Fox host skewered for suddenly supporting paternity leave after having baby
One of the defining traits of Fox News personalities is a profound lack of empathy. Whether because of cynical careerism or genuine reactionary ideology, the talking heads that populate the intellectual wasteland that is America’s most popular news network seem unable to consider anyone’s perspective but their own.
This refusal to empathize is what allows them to pump out the kind of xenophobic, racist, sexist, deeply privileged sludge that they traffic in daily. There is no sympathy on display for the victims of the oppressive power structures that have long animated American society, which is why for example you see Fox almost always siding with the police when an innocent person of color is gunned down. If it doesn’t affect them, they don’t care about it.
Jesse Watters, one of the most cognitively stunted goons at a station teeming with rabid ignoramuses, recently had his third child. During an appearance on The Five, he stated that he is now “pro-paternity” after the birth of this most recent child.
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“I used to mock people for taking paternity, I used to think it was a big ruse, but now I wish I could take six weeks,” said Watters. As is too often the case, this conservative doesn’t care about an issue until it’s affecting him directly. The fact that it took three children for him to realize it might be a good idea just shows how deeply ingrained his apathy towards others is.
Paid paternity and maternity lead have never been “ruses,” but a way of ensuring that hardworking Americans can balance their work and home lives. More importantly, there are countless Americans working real jobs—unlike Watters whose job is to race-bait and push right-wing lies—who deserve leave far more than this pampered propagandist. Watters will never work an honest day for the rest of his life, and there’s no telling how much damage he will inflict on our democracy in that amount of time. If he deserves paternity leave, everyone does.
"Now I am pro-paternity," Jesse Watters says, talking about his newborn son. "I used to mock people for taking paternity, I used to think it was a big ruse, but now I wish I could take six weeks." pic.twitter.com/GGzq7d6WZP
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) April 12, 2021
Twitter users pounced all over Watters for his hypocrisy.
I’m against a policy that helps people until I’m personally affected. That’s the Republican way. https://t.co/gnHnh5C20v
— chris evans (@chris_notcapn) April 13, 2021
Typical conservative asshole, suddenly wants something only when it directly affects him. That’s the difference between liberals and conservatives—we have empathy even when we’re not directly affected. https://t.co/jARnyWs5dz
— Markos Moulitsas (@markos) April 13, 2021
Remember how Dick Cheney was against gay marriage until one of his daughters came out? This is the classic conservative stance: I’m against it because of my fierce adherence to abstract principles—until it happens to me. Then I’ll make an exception. For me. https://t.co/lBkCW0quio
— Julia Ioffe (@juliaioffe) April 13, 2021
Yet again, another rightwinger endorsing common sense progressive proposals only when it *affects* or *benefits* them. https://t.co/qircCskoCV
— Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan) April 13, 2021
When I worked in the Senate, I learned that Republican senators couldn’t sympathize with anything they hadn’t experienced. It’s only gotten worse. https://t.co/6xeHNeoIYR
— Lawrence O'Donnell (@Lawrence) April 13, 2021
https://twitter.com/DanteAtkins/status/1381817011119001602?s=20
Being a Republican must be nice. You never care about anything until it personally affects you. https://t.co/2Dlsq3c8ZA
— Brianna Wu (@BriannaWu) April 13, 2021
As with everything, it's not a problem to a conservative if it doesn't effect them personally
— OpinionatedKyle (@jazzmankyle) April 12, 2021
Feel free to steal and use. pic.twitter.com/y75kX0bdiG
— Bekah IS Antifa (@VectorBoy101) April 12, 2021
What's worse is that this isn't his first kid. Just his first with Wife 2.0.
— Michael Kohler ↙↙↙ (@thekohler) April 12, 2021
‘I used to mock dads who wanted to be with their newborn babies, until I had one…’
Ughhhhhhhh.
Wearing hypocrisy like a badge of honor.— Jo (@JoJoFromJerz) April 13, 2021
How Meghan McCain of him – only care once it happens to him
— Geoff (wear a mask!) Nesnow (@DonotInnovate) April 13, 2021
If Republicans consistently followed Watters' example of adopting a principle once it personally affects them, I would guess GOP legislatures would stop passing anti-abortion laws?
— NC Vates (@NCVates) April 12, 2021
So he thought the MILLIONS of people that had babies and said, "hey this is hard and I need some time to care for a very needy new human who I love 100% but takes all my energy" were lying because he didn't even attempt to understand another person's perspective.
— Veronica McNear (@vqsgarden) April 13, 2021
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