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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   34970 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of November 28, 2022

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Sam Brinton is in the news this week.

For those who don't know, Sam is the first non-binary, gay drag queen to hold a federal government leadership position. I know him for his distinctive appearance, with moustache, bald head, and typical cross-dressing clothing and makeup. Here's another piece about him, from several months ago. The culture war angle should be obvious, as this man was highlighted, along with Rachael Levine, as examples of progressive hiring in the Biden administration. Suffice to say that he is not the kind of person I can take seriously, and I do not think he should have been hired, and certainly shouldn't have been celebrated. But that's not why I'm posting.

Now, why was he in the news this week?

Brinton was caught stealing luggage from an airport terminal. I'll notice that this article has no pictures of him. A summary, from here:

On Sept. 16, a female traveler alerted the Airport Police Department at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport that she was missing a piece of luggage.

Law enforcement officers who reviewed surveillance footage that same day saw Brinton remove a navy blue, hard-sided, 26-inch roller bag made by Vera Bradley from Carousel 7, according to the criminal complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court.

The victim confirmed, through a digital still of surveillance footage, that it was her bag with total contents worth $2,325, according to the complaint.

The same style of Vera Bradley luggage sells for $295 from VeraBradley.com.

Law enforcement confirmed that Brinton arrived at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport at 4:27 p.m. Sept. 16 on a flight from Washington, D.C., and had not checked a bag when he departed Washington.

Law enforcement learned that Brinton stayed at the InterContinental Saint Paul Riverfront hotel, and video surveillance from that hotel showed Brinton checking in with a bag that fit the description of the stolen luggage.

So he's been put on leave, for now, and he's due in court on the 19th of this month. At first, I wouldn't have considered posting this, as I simply found it funny in an absurd way, but then I ran across what is really the reason why I posted. I ran across a thread on twitter explaining why this was actually serious, and reflected a dangerous escalation of perverse behavior. I'll quote the main points:

The public needs to understand that this sexual deviant did NOT accidentally pick up the wrong suitcase, as he checked no bags on the flight. This was likely a targeted attempt at gaining access to a woman's underwear. This is what the Biden Admin desperately wants to keep quiet.

With nearly 13K clinical contact hrs, over 14+ years, working in a clinical capacity with men who sexually offend... with men who've done very deviant and heinous things to women and children... I can assure you that, once you see a man steal female items, it's really serious.

Go ahead and read the whole thread.

I hadn't considered this angle, at first, but once it's been pointed out to me, I can't shake it. It's the most plausible argument I've heard of for why Sam would steal the woman's luggage, given that all others make no sense.

So, to wrap up, my questions. First, should he be fired for stealing? Second, how likely is it that Sam stole the luggage specifically for underwear? And third, does this move the needle for you in any way, when considering whether to trust, hire, or promote people like Sam?

It's a very interesting question as to what was going on. A genuine mistake? Guy was high/drunk/impaired in some capacity and imagined he brought a suitcase with him? Opportunistic "oooh that case looks nice, mine now!"?

I don't know if he was trying to specifically steal a woman's case to get women's clothes, he seems to have no problem getting women's wear usually (although sheesh there are some awful looking photos online where he looks like he's trying out for the edgy Zoomer version of the Joker in an arthouse movie). If it's true that there are photos/video of him travelling with the case, it sounds more like he stole the case to have the suitcase. That there are supposedly images of him flying around with the suitcase strongly indicates that; if he stole it for the content, wouldn't he have dumped the case because that wasn't what he was after?

I'm very dubious about this person (how do you refer to non-binary, anyway? "guy" is offensive, yes?) because of the dressing up but on the other hand, he (they?) do seem to at least have qualifications and experience for the job, so it's not a complete diversity and inclusion hire.

If they did steal the suitcase, and there isn't a reason (e.g. blitzed out of their head on prescription medication) then yeah, probably should be a firing offence. Robbing and thieving is a bad thing, even if the alleged new normal is not to bother prosecuting shoplifters. Even leaving aside the whole "is this a sexual fetish offence?", plain old "stealing" is enough. Another question that comes to mind is do they have a habit of doing this, like kleptomania? Will we hear about other little bits and pieces Mx Brinton picked up here and there? If so, then definitely firing and go get treatment for this.

how do you refer to non-binary, anyway? "guy" is offensive, yes?

If they can commit a stereotypically male sex crime they can be referred to as a male is my view.

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