Making it Whole: The (Bill) Clinton Problem

[TygrBright]

19. Was James Toback? Was Mark Halperin? Was Brett Ratner?

This is NOT a court of law and the standard of "innocent until proven guilty" is not at issue.

The issue is: Do we believe women who accuse the famous, the powerful, the well-known and even the well-beloved, of skeevy behavior? Or do we write them off, enable those accused to avoid having to face courts of public opinion, culture, and even civil and criminal law? And if we choose to believe them, what is the ethical, progressive response?

I'm assuming you didn't click the VF link and read the long, thoughtful, and painful article there all the way through. Ms Williams covers the credibility of the women who came forward, the evidence assembled, the corroboration of other sources and their varying levels of presumed bias and involvement, in some detail.

We DO have to be alert for the rare phenomenon of false accusation, particularly in a politically divided environment. But we have to balance the potential damage of such false accusations against the established fact of their rarity. And against the long-established "benefit of the doubt" extended to the accused perpetrators that has become so routine it's yet another form of enabling.

patiently,
Bright