I guess it was inevitable. Sooner or later I was going to offer some commentary about the avalanche of claims of sexual harassment against prominent men. The problem is that it seems that they just keep coming so it's difficult to characterize where we are in this sordid mess. But we're far enough in that it's likely not going away and will probably get worse. So there's really no reason not to jump in.
As I was out walking the pup this morning I was trying to think of all the people who have been accused. It's a long list. Trump, Clinton, Conyers, Franken, Rose, Halperin, Weinstein, other Hollywood types, Washington DC swamp types, media stars, etc, etc. Just tonight there was another name from Pixar who is in deep shit. It seems that the Harvey Weinstein accusations started the snowball down the hill. And the accusations were real doozy's. I've written previously that in my opinion all you had to do was look at this guy and it wouldn't be difficult to characterize him as a slime ball.
During our 6 years living in the Washington DC area, I came in contact with many who worked on the hill. Some were friends and colleagues. It was no secret that there was a big sexual component in the environment. Lots of pressure, long hours, many away from home, plenty of alcohol, and most importantly, power, all contributed. I heard somewhere today that our government has spent $17 million of taxpayer money over the last 20 years funding sexual harassment settlements aimed at members of Congress and their employees. If true, that is pretty disturbing. Probably not much we can do about it, but it needs to stop!
Let me state clearly that I don't think this whole issue is about sex as much as it is about power. Quite simply, it's a bunch of guys abusing women because of one reason. Because they can. They are jerks of the first order and I'm happy they are getting called out. And as a subjective assessment of these guys, where did they get the idea that they could do some of the things that they are alleged to have done? I mean, most of these guys are not God's gift to women. They actions they supposedly took, the way they treated women, the blatant and flagrant flouting of what I can only characterize (because I've photos of them) as old and fat men, is frankly disgusting. I mean, they must have egos as big as a house.
But there are some questions to ask and some issues to ponder as we confront this new paradigm.
In my most cynical mood I wonder if a lot of this isn't some big diversion. The hate for Trump is so deep and pervasive, that I wonder if some aren't trying to push this abuse narrative to open the old allegations against him. Maybe not. But it causes me to wonder.
As we watch the news and hear the revelations, this sordid mess is causing us as a populace to think about and deal with things that are really smarmy. Not that they are unserious, but in comparison to the world's problems, they are fundamentally third or fourth order in importance, if that high. And because of the attention, they have risen to the top. And I wonder how that affects our people. And our kids.
These folks, both the abusers and the abused, have a fair amount of the hypocrite in them. These abusers are the first to call for human rights and then abuse women. They are also the ones who decry global warming while driving in their limousines and flying in their private jets. And they campaign for affordable housing while living in gated mansions. Or they are passionate about open borders while employing immigrants at slave wages. They are also the ones who don't want tax reform while maintaining their wealth in offshore accounts. And the women have some accounting to do. I will go easy on them because they have been on the receiving end of some really terrible actions, but why is the damn breaking just now? Maybe it's because it's just that simple. A few came forward and more and more and more felt empowered to do so. Okay. So be it. But it's difficult to figure out why they stayed silent for so long. If something like that were happening to someone I loved, I would be terribly disappointed if they stayed silent, no matter the consequences. And I'd be disappointed because they didn't come to me or someone they trust to help.
I also wonder about when the abuse occurred. The judge in Alabama has charges from 40 years ago. 40 years. Really? That's a tough one. But most are more recent so they need to be taken at face value. I've also heard it said by more than one person that if anyone commits this kind of crime is should be the death penalty as far as public service is concerned. Okay. But I wonder if someone can be rehabilitated in 10 years? 20 years? 40 years?
It's also interesting to see the reactions. Some give excuses. Some apologize. Some deny. I don't know if any of these strategies work. There doesn't seem to be anything that they can do but recede from the public eye and hope for the best.
This kind of crime fundamentally comes down to he said, she said. But we have defaulted to total belief of the woman. Okay. So be it. But...there could be some real consequences with this reaction.
I'm sure that there will be other revelations as the days and weeks unfold. And they will be probably be just as bad as what we've heard to now. And it will cause further circling of the wagons and attempts to deflect and blame someone else. My sense is that strategy is becoming problematic.
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