Letters: Congressman Grimm is a bully

Rep. Michael Grimm (R-Staten Island) threatened NY1 reporter Michael Scotto with physical harm ["Sorry for the threat of violence," News, Jan. 30]. I think it's funny that Grimm then later contritely told reporters that he's going to get "an earful" from his mother.

It just shows you that many bullies don't mature when they grow up; they just become older bullies. There's nothing manly about bullying.

Robert Shepard, Lynbrook
 

It was almost laughable, had it not been so tragic a sign of our times.

Immediately following President Barack Obama's State of the Union message, a panel of political pundits began discussing the content of the speech. No sooner did one pundit suggest that the president should have addressed specific issues about early childhood education, like impulse control, than a member of Congress threatened to hurt someone who asked him a question he didn't like!

I was further disturbed by the congressman reference to breaking the reporter "like a boy." Is he in the habit of hurting children?

Then, to add insult to injury, his first response when questioned about his behavior was not a heart-felt apology, or some sign that he had any self-awareness of his behavior or its impact on others. Nope! He just stated, "I doubt that I am the first member of Congress to tell off a reporter, and I am sure I won't be the last."

He has set a very poor example for others. He's in the public eye, a "leader." We need better!

Laura L. Lustbader, Huntington Station