Of course I don’t condone “sexual harassment” whatever that is. It now appears to be everything from rape to a casual flirt of, “Hi, Babe.” But there is something wrong about the way women are presenting their case against (it seems) every male she has ever encountered. But, with Twitter being the source of most people’s “news” it is easy to claim harassment of any kind.
We are all the resulting sum of the choices we have made in our lives. If a woman of consent age was told by Harvey Weinstein that “I want to put you in that movie but you must have sex with me first” the woman does HAVE a choice.
True, if she turns Harvey down it may cause a stumble in her career. It may even end her career in Hollywood, but there are other places actresses can work. Even if she accepts Harvey’s proposal there is no guarantee that he will make her a “star.” BUT, she is the one with the vagina. She does have a choice. The “casting couch” is well known in show biz.
If Harvey tried to seduce teen-agers he should be put in jail for life. But I suspect that proposals of his sort have been going on since the beginning of time in almost any company or institution of every kind. How many professors have offered a passing grade to some young girl if she “visits” his apartment? How many secretaries have been offered a promotion to the front office if they meet the boss at Motel 6 after lunch for a career “chat?”
My main point is this: However repugnant the offer of having sex with a fat old man may be – the woman DOES have a CHOICE. She can say, “No” and go on with her life. But if she says, “YES” I just don’t see that years later she has the right to renounce that choice and ruin some man’s life, even if he is a scum bag.
I was once alone in the announcer’s booth at WSB-TV. It was the place every guy gathered when we weren’t performing other duties. Usually there was a crowd in there. But, for once, I happened to be there alone. A young and attractive woman came in by herself and just stood there for a few moments after saying “Hello.” Then, she came up close to me and said, “It’s a shame that you’re married.” I knew that I had just been offered a free romp in the hay with this woman. I admit to some hesitation; I am a man. But I said, “Well, I’m not sure it’s a shame, BUT I am married.” And with that she left. The thought of “sexual harassment” never entered my mind.
I had a choice to make and I did it. I don’t think it is right for me, forty years later to reveal the name of this woman (who is now probably a grandmother). Life is nothing but a series of choices. It is up to us, male or female, to make those choices. And whatever they are, we must live with them. God will sort it all out later.