Go On Take Everything, Take Everything!

After deliberately not eating red meat very often I think my taste buds have become keen to the more subtle flavors of ground turkey.  I actually prefer a well seasoned veggie induced patty lately.  But I'll admit a quality beef burger changes my mind every time when it's there in front of me.

So many things to consider when giving an opinion on something as simple as druthers for a meat patty.

I also have thoughts galore about how social media is handling crime and punishment around sexual harassment right now.  So I'm choosing to slice off teeny tiny pieces of the issue and consider them individually. 

First off, I am thrilled women are speaking out and having our day of reckoning.  It is embarrassing that all this behavior still thrives in the workplace and in such a prominent place as Hollywood.  

I've already determined (and shared) I'm uncomfortable with the direction we're traveling in regards to sentencing by the masses. Allowing short-attention-spanned hordes to declare guilt or innocence. Public opinion is deciding fate like an invisible wave of the hand.  And now the punishment itself also lies in these same hands.  Deciding what should be taken from the wrong doer.  Where are we going with this thinking and where are we coming from with this logic?  It's the level of atonement I have the problem with along with how it's rolled out.  And the brevity in which it all goes down.  Is it mass bullying of another kind forcing companies to make rash decisions based on possible loss of sales, viewership, traffic, etc.  Didn't we agree on actual systems and laws to deal with this shit a long time ago? 

This week, Uma Thurman's story regarding how she was bullied into doing a car scene 15 years ago has brought us a step further out. Now general past bad behavior and judgement is being brought to the mob for fodder.  Sharing her story with accompanying video gives everyone a chance to chime in, in 2018.  I hope we change laws and policies from this information.  Weinstein must be a monster asshole predator but there are so many complicit enablers here.  Where does their responsibility lie?  Unless we handle this properly, it doesn't take care of the next victim.

I've always struggled with punishing my abusers.  So many years later I know I suffer from deep scars and am still repairing damage.  But what good does the rod do for the universe? I don't know that answer. Does it heal or change the accused?  Does it help the victim?  I keep coming to the same honest thought.  For me the only peace I've ever known has come from forgiveness.  That's me, but that's why we have laws and I will fight for your right to handle it properly.  

Going after an individual publicly and taking them down might not be the best way to promote change. 

To me this is just as bad as presidency through Twitter. 

I commend the people who have thought it out and went to file reports with the police.  But to the women that go to a magazine directly and report it, to Good Morning America, I say this is not the way.  Public shaming? Are we sure we want to go there with all our new power?  We're better than this.  We're smarter.

Let's assume many of the butt slaps and innuendos can be dealt with going forward with a threat of sharing our story.  It's like when the movie Fatal Attraction came out. I bet a lot of men thought twice after those Glenn Close scenes.  I think bosses around the globe are paying attention but if not, women certainly are more apt to immediately go to HR or speak out.  Let's get more education and rally for protection laws. 

I think there is plenty to learn from all of this and it's very positive for women to verbalize past sexual abuse for your own sake. I'm all for healing and working through an ugly injustice.  Naming the past work place accuser in the present on social media is below us in my opinion.

I read today, Scott Baio ....deserves to hear his victim's words.  But remember how gross it was to hear Scott Baio endorsing Trump's hateful rhetoric?  Listen I have no doubt this little horndog pursued and seduced this young girl.  But why are we the more evolved suddenly stooping to the level of society that we've deemed ignorant?  If we lived through it, we need to rise above stupidity and fix it, not stoop to it's level. 

I also have a question.  What do we gain as a society by taking away the great things these bad people have already given us?  Woody Allen and Harvey Weinstein have produced genius work.  I want to be able to watch Diane Keaton in Manhattan even if she's an idiot and he's a pedophile. I kept meaning to watch Kevin Spacey in House of Cards because I heard it was amazing.  I own My Life with Marilyn and never had to think once about Weinstein's member while watching.  I just love Michelle Williams magical portrayal.  Plus I can't even bear the thought of losing all the music if this same system roles out to musicians.