For the last few months, we have been inundated with charges, accusations, and innuendos about some famous entertainers, politicians, and businessmen in powerful positions, who have been accused of the sexual abuse or harassment of women, what are we to believe? In the rush to judgment, many have claimed that any woman who has accused a man of improper conduct or activity, should be believed, no matter what. I know for sure that there has been sexual abuse upon women (ever since humans were living in caves), especially when men were in positions of power and women were the subject of that power, and those validated cases should be shown the light of day and the perpetrators should be liable for their indiscretions of abuse and harassment.
The murky water comes about when some of the charges of sexual abuse might not be all that cut and dried. There have been shown instances where these charges have been the result of vindictiveness, political considerations, and outright fantasy, and have been totally found to be made up out of whole cloth as retribution by the accuser. As a result, many men have had their reputations sullied and their careers shattered by sometimes untruthful accusations of sexual misconduct or physical abuse. WHAT ARE THE RULES?
Since time began and humans have inhabited the earth, the male of the species has been classified as the “predator” and the females have been classified as the “prey”. One reason might be that the male is physically stronger, in most cases, than the female. Women, over the ages, have therefore had to face a dominant male who sometimes abused that superiority of physical strength in his dealings with females (it is very pronounced in the Muslim religion).
So, what constitutes sexual abuse or sexual harassment? By the way, a sexual abuser can be an equal opportunity perpetrator, as women can also be charged with sexual abuse (ex: women in positions of authority, and women teachers etc.), but the overwhelming charges of sexual abuse is put on the shoulders of the male, in most cases.
It seems that we, in this day and age, that we are defining sexual abuse and sexual harassment down. Almost anything now can be considered sexual abuse such as telling a crude joke; having a nudie or a revealing swimsuit calendar on the office wall; a man innocently putting his hand on the shoulder or arm of the woman (not like in the case of Sen. Al Franken who was caught actually groping a woman); or even a 93 year old man in a wheelchair patting a woman on the butt; can be charges of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. In addition, sexual harassment is often dependent on the feelings of the woman involved. Asking a woman out on a date a second time after she had turned him down once, if she liked him, he could be classified as being “persistent”, but if she doesn't like him she might call it “creepy harassment”. In some cases, the man can't win by trying to be the pursuer (as society has deemed proper), because it depends on the woman, if she likes you, it's O.K., if she doesn't, it might be “creepy harassment”.
In some cases, women do lie about rape (and sexual abuse), ex: the Tawana Brawley case of crying rape when their was no rape; the Jackie Coakley case about a non-existent campus rape on the Univ. of Virginia that was posted in the Rolling Stone magazine; and the Duke lacrosse team case, that were all phony charges of rape and the accused were “tarred and feathered” in the media and the authorities, but were later exonerated after the men's reputations were ruined or dragged through the mud.
So, what are the rules between men and women regarding sex and power, and charges of sexual harassment and sexual abuse? Should an accused man (or woman) be given his/her right of “presumed innocence” or should the accuser and the media be given “carte blanche” that the charges be believed, no matter what are the circumstances as to fact or fiction?
We are now in a public feeding frenzy whereby the roles of men and women are being placed in a state of flux, fueled by an enormous dose of “political correctness”.
Abuse, both sexual and abuse of power in the workplace, should be prosecuted (as represented by Harvey Weinstein, Rep. John Conyers, Matt Lauer etc.), but instances of minor verbal and innocent touching among the sexes, or consensual sex between, both heterosexual and homosexual participants in a relationship gone bad, should not be the cause of felony accusations and slander and libel. One-sided guilt is not fair to anyone, especially to the person accused of misconduct. He or she should have their “day in court” to determine who is telling the truth.
Conservative commentary by Chuck Lehmann
1 comment:
Our whole male/female relationship thing is in a state of flux, to say the least. Is it all right for a man to compliment a woman on how she looks, hug a child or a woman, tell an off-color joke, ask a a woman for a date after she previously turned him down, or have we carried this sexual harassment or sexual abuse scenario out to ridiculous extremes? No doubt, some men, and to some extent some women, have committed sexual misconduct, but to read the the media or watch T.V. you'd think that the adult women (or men) cannot handle uncomfortable situations with the opposite sex. Not every man is a (like Harvey Weinstein, Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, to name just a few) sexual predator. People are people who make bad decisions or say the wrong things at times, should they have their reputations and careers torn to bits by overly sensitive members of the opposite sex? The presumption of innocence must be given to the accused unless and until proven otherwise. It's the only fair thing to do.
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