In 1998, there was a vicious feeding frenzy about Bill Clinton having an affair. The correct response to those people is that Bill Clinton’s sexual behaviour is between him and his wife. It is none of your business, and it is none of mine.
So then is domestic violence nobody else’s business either? That depends on whether the woman is asking for help. If she is asking for help then it is our business. If she is not asking for help then it is not.
Once in DC I watched a woman smacking her child and saying “stop doing that shit.” I told her, “You are the one doing the shit, ma’am.” She said, “mind your own business.” The same must more readily be stated to people who persecute other people’s sexual behaviour. A sexual act between consenting adults is nobody’s business. It is between them and their partner.
At one point Kenneth Starr, who had been running this feeding frenzy, said that if he were to meet Bill Clinton he would apologise. That is exactly how Christians are intended to behave. One of Jesus’s most famous statements was, “May he who is without sin cast the first stone.” Unfortunately many people involved in this were not without sin. This included the Congressional leader of this feeding frenzy Henry Hyde, who had had a four-year-long affair; it also included any number of men involved in it who were wife-beaters and child abusers. Bill Clinton made a much better husband than most of these men. If Hillary Clinton had been with one of these men, she would not have survived the first five years of marriage. With Bill Clinton she became the most powerful woman in the world.
I’ve seen a number of men who were themselves sexually promiscuous attack Bill Clinton. Eminem once stated, “The President gets his cock sucked and I have to care what I write?” He forgot which country he lives in. He does not live in North Korea; he lives in America. In America the president is not the only person who wields influence. Rappers with a huge audience wield influence as well. Which means that they are responsible for their message. Someone who has motivated many young men to be horrible to their women is guilty of serious wrong, and it is a much graver wrong than anything of which Bill Clinton was ever guilty.
So we have many people condemning Bill Clinton’s character. I have found him to have better character than most of these people. He bore the hatred of many without wishing them ill in return. Not only did he not wish them ill in return, but he considered their interests in formulating his public policy. That as opposed to Reagan Republicans, who want to screw over any constituency that has ever voted Democratic – and did.
Bill Clinton had better character, and was a better husband, than most people who persecuted him. As for Eminem, he lead a movement that actualized in brutality against many innocent women. He failed to exercise character. He let his legitimate hatred of his mother lead to illegitimate hatred of all women. Bill Clinton’s character is far superior to that of Eminem, and it is also superior to that of most men who wanted him deposed.
Sexual behaviour between consenting adults is between them and their partners. As for domestic violence, once again, it depends on whether someone is asking for help. Many women in such situations don’t want help and are willing to tough it out. They should be left alone to their choices. And if someone is asking for help, then help them.