Think #MeToo is effective? Try #RecOn and see what happens
If victims of sexual harassment and sexual assault really want to see some change take place in the workplace and the world, have a better hashtag than #MeToo. How about #RecOn? As in “recording on.” As in, “you better watch what you say and do you lecherous bastard because my phone is in my pocket and the voice recorder is running.”
Now of course there’s an element of a dystopian future here, whatwith the idea of walking around all day recording your life just in case someone sexually harrasses or assaults you, but, you know, who cares. I think we can make a pretty good argument we’re living in a dystopian present as it is.
I’m being dead serious, by the way. I’m guessing we’d see an immediate and long-lasting decline in workplace harassment and the like if the would-be perpetrators knew they might be on tape. So that’s my brilliant idea. But while I’m here, I’d like to blow a few holes in this whole #MeToo thing. First off, let’s go back to the beginning, all those hours ago, when, in response to the steady stream of Hollywood actresses coming out with their stories of how Harvey Weinstein harassed and/or assaulted them, Alyssa Milano wrote the following on Twitter: “If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet.”
From the jump, I had a major problem with this, as the gulf between “harassment” and “assault” is about as wide as the gulf between heaven and earth. Harassment is words, assault is actions. One is bad, the other is evil.
“If you have a vagina, you’ve been sexually harassed,” said a prominent Mercer County woman who I was talking to about this and absolutely refused to be named, and who I had to cajole into even letting me use the quote.
But she has a point. If you’re a woman, you’ve probably been sexually harassed in one form or another.
Does it make it right? Of course not. But being sexually harassed is a lot different than being raped.
Right now, I can just imagine how rape victims — male and female — must feel when they see this #MeToo hashtag floating around. I think it’s fair to say it diminishes their plight, being lumped in with Suzy from accounting who took offense to her boss complimenting her on the cut of her skirt.
Furthermore, the #MeToo thing is putting the spotlight on the victims, not the perps. This all would be a lot stronger if people who were victimized named names and told stories. Simply typing “#MeToo” does nothing for me. Were you brutally raped, or were you mildly offended? Heaven and earth, heaven and earth.
Of course, the counter-argument is simple: Anything that brings awareness to sexual harassment and sexual assault is a good thing, but really: We need awareness on this? We don’t know women are, and have been, the victims of sexual harassment and assault since the dawn of time? I think we’re pretty aware. Awareness is not the issue. Stopping asshats like Weinstein from committing these acts is the issue.
Which brings me back to my original idea. #RecOn. If I was someone who routinely sexually harassed or assaulted, I’d think twice if I knew my actions were going to be uploaded to the cloud. From restaurant kitchens to happy hours to casting couches, #RecOn would go a long way to stopping a lot of this nonsense.