The # MeToo craze that gave women who were the victims of sexual assault the courage to come forward and tell their stories has backfired and spiraled out of control. Here’s why:
Lifestyle
We all cheered and offered support and encouragement to women when they raised their hands under the hashtag # MeToo and voiced sexual misconduct in the workplace and beyond. We jumped for joy when chronic sexual predators like Harvey Weinstein and others were publicly ridiculed and their careers were smashed to smithereens. However, nobody was at all prepared for the double-standards, the “follow the leader” mentality, and the domino effect # MeToo has incited. Read on…
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#DOUBLE STANDARD
The country has risen to the point of holding its political leaders and public figures to an extremely high moral ground. For example, 88-year-old civil rights icon and congressional Rep. John Conyers was forced to resign on Tuesday after sexual misconduct charges from a few decades ago were brought to light. Bringing the elderly and longest-serving congressman ever down was a huge accomplishment, right? Hmmm, maybe not.
If we are going to hold John Conyers responsible for his past then we must hold ALL politicians responsible for their pasts too. This includes Donald Trump, who has somehow managed to float above the fray. This is WRONG and an enormous double-standard.
Donald Trump is a known sexual predator who has openly bragged about grabbing women by their pussies, gawking at naked Miss USA pageant contestants while they were changing because he was the owner, and the vile things he said during the ACCESS HOLLYWOOD tape recording. However, where is the outrage directed at him? Where are the calls for him to resign for his past behavior? Why is there a double-standard?
If the country is sickened and outraged by every other political leader and entertainment executive for their actions, then how do we reconcile not being just as sickened and outraged by Donald Trump or alleged child molester Roy Moore (whom Republicans have collectively decided to now back for the US Senate, saying they’d rather have a child molester who’s a Republican than have a Democrat)??
Are we really OK with having a set of rules for one group and not the other??
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#FOLLOW THE LEADER
At some unknown point during the # MeToo craze, it became expected to immediately act on each and every claim without haste. Soon, companies began releasing men without completing fair and thorough investigations based solely on someone’s word. Soon, America’s long-standing tradition of “Innocent until proven guilty” was reversed and everyone was assumed to be guilty until they proved they were not.
This is wrong!
Yes, companies must act with expediency in removing sexual predators from the workplace in order to assure a safe work environment. However, they must also walk the thin line of making sure they have done due diligence in investigating each and every claim. Otherwise, corporations open themselves up to a myriad of lawsuits and more for false expulsion — not to mention the setback that a false claim(s) could mean to the # MeToo movement.
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#DOMINO EFFECT
The # MeToo craze has begun to target members of the US House and Senate. As of this writing, Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota is expected to announce his resignation today due to charges that he groped several women several years ago during his days as a stand-up comedian. For Democrats to send Rep. Conyers and Sen. Franken packing, they are setting a precedent that will soon target other congressional leaders on a so-called “hit list.”
Are we prepared for the possibility that # MeToo could potentially restructure our political system?
With the GOP’s public reversal in favor of now supporting Roy Moore and their continued “look the other way” silence on Donald Trump, they have already signaled they are ignoring #MeToo. So, if Republicans are able to successfully flush Democratic members from Congress based on inappropriate touching from years ago that everyone but them is outraged over, the congressional rolls could soon be rewritten. This could possibly (and finally) mean the end of Obamacare, the launch of Trump’s beloved Muslim ban and more.
We may soon be forced to ask ourselves which is worse: a politician touching a woman’s leg 20 years ago, or a GOP-led Congress today using that act to their advantage with a secret plan to push their radical agenda through?
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Lifestyle
Despite Time Magazine’s choice of the “Silence Breakers” as their 2017 Person of the Year, # MeToo has sadly backfired. What once began as a movement against men who used their power, fame, and position to force women into unwanted sexual assault, has now turned into a way to ruin any man for political gain whose hand may have (for example) inadvertently brushed against a woman’s body. Or, to put it more directly, to ruin any man not named Donald Trump or Roy Moore, whom nobody really seems as outraged against as they are a John Conyers or Al Franken. So, what’s wrong with this picture?
Somehow, somewhere, we’ve been played, America. Pandora’s Box has been opened, and it’s too late to put the lid back on and regain some sense of control.
DJ: However, nobody was at all prepared for the double-standards, the “follow the leader” mentality, and the domino effect # MeToo has incited. […] It’s true. The possibility of “overkill” was always there. In fact, we discussed it a bit last week, right here, in a related post. Personally I never subscribed to the “# MeToo” movement (if you will) because of my concern for the likelihood of everybody and her sister jumping on the bandwagon and (along with the media), conflating serious sexual offenses with minor acts of sexual “misconduct.” But I stand by my initial belief that it’s time for Conyers to go: “every female in the press corps knew that, right, don’t get in the elevator with him” – Cokie Roberts on ABC’s “This Week” Combine that revelation with the “hush-money” paid out to at least one of his accusers – was enough for me. Re; Franken… Read more »