Caroline Rothstein, a writer for BuzzFeed, Marie Claire and Cosmo — no relation to me, I hope — was proud of herself for recently stopping a white man from helping her with her luggage on an airplane.
Saying, “No thank you, I got it,” to the middle-aged white man on the airplane who offered—and began—to take my suitcase out of the overhead compartment for me was a quickly calculated act of resistance.
— Caroline Rothstein (@cerothstein) July 31, 2019
On Monday, she tried to explain herself because her terrible tweet is still getting reactions from the masses. “I clearly miscalculated the impact this Tweet would have,” she wrote. “…My Tweet was meant to be tongue and cheek but clearly that was not at all the impact…”
Sorry, what tongue? What cheek?
More Monday self-quarterbacking from Rothstein: “Def not what I intended for what I thought was a quick throwaway Tweet days ago I thought no one saw. But 20K comments later, thousands more on several other Tweets, and dozens of hate/death threat emails/messages (antisemitic, racist, sexist, etc.) later, it’s been…not great.”
The feminist writer, poet and performer was nearly universally mocked for her comment.
Liz Wheeler, host of One America News Network’s “The Tipping Point,” replied, “On four flights today & yesterday, I not only accepted help from the nice white man who hoisted my carry-on into the overhead, my 105lb, 5’4 self smiled & ASKED for help… because I’m a woman & I’m secure in my womanhood.”
Political comedian Tim Young, who worked for The Daily Caller and Washington Examiner, cracked, “Yes, we must resist… kindness and civility. I’m honestly just here for the most amazing ratio I’ve ever seen on Twitter.”
Former syndicated conservative radio host Neal Boortz replied, “You are pathetic … and probably continuously sad (though you’ll deny it).”
But don’t feel too sorry for Rothstein after Boortz’s mean tweet. Charlotte Clymer, who works for the Human Rights Campaign, really “gets” her.
“It wasn’t the offer to help, it was taking down the bag without a response from you,” Clymer wrote with incredible empathy. “It was sweet, yes, and also disrespectful. It was knowing he wouldn’t act this way with a male peer. It was the infantilizing. I get you.”
Rothstein — again, not me — was relieved that finally someone understood her.
“Thank you,” she wrote Clymer. “Exactly. And really, always, THANK YOU.”
UK writer Helen Wood, like most people who responded to Rothstein’s asinine tweet, tweaked her, saying, “You’d also be the type of whiner to complain about his ignorance if your suitcase twatted you in the face because you couldn’t manage it!”
At her height, Mother of Bunnies SDP (???) never resists help with her luggage.
“As a 5′ female, over 40, I’m more than happy for any assistance in such circumstances!” she tweeted. “I don’t care if it’s a man, a woman, a child, if they are black, white or blue with yellow spots. A helping hand is just that, anyone feeling belittled by that is the one with the problem.”
A GIF of Judge Judy shakes her head in pain.
On August 2, Rothstein put her “feminism” on display once again when she complained about a sign in a bathroom instructing women not to flush anything besides toilet paper, especially not feminine hygiene products.
“The term ‘feminine hygiene’ has ALWAYS bothered me.” she wrote. “1) NOT ALL FEMALE-IDENTIFIED PEOPLE MENSTRUATE. NOT ALL PEOPLE WHO MENSTRUATE ARE FEMALE. 2) “Hygiene. ‘Like bleeding from the womb every month needs to be sanitized or cleaned.'”
The recent mass shootings have only made Rothstein dig in her, er, heels, or vegan sneakers (whatever shoes she wears) about men and especially white men.
“How many more white men need to commit mass murders before we recognize, address, admit, face, and FIX THE WHITE SUPREMACY AND PATRIARCHY WE NEED NO LONGER INHERIT ON THIS STOLEN LAND?” she tweeted. “Enough is enough. This is terrorism. Never again has always been NOW.”
On Sunday, journalist Soledad O’Brien returned to Rothstein’s ridiculous airplane tweet: “Torn rotator cuffs, so I always say yes and REALLY appreciate. (Just an fyi to strong people on my flight!).”
Unlike the many other people who roasted her, this time, Rothstein was contrite. “TOTALLY! And now I know if we are ever on a flight together! My Tweet was meant to be tongue and cheek but wow did folks take it to a whole other height, pun intended.”
Hmmm…..really? What kind of b.s. is that? Does she really feel the need to suck up to O’Brien?
And doesn’t Rothstein know we can all read?
I refer you to Charlotte Clymer’s aforementioned ‘I feel your pain’ tweet in which she said the man trying to help with her luggage was infantilizing Rothstein.
“Thank you,” she wrote to Clymer. “Exactly. And really, always, THANK YOU.”
Clymer later insisted she helps other people — but only after asking.
“I help folks with their things even now,” she wrote. “But when it comes to touching someone else’s belongings, I always ask first. I consider that part of their person. And this man, as lovely as he was in intent, didn’t feel getting Caroline’s permission was worth it. That’s wrong.”
Despite her ass kissing Soledad O’Brien, Rothstein agreed with Clymer in the most annoying way possible.
“Hearing and nodding to all of this,” she wrote (because, you know, Clymner needs all that feminine hearing and nodding). “And agreeing with all of this & recognizing that 240 characters of a quick Tweet the other day doesn’t begin to grasp the magnitude of life’s many moving parts. I too always offer to help & also always ask before touching things/people.”
Nico R gave her a piece of his mind, saying she sounded like male plumbing.”Well yeah you kinda sounded like dick [sic]… these days it’s hard to tell what is and isn’t a joke because this could literally be a thing,” he wrote. “It’s crazy. The world is f’d when a simple act of kindness is treated with scorn.”
Acting like she didn’t set this whole thing in motion, Rothstein replied, “I hear you. Especially given how mean people have been about this Tweet, those moments of kindness are sacred. Hope you’re having a beautiful day. Said with sincerity and heart.”
He told her she sounds “like dick” and she thanked him for his sacred kindness?
Please, Google, don’t confuse us.