General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: When you are silencing MY voice, I have a right to know your name (thoughts on Franken) [View all]chowder66
(9,067 posts)I agree with you and what they are describing as harassment doesn't quite fit. If any of this were true it sounds more like a guy failing miserably at a pass. It should be relegated to anecdotal status in telling funny or weird stories.
Grabbing a waist? That isn't harassment in my book. If she thinks it is, it makes you wonder how protective she is about her physical space. There is nothing wrong about being protective but if she infers harassment based on those parameters then certainly there will be others who she could deem inappropriate. How could anyone know? If he put is hand around her shoulder could that also be deemed harassment in her book? What if another person came out and said he grabbed her shoulder and she felt it crossed a line?
Ms. Tweedon exhibited the nearly the same behavior she ascribed to Franken, but importantly she was taped doing it several times in different ways.
Is Franken overly friendly? Maybe. Does he not understand boundaries, maybe. He doesn't come off as threatening.
Each woman was able to respond, say please don't touch me there or walk away and say they are disappointed. They all had the chance to demand an apology or put him in his place. This wasn't a man trying to overpower them or threaten their jobs.
My concern is that there will be some women who will create harassment where there is none; maybe because the don't understand what it is, maybe they overthink it or maybe the want to be part of something. There are those that truly go through it some a little, some a lot but there are grey areas and those areas may not fit the definition of sexual harassment.