Who is a Bum?

What adult publicly calls another adult a “bum?” The person who was called a bum recently has been a prosecutor, an attorney general, a senator and a VP in addition to being a wife and mother and role model. As I read the definitions of “bum,” I don’t see any definition that matches the characteristics of the person who has been repeatedly called a bum.

Being called a bum is obviously an insult but the real insult here is the character of the person calling another person a bum. The speaker’s character is broken. Flawed. Damaged. I don’t care about one’s politics; it is rude and disrespectful to call any hard working individual a bum. In fact, the name caller is giving the insult recipient a “bum” (as in false) rap.

I worry about name calling. With kids, we call it bullying. And we curb bullies and signal that their behavior is unacceptable. Might we consider doing that here — calling out public figures who slur others?

I suppose that when one’s merits as a candidate are in decline and one senses potential loss, this person resorts to slurs and harassing verbiage. The weak slur others. Those with principle and strength do not.

Here’s the irony: the so-called “bum” has more principle and strength in her little finger than the name caller and his slate mate have in their two collective bodies.