Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is just the latest voice in a Democratic chorus calling for the New Jersey senator to leave office

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has joined the calls for Bob Menendez to resign, after the Democratic US senator from New Jersey was charged with accepting gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz and other gifts as bribes.

Speaking on Sunday, Ocasio-Cortez said the charges against Menendez were “extremely serious” and he should step down.

A growing number of Democrats are calling for Menendez, who has represented New Jersey in the Senate since 2006, to resign.

Menendez is accused of using his position to aid Egypt’s authoritarian government and pressuring federal prosecutors to drop a case against a friend.

  • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    arrow-down
    8
    ·
    1 year ago

    Harassment absolutely requires intent.

    Wrong. As long as a “reasonable person” would consider the act intimidating, hostile, or abusive then it is harassment.

    A “reasonable person” is, itself, a legal fiction that creates a standard for a judge or jury to weigh the behavior against.

    • Eldritch@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      1 year ago

      Hostility literally is intent. Abuse is a product of such intent. Your argument makes no sense. You are literally claiming it’s not defined by intent, just by intent. Again, you aren’t being objective or honest.

      • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        9
        ·
        edit-2
        1 year ago

        Acts can be intimidating without intent; making sexual gestures to a person while they are sleeping and then taking a sexually compromising photo of an unconscious person is pretty fucking intimidating. Forcibly groping or kissing someone, too, is pretty fucking intimidating.