It happened again. As if the Abercrombie thing wasn't bad enough.
What on earth is wrong with people? On Tuesday night, we witnessed yet another example of a grown up bullying someone. It happened on camera, with a microphone in his face, making this incident both shameful and stupid.
A grown man, who is also a Congressman and a former marine, bullied and physically threatened another man who was significantly smaller than he was.
When I saw the clip on the TODAY show, FOX news, and various other media outlets, I was dumbstruck by the audacity of Congressman Grimm. He actually said, "I'll throw you over this f***ing balcony and break you in half like a boy!"
Really? Really, Congressman Grimm?
It was like watching the high school football captain bully the president of the school math club. Unbelievable. In that moment, all sense of professionalism went flying out the window and the Congressman let his anger get the better of him.
The ironic part is that he ran away from the reporter's probing question claiming he was in a hurry; yet, he had time to come back and threaten Mr. Scotto.
Interesting.
I will be showing my four sons this clip when they get home from school today and use it as a teaching moment. It's a glaring example of how to not solve your problems.
Did Congressman Grimm have the right to be upset by the reporter's question? Yes. Sure he did. The reporter put him on the spot and made him feel cornered. Okay, feel as cornered and defensive as you'd like, but it's the way he handled those emotions that created the firestorm.
In that moment Grimm had a choice. He could have simply walked away after saying, "I'm not talking about that right now." If he had kept walking it would have been the end of the story. In fact, there wouldn't have been a story.
However, because of his impulsive, threatening and verbally abusive behavior, he's become quite the story. Congressman Grimm gave us all a vivid example of how a bad temper, poor anger management skills, and an overblown sense of importance, can turn even the finest of men into the worst.
I'm sure he regrets his lack of self-control because it was captured on screen for the world to see. Again and again and again. Unfortunately, that one moment of weakness will come back to haunt him at re-election time because he's given his opponents some outstanding fuel for their political fire.
What are his chances of re-election? I'd say the future looks Grimm.