My Truck, My Rules

 Mississippi state Rep. Robert Foster (R), who is currently running for Governor, yesterday turned down a request from female journalist Larrison Campbell to ride along with him for a day in order for her to give an insider’s view of his campaign. He did because so because “I didn’t want to end up in a situation where me and Ms. Campbell were alone for an extended period of time throughout that 15 to 16 hour day.” He added the additional point that “...this is my truck, and in my truck we go by my rules. And that’s my rule. My truck, my rules.”

So basically he has “Penced” Ms. Campbell, using the guideline that VP Mike Pence follows: never be alone in the same room with someone of the opposite gender. Mr. Foster, pressed on this, said: “Because of the #metoo movement now, men are under attack all of the time. I’m not going to allow myself to be put in a situation with any female, where they could make an accusation against me and there’s not a witness there to refute that accusation.”

I can only think of a few reasons why Mr. Foster as well as Mr. Pence would feel so strongly this way, and none of them speak well of either man. 1) Any woman alone with them in a closed room (or truck) is likely to make a false accusation that ‘something happened’ and lie about it because, y’know, that’s what women do, and/or 2) They believe that, being men with testosterone flowing from their pores, they’ll be unable to control themselves if alone in a closed room (or truck) with a woman and so they must avoid that situation at all costs, and/or 3) They believe that being men with their irresistible testosterone flowing from their pores, any woman alone with them in a closed room (or truck) will be unable to control herself and throw herself naked at him and so they must avoid that situation at all costs, and/or 4) Being along with a man in a closed room (or truck) couldn’t possibly have any sexual overtones, flowing testosterone or not and so there’s no reason to avoid that situation, and/or 5) There’s no possible way a man alone with them in a closed room (or truck) making such an accusation against them would be credibly believed, because ‘real men’ don’t do things like that (unless they’re Catholic priests). And speaking of that last bit, of course, 6) Mr. Foster or Mr. Pence should never allow themselves to be alone in a closed room (or truck) with an underage child of any gender, for fear of being falsely accused by that child, because kids lie all the time, too.

Basically, Mr. Foster and Mr. Pence, in all due caution you should extend the “my truck, my rules” guidelines to exclude either of you being alone in a closed room (or truck) with ANYONE AT ALL other than your spouse. Yeah, sure, that would be paranoid and ignorant of you, but...