ANN ALTHOUSE ON GIANFORTE AND BEN JACOBS:

Hamblin likes the idea of “redefining strength” by accepting, in the moment, that one has been “physically overpowered” and not getting caught up in “the idea of masculinity as an amalgam of dominance and violence.” Instead, Jacobs, speaking “as if narrating for the audio recorder,” said “You just body-slammed me and broke my glasses.” He also “started asking for names of witnesses to the assault who will be assets to his case as it plays out in courts of law and public opinion,” and reported the incident to the police.

Of course, Jacobs’s choices were not merely a matter of overcoming physical impulses and meritoriously eschewing violence. I don’t know how much of an impulse to retaliate on the spot he may have felt. I don’t really know how violently he was hit. I don’t even know if he did something first toward Gianforte and Gianforte was doing the old tit for tat retaliation. But narrating the audio, dropping it on line, going to the police, and taking names for litigation purposes is also a form of dominance. Some people would even call it violence. Why, here’s an article in The Atlantic from just last June: “Enforcing the Law Is Inherently Violent/A Yale law professor suggests that oft-ignored truth should inform debates about what statutes and regulations to codify.”

But personally, I’m now sufficiently woke to praise Gianforte for body-slamming rapist Ben Jacobs:

Thanks to male feminist Jordan Hoffman for enlightening me.