.

[Iosif]

All three of us are gay men in Massachusetts, so none of us sees this as an "excuse." On the contrary, this gives me hope that he may be able to work through some issues he has hidden from his closest family for decades... And perhaps become a better senator for the whole state as a result.

It's seems odd to me that three gay men are entirely comfortable equating child abuse with homosexuality. If Scott Brown was a woman would his child abuse history give him reason to oppose heterosexual marriage?

I'm not nearly cynical enough to think this is a political ploy by Senator Brown but why be so sudden and frank about something so traumatising and private?

[Brittain33]

It's seems odd to me that three gay men are entirely comfortable equating child abuse with homosexuality. If Scott Brown was a woman would his child abuse history give him reason to oppose heterosexual marriage?

Again, it's not an excuse, but an explanation. I am not equating child abuse with homosexuality. I also understand why someone who was abused by an older man would carry with him resentment toward gays, whether or not I think that's fair. It would then have been easy for him to go through life never having his general prejudices challenged, because many or most people agreed with him and framed them as political issues rather than respect for other people. It's harder to do that with opposing heterosexual marriage, that's part of the world he lived in in the 1970s and 1980s and the politics he entered in the 1990s. We never had an explanation before how he came through to 2010 with his complete lack of empathy for gays intact, other than that he was just another entitled jerk.

I think that being a U.S. Senator and a pivotal vote on gay issues have forced him to answer more for something he never gave much thought to because he could be Senator No for years beforehand and no one cared. I may be projecting. But I see this as a chance for him to work through his issues. I'm not endorsing them.

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No one cared about him or his past until last year. Then he wrote a book and decided to be frank about this part of his life. Makes sense to me.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Its very sad. I never have been abused (thankfully), but I sure as hell support stricter sentences for Pedophiles, Rapist, and the like.

[King]