Bret: Yes and yes.
gail: But when it comes to physical abuse, a woman deserves immediate attention, partly just out of concern for her safety. And because we are trying to reverse a long human history where violence against one sexual partner was not seen as serious as violence against someone else.
Bret: Agree again, but while Heard accused Depp of being violent, she also said in the booth, “It’s always been my own testimony that I hit Johnny.” I think the case reminds us that the current politicized view of relationships – in which men are always in control of all power, including physical power; women are generally considered to be the victimized party as well as the fair party; and romantic relationships are supposed to follow the precepts of a legal order, not the alchemy of desire — it just doesn’t match the way most people experience life.
gail: If our readers would like to consider this further, I highly recommend our colleague Michelle Goldberg’s Heard-Depp column from last week.
Bret: Michelle eloquently expresses the exact opposite of my view.
gail: Speaking of eloquently, what about the primaries that just happened? The major in Pennsylvania for the Republican Senate nomination, with Dr. Oz vs Business Guy, still unresolved. That must be a plus for Democratic candidate John Fetterman. Any idea about that race?
Bret: I suspect Fetterman will have a hard time winning in November. He stands on the left of a Democratic Party struggling to overcome the perception that it leaned too far to the left in Biden’s first year. Of course, Oz and David McCormick, his closest opponent, could still tear the Pennsylvania GOP to pieces by fighting for the roughly 1,000 votes that separated them in last week’s primary. The older I get, the more I realize that winning in politics is mainly a game in which you are slightly less stupid than your opponent.
gail: It is embarrassing to look around the country and see formerly sensible Republicans now feeling compelled to deny that Biden won the election.
Bret: Those Republicans aren’t healthy, but I get your point.
gail: Fetterman is overly colorful for my taste, constantly showing up in shorts to public events and bragging about his tattoos. But his policy is perfectly reasonable, and I think he has a real chance.
