Let New Yorkers fire Gov. Cuomo
Re “Andrew Cuomo is definitely icky. But should he resign?” column, March 3
I agree with Robin Abcarian. In my opinion, all sexual harassment is offensive and inappropriate, but not all sexual harassment warrants a man’s resignation.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is accused of questioning an employee’s sex life and asking a woman if he could kiss her. Just to put this in perspective, our former president wasn’t asked to resign after alleged non-consensual kissing or groping of at least 25 women. He is also accused of raping a woman in a department store dressing room.
So, I think the governor should be reprimanded and, as Abcarian noted, voted out of office if his constituents so choose.
We are making progress on reducing the blatant disrespect that women have endured for centuries, but I think each case needs to be considered individually.
Kendall Wolf Encino
Whatever the outcome for Cuomo, it doesn’t really matter. These caveman attitudes toward women need to be a relic of the past and should be left there once and for all.
I found it interesting that there hasn’t been much mention of the fact that he is a father to three grown daughters. I doubt he would want them subjected to any kind of harassment or attention that he calls harmless flirting, and he should know better.
Being treated like this is demeaning, it’s uncomfortable, and it’s enough already.
Frances Terrell Lippman Sherman Oaks
I was part of the original women’s liberation movement that paved the way for opportunities for women today. Growing up in Brooklyn, we often heard men make the kind of remarks that Cuomo is accused of making.
You know what we did? We would tell off the men who talked like this.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, “harassment is illegal when it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or when it results in an adverse employment decision (such as the victim being fired or demoted).”
That illegality does not fit Cuomo.
I’m glad he isn’t going to resign. He has been a tough governor for the people of New York.
Finally, to the media: Stop reporting this like Cuomo is some kind of sexual Lothario. He’s from a good Italian family that teases, jokes and hugs. Let’s get on with our lives and stop with this tabloid mentality. Reparata Mazzola
Temple City
Most women and some men (and especially we of a “certain age”) have encountered a lot of the sort of “ickiness” being attributed to Cuomo. In too many cases, we have had to deal with much that goes far beyond icky into the realm of dangerous and life-shattering.
Then again, most of us also have faced behavior that isn’t incredibly terrible or even icky but perhaps just very strange.
Cuomo’s case points to society’s need to start deciding just how much ickiness we are willing to accept. If we make all icky or strange beings resign but let dangerous people remain working stars, we clearly have issues that go beyond icky.
As is now said in many quarters, clearer boundaries need to be established. The fact that more of us are willing to talk about these differences shows that we could be (maybe) headed toward finding more just solutions.
Mary Stanik Tucson, Ariz.