Damn Wall Street Journal Editorial
For the past four years, we have had a First Lady who has displayed her body in a salacious manner meant to sexually arouse people. Republicans were fine with that. They said she was “classy.” Now they are distressed that our new First Lady has too much education.
The Wall Street Journal wrote that Dr. Biden should not use her academic title. They even called it silly.
“Madame First Lady — Mrs. Biden — Jill — kiddo: a bit of advice on what might seem like a small but I think is not an unimportant matter,” writer Joseph Epstein began. “Any chance you might drop the ‘Dr.’ before your name? ‘Dr. Jill Biden’ sounds and feels a touch fraudulent, not to mention comical.”
Comical? Kiddo?
The Washington Post answered this morning and the Wall Street Journal will walk with a limp for few months. The Post pointed out the hypocrisy in this and the lame attempt to diminish a rare accomplishment.
I noticed the same thing in my own world. My county elected our first two female district court judges in 2018. Judges are generally taken seriously. Among the bar, even in social situations among friends, “Judge gets to become a prefix before even first names. So, you hear Judge Charlie or Judge Bob when addressing them with other people in the room. Not so the woman. The minute they walk out the courtroom door, they become simply Juli and Toni.
I think I’m gonna work on that.
And by the way, do not tell me you can’t subscribe to the Washington Post. It’s $30 a year. You can cancel after a year or call them a whine about being a retiree and they’ll keep it at $30. For $40 a year, you can get one and give another one as a gift.
Click here to make the decision.
This piece has gotten a boatload of trouble for that idiot. I pity the Wall Street Journal. They must be tremendously hrd up to publish tripe like this.
1Incidentally, I talked to the WaPo some time ago about me being a senior citizen and they knocked my bill down to $50 a month. Where did that $30 a month come from?
2I saw that article yesterday, and a few essay answers to it that captured my feelings using lots of language that would make momma blush, but this one in WaPo this morning was perfect. I loved that she went looking for Dr. Bartlet. The West Wing got me through years of disappointment, and continues to deliver. We started subscribing to the WaPo during the 2016 election, and it’s been worth every penny, even as retired people!
3“sounds and feels a touch fraudulent,”
The WSJ is all of a sudden concerned with something that is authentic and earned, but in their opinion sounds fraudulent? What about actual fraud perpetrated by Trump over the last four years? And lies? There was plenty of that to comment on. Did their editorial board just wake up?
4BTW, I read that Trump’s minions have fraudulent electors who will vote without any standing whatsoever today, obviously not certified by their states for the Electoral College.
I look forward to the WSJ pivoting their editorial stance to actual fraudulent titles in their next edition.
5I haven’t read the WaPo’s response yet; but, did it mention the religiously-used “Dr. Kissinger” by any chance?
6With all the dangerous fraudulent things going around from the election to coronavirus being fake, small minded WSJ editorial board decided this was a good idea to run? Tells you everything you need to know about the Murdoch publishing empire. If they wanted to discuss a Dr. fraud, they should have written an opinion piece about “Dr” Atlas. Anything to attract Trumpfists (many who don’t read).
7Dr Biden can list her profession as “Ph.D. in education”.
Melania spells hers “Escort”.
8Melania’s spread did not contain a “full spread,” so Republicans consider it classy.
Mrs. Biden’s efforts are education oriented, so that doesn’t count.
9@Maggie I pay $30 a year; I found the deal on Amazon but have seen it at various sites.
BTW Alexandra Petri is worth the subscription cost all by herself. Fantastic satire.
10Many years ago–80″s, I think–an editorial appeared in the WSJ, written by an MD. He was a self-righteous rick (the “P” is silent) who thought only MDs should be entitled to an honorific such as “doctor.”
Another MD responded, pointing out that PH.Ds were considered the cream of the crop, education-wide up until physicians got their own union, and in fact, their profession was decended from quacks, faith healers and barbers. So ended the lesson.
11Speaking of titles I think ‘Loser’ Trump is a well deserved title. He hardly worked for it (destroying things come naturally for him), bankrupted five businesses (3 casinos!), promoted the extremist rot of the GOP and damn near ruined a whole Democracy.
12Besides, Loser Trump has a nice soothing ring to it.
Northwestern University, where Epstein used to lecture, was so embarrassed they deleted his web page. Expect a lot of complaining about “cancel culture.”
13A friend of mine often catches hell for parking in the “Veterans” spaces at the grocery….which is why I love hollering across the parking lot “Hey, Colonel!” every time I see her. (Yeah, she retired as a Lt. Col.) ‘Judge Juli’ sounds good to me!
14They do it to diminished someone they disagree with. I once had a deputy district attorney insist on referring to aneuropsychologist as “Mr”. The good dr was not amused. For whatever it might be worth (a bucket of warm spit according to that eminent Texan Cactus Jack Garner) my degree includes the term “doctor”. My profession does not use the title.
15Kiddo?
16Seriously, “kiddo”?
Nobody who is not a relative callS me “kiddo” more than once.
A slightly dissenting voice from my (PhD) spouse. He says the title (also for a medical doctor) is contextual, that is, he’s “doctor J” in the university but just addressed as J everywhere else. He points out that when we’re out socially with MDs we call them by their first name, and that all our mail comes to Mr.
I think:
171) He’s still angry that he had to make me stop using Dr. J when I was writing to school officials for favors for our kids.
2)He knows I’m jealous because I’m just professor, not doctor. I dunno.
BarbinDC @ 6:
18Yes she did. That piece was fantastic.
I think the chances are pretty good that little joey’s editor changed the word kiddo from the original “affectionate” term kitten. Like a pat on the head.
And given that he’s supposed to be gently mansplaining how adorable she is for using a title she so obviously hasn’t earned, the fact that he wrote for 25 years using the pen name Aristides is breathtaking.
In the same way I once felt after catching a wiff of H2S. (I don’t recommend it)
I have two adult daughters who I’m very proud of. One of whom is most of the way through the P.H.D. program at a respected University.
There are a lot of other things I can say about joe epstein that would be totally appropriate for drilling rigs, refineries, or an episode of Brockmire.
But notsamuch in here, so I’ll leave it at that.
WSJ is owned by Rupert Murdock, along with all things Fox. What do we expect?
I taught anatomy to medical students for decades. The students always called me Dr. even though they knew that I was not an MD or DO. Maybe they realized that I knew a whole lot more anatomy than they ever would.
19Men and boys commonly call women with doctorate credentials with a jokey sort of condescension. I have a friend, a general surgeon, who commented that while male doctors on call could show up at the ER in shorts and T-shirt with just their white coat over it…and nurses would respectfully call them Dr. Wossname, but the one time she came into the ER in shorts (she’d been playing tennis when called) it was “You’re the doctor? Really?” and “Honey” (not her name) and so on for the duration. She had to show up in full professional rig-out to be treated as the person who actually would know how to remove that gall bladder or whatever it was. She also had a heckuva time getting into, and through, a surgical residency because of the rampant sexism.
Many men still think if a woman has an advanced degree she a) slept her way to it, b) was too ugly to get a husband, c) got into the program because of affirmative action. As with women who have moved into any position such men consider reserved to the male sex.
If I’d had any respect left for WSJ, this would’ve eroded it below surface level, but I didn’t, so I’ll just aim a mouthful of teeth at them.
20As someone who has spent my professional life working with and for women in academia, this crap makes me rage. So many times they have to be better, faster, and higher to get equivalence. And for the WSJ to countenance casual disrespect and crassness for someone who isn’t in the (political) game is DISGUSTING. And why? Lord knows I can’t understand because I have seen treasure where scumbags fear comparison…
21P.P. @18
the “kiddo” reference comes from an appropriation of the name her husband of 42 years has called her.
I’m thinking there may be a number of nicknames used for Joseph Epstein.
22Ms. Carroway is actually Dr. Carroway. She has her PhD in Bioengineering. They use professional titles at work but otherwise she simply keeps a list of the people that have to call her doctor. I only have a masters. That is a source of ridicule in the house.
I think a part of it is that the last several first ladies other than Melania have all had advanced degrees, so it made her feel bad and those that think she is so classy can’t seem to reconcile it.
23“no one should call himself a Dr. if he has not delivered a child” is as misogynistic phrase as I have ever seen.
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