An advisor for the Georgetown University Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) program tweeted Saturday evening that he hopes conservative commentator Allie Stuckey has her own “#metoo moment.”
Jeff Bernstein, who is also the managing director for Solebury Capital, tweeted the remark to Stuckey after she worried that the #metoo movement is a “symptom of a broken world.” Not happy with Stuckey’s approach, Bernstein then fired off his now infamous tweet.
“Wishing you a #metoo moment. Maybe then you won’t be so insensitive,” Bernstein wrote, which has been interpreted by many as a desire to see Stuckey sexually assaulted.
After dozens if not hundreds of fans attacked Bernstein on Twitter, and Stuckey called him out numerous times, Bernstein finally capitulated to pressure, tweeting “I apologize.”
“I shouldn’t have done that,” wrote Bernstein, who proceeded to mount a defense of his actions. “I thought you were implying that the fact that this moment is happening meant that the world was not functioning properly, similar to how you have minimized the terrible things Trump has said/done.”
“I would never wish harm on anyone,” Bernstein added.
In a statement to PJ Media, Bernstein immediately apologized, calling it a “completely uncalled for mistake.”
“As a husband and father of three, I vow to stop making crude comments just because I disagree with someone’s political position. Sometimes people treat Twitter as if it’s a free for all, and I am guilty of that. It is not, and people can be hurt by the power of words no matter what the intent. Again, I am sorry for causing this,” he added.
Stuckey told PJ Media that “it’s unfortunate that a board member, someone so influential to the staff and students at Georgetown, is apt to wish sexual abuse upon someone with which he disagrees politically.”
Prior to the incident, Stuckey had been a critic of the #metoo movement, expressing concerns on her personal blog that the movement doesn’t do enough to encourage personal responsibility among young women.
“Here’s the uncomfortable truth: victimhood and responsibility are not mutually exclusive,” Stuckey wrote, adding that the #metoo movement is “teaching [women] that they have absolutely no control over what happens to them, when that’s just not always true.”
PJ Media reached out to Georgetown University to inquire whether Bernstein has any contact with students, but did not hear back in time for publication. Bernstein also declined to clarify his relationship to Georgetown University in his statement to PJ Media.
Update:
The Masters of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) program at Georgetown University is deeply committed to fostering the role of women in international affairs and promoting respectful dialogue and debate on the critical issues facing our world.Encouraging, threatening or condoning violence and harassment against another person, in any form and on any format, is deeply inconsistent with the values of the program, our school and our university.
We appreciate Mr. Bernstein’s efforts to apologize for recent comments deeply inconsistent with our values and mission and have accepted his resignation from the MSFS Board of Advisors. MSFS will continue its dedication to preparing women and men for leadership roles in global affairs.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @Toni_Airaksinen
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