There must no longer be safe havens where men who behave badly are protected.
There must no longer be safe havens where men who behave badly are protected.
As the tidal wave of sexual misconduct accusations has swept away more and more media bigwigs, entertainment and sports stars and politicians, it was inevitable that a backlash would develop. The turning point may have been Garrison Keillor. How could the gentle-voiced storyteller who gave us “A Prairie Home Companion” possibly have harassed women? Were his transgressions odious enough to get him fired from Minnesota Public Radio? Expelled from Lake Woebegone? Yes. Powerful men have for too long exploited what might be called the Trump Rule: “When you’re a star… you can do anything. Grab ’em by the p---y.” And if the women — 16 in Donald Trump’s case — complain or report the assault, simply say “they are lying.” Or pay them off to ensure their silence. Or threaten their careers. Or discount the severity of the misbehavior because the man seems to be a good guy.
That dynamic imploded when dozens of women, some of them powerful stars in their own right, began reporting the decades of depraved behavior by Miramax CEO Harvey Weinstein. The flood gates opened, and women who had felt intimidated before stepped forward to report the abuse of men who lived by the Trump Rule, men who felt secure in the notion that their “value” made them untouchable. Company executives and colleagues and fellow congressmen would protect them, enable them. Not anymore. This movement has become so momentous that the “Silence Breakers,” as the women are known, have been named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year.”
The challenge is to move the process from the ad hoc, knee-jerk reactions that have swamped our daily discourse to a more coherent, consistent definition of what constitutes abusive behavior and the costs to men who cross the line. The first step: Trust every woman’s story, but verify. So far it’s been partially successful in forcing a reckoning, but if we are to avoid backsliding and scandal fatigue, more needs to be done — now.
A partial list of the powerful men who have been credibly accused of sexual misconduct by multiple accusers includes Fox News’ Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly and Eric Bolling; PBS and CBS’ Charlie Rose; Def Jam Recordings’ Russell Simmons; NBC’s Matt Lauer; the New York Times’ Glenn Thrush; comedian Louis C.K.; actors Kevin Spacey, Dustin Hoffman, Bill Cosby and Jeremy Piven; New Republic Publisher Hamilton Fish V and dozens more.
All of the men on the list have been fired or lost professional opportunities. We believe that is the appropriate and essential outcome, justified not only as punishment but because it can be an effective deterrent.
When a seemingly untouchable man like O’Reilly loses his job, it sends a powerful message to every man who has felt free to abuse the women he works with: every manager at hotels who harasses the cleaning staff, every lawyer who harasses a secretary, every member of the Texas Legislature, every bureaucrat, every physician, every police official.
There must no longer be safe havens where these men are protected; no one is truly indispensable. Fox, CBS, NPR and Miramax will continue to function successfully without the abusers. In fact, given the size of some settlements — estimates of Fox payouts topped $50 million in one year — they will be more successful.
As for the argument that we are in a frenzy of allegations that doesn’t allow for due process, we agree with Mitt Romney, who said of politicians accused of sexual misconduct: “Innocent until proven guilty is for criminal convictions….” Employers are obligated under the law to have convincing evidence of an infraction of work rules in order to fire an employee. Cheating on expense accounts can be cause for termination, so why wouldn’t locking one’s office door and assaulting a woman until she passes out, as has been alleged of Matt Lauer, be justification for firing?
Which brings us to the fast growing list of politicians who are being outed. So far, credible reports of inappropriate behavior have been leveled against U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., and senatorial candidate Roy Moore, R-Ala.; U.S. Reps. John Conyers, D-Mich., Rubin Kihuen, D-Nev., and Texas’ Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi. Franken and Conyers have resigned, which is a start. But we don’t know how deep and pernicious the problem is because these men have been protected by arcane congressional secrecy rules and, in some cases, monetary settlements at taxpayer expense. We call on Congress to move immediately to institute a policy of zero tolerance, complete transparency and no taxpayer funded hush money.
The only way to fire politicians is at the ballot box or to insist that they resign. As the citizens who pay their salaries, we believe resignation is the appropriate course for the currently serving members who are facing credible accusations. Not only in the U.S. Congress but in our state Legislature, where Sens. Borris Miles, D-Houston, and Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, face allegations of abusive behavior. That’s what zero tolerance means, and it should replace the Trump Rule in Washington, in Austin and in Lake Woebegone.
As for the argument that we are in a frenzy of allegations that doesn’t allow for due process, we agree with Mitt Romney, who said of politicians accused of sexual misconduct: “Innocent until proven guilty is for criminal convictions….”