Enablers at the heart of sex harassment cases
This columnist has called many things. Some are puns of the last name. A few are complimentary. Most are unprintable.
But my favorite, in response to blasting actresses who refused to tackle sexual harassers, was “mansplainer.”
It had an almost-dignified ring to it. However, given my failure to stay current with the constantly changing parlance of politically correct nomenclature, I soon realized that it was derogatory. Mansplaining is defined as “explaining something to someone, characteristically by a man to woman, in a manner regarded as condescending or patronizing.”
And there you have it. Yet another example of the PC crowd engaging in personal attacks using ridiculous (but very amusing) labels, at the expense of actually finding solution to a very serious problem.
Fine. Attack at will – spitballs off a battleship. But those shooting such barbs should remember that they are, by their inaction, hurting the very people they want to help.
Many claim sexual harassment is about power. True enough. But it is also rooted in sexual gratification (obviously), and even more so, arrogance – an arrogance based on the mentality that one can do whatever he or she pleases, whenever he or she pleases, without fear of repercussion.
But there is another major cause for harassment. Enabling. Before the PC police circle the wagons, the “enablers” referred to here are not so been much the victims, but much more so, non-victims in positions of influence who chose to “let things go.”
This phenomenon is certainly not limited to sexual harassment, but is pervasive throughout society. Why? Because, truth be told, many who could stop such atrocities often select the easier, self-serving path – and by doing so, become complicit by allowing those injustices to occur, and indeed, thrive.
To solve the problem, it is first necessary to ascertain how predators are enabled. Stop that, and we’ll be well on our way to stopping the problem. Let’s take a look at some prominent examples:
1) Penn State and the Jerry Sandusky scandal: Yes, that saga is back in the news. The University of Tennessee just backed out of hiring Ohio State assistant Greg Schiano as its new head football coach. Its decision was due to a furious backlash that erupted because many were upset that Schiano was a coach at Penn State during the Sandusky era.
According to court documents, former PSU coach Mike McQueary testified that Schiano was aware of Sandusky’s misconduct with young boys years before law enforcement authorities were notified.
True? Or is Schiano simply a fall guy for Penn State’s sins, a victim of guilt by association? Who knows?
What’s indisputable, however, is how many knew about Sandusky’s penchant for boys, yet did nothing to stop it. As a result, numerous children were placed at extreme risk because of that cowardice, and many were victimized. (Penn State’s payouts to victims now exceed $109 million).
But to understand the Sandusky scandal, we must look at Jerry’s biggest enabler. More than anyone, the person who could have put an immediate end to Sandusky’s preying was thenattorney general (and later governor) Tom Corbett. But he didn’t.
Instead, he chose advancing his political career.
After all, Corbett decided that investigating white collar political corruption, where no one’s safety was jeopardized, was infinitely more important that stopping a child sexual predator. So Corbett assigned scores of agents, reportedly including – ready for this? – a child predator unit, to the corruption probe, while the entire Sandusky case was investigated by a mere two officers – both of whom were narcotics agents with no experience in child sex crimes.
Even Corbett himself, in a revealing moment, admitted that leaving Sandusky free for so long was “a calculated risk.” Makes you wonder how the victims feel about an attorney general who so cavalierly accepted such a grave risk.
Corbett’s egregious actions could fill volumes. But the critical point is that he chose prosecuting corruption over arresting a coach from a popular football program, during an election. Sure, the people of Pennsylvania responded by eventually kicking Corbett out of office – the only incumbent governor in modern state history to lose re-election, and in a Republican landslide year no less – but Tom Corbett is not held accountable nearly enough.
Maybe Greg Schiano knew, and maybe he didn’t. But his role, overall, is miniscule compared to those who could have ended the ordeal sooner. Unless we hold our top leaders accountable to pursue the truth, no matter where it leads, nothing will change.
2) The Catholic Church: The biggest sex scandal in history was perpetrated by pedophile priests preying on – instead of praying for – young children. Yet they were enabled time and again by fellow clergymen – many non-pedophiles – who did not want to rock the boat. In looking the other way (sometimes even sending pedophiles into unsuspecting parishes and schools), they chose rising through the ranks of the church hierarchy over protecting the most innocent in the flock.
Sadly, such behavior was, in some cases, also enabled by parents who placed more value on not riling the church than the safety of their own children, hard as that is to fathom. As a result, countless children were needlessly exposed to danger, with many falling victim to priests who should have been outed and arrested.
3) Hollywood: In years past, sexual harassment was much more readily accepted than it is today. But in Hollywood, it occurred at such a prodigious rate that it was beyond an open secret, as nearly everyone, both in and out of the industry, knew about it, and the biggest offenders. Yet despite the never-ending procession of actresses now claiming harassment, damn near none lifted a finger to stop it, even after “making it big.” Instead, they chose silence, preferring their insulated bubble of lavish parties and selfaggrandizing events over helping – and protecting – the next crop of aspiring (and naïve) young actresses literally walking into the wolf’s lair with no warning of the lurking danger.
So let’s ask the question few are: how are the A-list actresses who not just sat idle but effused praise on Harvey Weinstein, et al., any different from an attorney general dragging his feet on investigating a sexual predator, or the clergy looking the other way on those it knew were committing unspeakable sins?
Why didn’t these actresses emerge as real-life heroines coming to the rescue of their own?
Because they put themselves above everyone else, consequences to others be damned. And that choice made them the ultimate enablers, because it afforded harassers carte blanche to continue preying.
Would it have been difficult? Of course! If it were easy, we wouldn’t have this problem. But that’s what courage is all about.
The rich and powerful now feigning outrage doesn’t cut it. Their words are as hollow as the fake lifestyles they live.
As Edmund Burke stated, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Note to Hollywood: goes for women, too.
And you don’t need to be a mansplainer to know that. That