After Al Franken and Roy Moore, We Are Dangerously Close To Botching The #MeToo Moment

[Cattledog]

The #MeToo moment is in a far more delicate place than headlines would lead one to believe.

The New York Times’ October 5th bombshell on Harvey Weinstein’s myriad sexually predatory offenses set off a cultural chain reaction that feels truly important or scary or both, depending on who you ask. Women in Hollywood stood up and shared their stories of sexual misconduct. And then women in the media did, women in the art world did, women in politics did, women in comedy did, and so on.

It was as if we had lanced a cultural wound and collectively stood around, astonished by what came out. How was that all there, all this time? How much do we still have to learn?

Meanwhile, men in those worlds privately wondered (sometimes in late night text messages to their female friend: this writer) where it would end; if they had something lurking in their own past; if one day, the #MeToo moment engulf them too.

When I’d get calls or texts like that, I’d go through the regular reassurance script: False accusations are rare because coming forward about sexual misconduct generally sucks for women, especially when they’re accusing powerful men. Journalists have learned their lesson from the disaster of the UVA Rolling Stone story and how that episode set the campus rape discussion back, arguably to a worse place than it was before. Yes, it’s possible that a sociopath with malicious intent could try and burn a foe or settle a score without merit. Certainly, the barrier to entry is low—a tweet or an anonymously sourced online google document would suffice. And, yes, they could leverage bloggers or ideologues to get their stories out without having them fact checked, leaving their subject’s PR team to unexplode the bomb.

I’d tell them, that sort of thing could happen, but it probably won’t, because lies fall apart once you look at them closely enough. And we would never be stupid or careless enough, en masse, to refuse to look at things like this closely.


But privately, I’ve been worried that we’re cruising toward the #MeToo moment’s trip wire, the point where a public’s over-credulity means that opportunists could exploit the movement and bring it all crashing down, worse off than before. And then stories of sexual misconduct will again be relegated to cocktail hours and DM’s—feminist ghost stories women share with each other with the knowledge that the demons that torment us still lurk in corner offices.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/after-al-franken-and-roy-moore-we-are-dangerously-close-to-botching-the-metoo-moment?via=twitter_page

[Polly Hennessey]

1. Cattledog

This is my fear, also. Talked about it on another thread. It is becoming a cascade. There is this picture in my mind of men becoming fearful of saying or doing anything that could be misconstrued. It’s the Mike Pence pickle —afraid to be alone with a woman not your wife. Does this mean no more flirting?

[RandomAccess]

4. Men have nothing to fear as long as

they are respectful to women. It's not that damn difficult. How would they like to see their mother / sister / daughter treated? It's nothing at all like "the Mike Pence pickle," which is simply perverse, IMO.

I can't understand why men would EVER say they're fearful of saying anything anymore when it's so incredibly simple: don't impose yourself on women, or anyone for that matter. And I find it even less easy to understand why a woman would have difficulty with the question.

[BannonsLiver]

2. I think thats correct

The way it’s been handled by the media invites a lot of things, including satire which will kill the movement. I think we’re already at the tipping point.

[madaboutharry]

3. I worry the public will tire of it.

There comes a point when it may begin to seem like people settling scores or just wanting attention rather than focusing on educating people that unwanted touching, sex jokes in inappropriate situations, and harassment and assault are all unacceptable behaviors that will no longer be tolerated.