Official U.S. Senate photograph of Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota), the latest to apologize for sexual harassment. Photograph by Rebecca Hammel
Is there any man left in America who hasn’t groped, assaulted or raped some girl/boy/woman?
From Capitol Hill to Hollywood, they’re dropping like proverbial flies. The latest to drop – Democratic Sen. Al Franken, who apologized – awkwardly to say the least – for groping a woman in 2006.
Question: What is the difference between a Democratic assaulter and a Republican? No, it’s not a setup for a joke. The Dems, like Bill Clinton, have apologized. (Or were they shamed into it?) The Repubs are holding fast to defiance, with Alabama Senate hopeful and mall exile Roy Moore threatening to bring the wrath of the Bible he hides behind on reporters and accusers alike.
To those who say times were different then, I say we have been a civilized Judeo-Christian country for a long time. We don’t go around invading an individual’s personal space without good cause (such as if the person were choking, for instance). And just because times were different then – whenever “then” was – it doesn’t mean that the statute of limitations has run out on the pain of the victims.
To those who wonder why they waited so long to report the wrongdoing, my guess is that they didn’t. Generally, sexual misconduct is an open secret that may be tolerated, because the perpetrator is counting on the fear of the victim and those around her.
And that brings us to what this is really about – power, the power of a man in an authoritative position (a district attorney, a movie mogul) over the vulnerable (an underage girl, an actress seeking a career) but also the power men still have over women and those they feminize (gay men, foreign men). What we are seeing in the Trump era is the last gasp of old, white, male power – which is why allegations of sexual harassment are reaching critical mass.
Moore may be elected to the Senate on Dec. 12, but there’s no question that the tide is turning. I’m not entirely sure where we’re headed.
But it’s clear we won’t be turning back.