What If She Was Your Daughter? A Former Cuomosexual’s Advice
For a while, my Yelp bio stated that I was a Cuomosexual. And don’t I feel like an idiot now?
I’m going to call you Andrew, as if we know one another. Because in many ways, I feel I do know you. While I am unimpressed with the person who runs my state, I thought the world of you. Like many people, I wished I still lived in New York so I could proudly call you my Governor. Andrew, you are a strong leader. You are a proud man. You take no bull.
I remember you sharing that one of your daughters had a boyfriend with whom you weren’t in love. News stories reported that her boyfriend had to drive 160-miles from his Plattsburg, NY assignment to Albany in order to take your daughter on dates. People said that you unofficially punished him with the Plattsburg assignment as a way of giving him “highway therapy”.
Imagine if your daughter was at her job and you were watching her. You’d be so proud of her accomplishments and assignment. Now imagine that you see her boss approach her and stand a bit close to her — in her personal space. You watch as he glibly traces the logo on her shirt. Steam rises from the top of your head. He’s holding her head and smiling broadly at her. It’s apparent he thinks he’s utterly charming, even though your daughter looks uncomfortable. You wonder if he’s blind since it’s obvious she’s not smiling back at him or encouraging him. But he just keeps on going. By this point, you would have to be physically restrained otherwise you’d be pummeling his face as you sat on his chest.
But YOU are the toothy-grinned overbearing man. And nearly a dozen of the people who directly or indirectly work for you have given detailed accounts of the times you invaded their space, touched their bodies and flirted with them. The accounts never included MUTUAL flirting. It was one-sided. YOU are the man you’d pummel, if those women were one of your daughters.
I know that you contend that you’re just a super-friendly person who is touchy-feely with everyone. And people may not have loved it, but they took it from you because they felt you had good intention. But that’s not the same as when someone helps himself to intimate conversation or tracing a shirt’s company logo on a woman’s chest or trailing his finger down the spine of someone in the workplace. That’s not super-friendly, that’s usurping one’s power to degrade another.
Andrew, you have done a great job at work. You have made inroads with many to get the job done. You are charismatic and likeable. But you are also a man who is using REALLY old-school tactics that objectify women. Even you have to recognize that this is not the way women want to be treated — especially in the workplace.
I will always respect the job you’ve done as Governor. I will always respect your family for its service to New Yorkers and the world at large. I will always chuckle at the thought of you and your brother egging one another on. But even I am telling you to choose your moment to make an exit before you’re dragged off the public stage. The President of the United States and the House Speaker both encouraged you to leave your post today. Take their advice. Please. And take my advice — stop being so handsy and pushy towards women. We don’t like it. If you have any doubts, why not go ask your daughters how they’d feel if they were treated the way you’re said to have treated others?
