Joseph Epstein argued in the Wall Street Journal that Jill Biden should not refer to herself as Dr. Jill Biden when she becomes First Lady.
As crazy as it may seem, these actual words comprised the first paragraph of his argument:
“Madame First Lady—Mrs. Biden—Jill—kiddo: a bit of advice on what may seem like a small but I think is a not unimportant matter. Any chance you might drop the “Dr.” before your name? “Dr. Jill Biden ” sounds and feels fraudulent, not to say a touch comic. Your degree is, I believe, an Ed.D., a doctor of education, earned at the University of Delaware through a dissertation with the unpromising title “Student Retention at the Community College Level: Meeting Students’ Needs.” A wise man once said that no one should call himself “Dr.” unless he has delivered a child. Think about it, Dr. Jill, and forthwith drop the doc.”
It will come as no surprise to you that Joseph Epstein is an old, white, sexist bigot. Also dreadfully insecure.
Old and white is obvious. He’s 83 years-old and poses for author photos by looking over his shoulder with his chin in his hand.
Only an old, white man would agree to something like this. Take a moment and try to recreate this pose yourself.
It’s incredible uncomfortable.
I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with being an old, white man. I know many remarkable old, white men who would never say anything as stupid and condescending as what Epstein has written. I’m just saying that is someone is going to write something as stupid, arrogant, and smarmy as this, it’s probably going to be a white man.
And likely older.
Epstein is a bigot because he considers homosexuality “a curse, in a literal sense” and once wrote that his sons could do nothing to make him sadder than “if any of them were to become homosexual.”
He also wrote, “I would wish homosexuality off the face of the earth.”
Granted, this vile essay, entitled “Homo/Hetero: The Struggle for Sexual Identity” was published in 1970, before I was even born, and I respect and honor a person who is willing to change their heart and mind for the better. But Epstein has never disavowed the essay. When he has spoken about it, he has claimed that it was mischaracterized and misunderstood.
It’s hard to misunderstand a person when they say that nothing could make them sadder than if any of their sons were gay.
He also used the n-word in the same essay.
He’s obviously a sexist. Just read his words. If you don’t think that this Op-Ed screams sexism, you are probably a sexist yourself or inexplicably blind to the sexism that exists around you.
You might also be incredibly insecure, as Epstein clearly is. In fact, his insecurity is also on full display here. Like Dr. Jill Biden, Epstein also has a doctorate, except that his is honorary one from Adelphi University, which means he did nothing to earn it.
Epstein was also unimpressed with the way Jill Biden earned her actual degree. He critiqued the title of Biden’s dissertation, Student Retention at the Community College Level: Meeting Students’ Needs, calling it “unpromising”.
This especially annoyed me, giving that I attended and graduated from a community college prior to moving onto Trinity College and St. Joseph’s University and still feel that my education in community college was far superior to my education in those four year universities.
I’m also annoyed with the Wall Street Journal for publishing this nonsense. I have nothing against the publication of varying viewpoints, but this essay does not serve its readership nor the world in any way. It’s vile, condescending, rude, and sexist.
Nothing more.
Then again, the Wall Street Journal has not dignified itself as of late, often defending the similarly sexist and bigoted Donald Trump.
The truth is this:
If you earned a degree that confers the honorific of Doctor, you should be able to use it if you’d like, regardless of your ability to prescribe medication or treat cancer. I have friends who have degrees like this. Some use the honorific. Some do not. I suspect that if I was to earn a doctorate at some point in my life, I would not use the honorific, finding it a little too much for my minimalist tastes.
Also, Dr. Dicks sounds a little odd.
But I suspect that if I were a woman or a person of color, routinely and unendingly discriminated against in the workplace, I would likely use that honorific as a means of further establishing my right to be in the room. If I wasn’t a white man, I would probably find the honorific helpful because too many people like Jospeh Epstein are consistently trying to keep women and minorities out of the room.
Either way, Dr. Jill Biden will use the title if she wants, and sexists like Joseph Epstein can do nothing about it except write essays that expose them for the small, insecure fools that they are.
The response to Epstein’s piece has been scathing.
Hundreds of writers, politicians, and others have written in opposition to Epstein’s piece.
Northwestern Univerity, where Epstein taught for decades, has criticized the piece, removed his profile from their website, and distanced themselves from their former professor.
Frankly, the 1970 piece on homosexuality should’ve been more than enough for Northwestern to take action years ago, but as I said, I respect and honor a person (or institution) willing to change their heart and mind for the better.
The most shocking thing of all, at least for me, is the obvious lack of intelligence in Epstein’s circle of friends. Or perhaps the absence of friends entirely. Had I written a piece as stupid and small as this, Elysha Dicks, my agent, and my friends would’ve stopped me from publishing this and punched me in the face for writing it.
Where were Epstein’s friends? Where was his private counsel?
How does a piece like this ever see the light of day?
Epstein might be wondering the same thing today.
