The Trouble with #MeToo

Well, everyone has heard of the #MeToo movement by now, unless you've been living under a rock. Just kidding. But seriously nearly everyone has heard the horrible stories about Hollywood actors, musicians, directors, media talking heads, and other various high profile people (who are almost always men).

Now, according to the accusers, who are mostly female, these men are guilty of everything from sexual harassment to outright rape. Now, as a woman myself, who has been sexually harassed, I completely empathize with the devastation, anger, depression, and even, ironically, guilt, that this can bring.

I am not trying to minimize anyone's feelings about what happened to them. Many of these accusations are isolated incidents, while others seem to show a pattern of abuse by certain individuals. Many of the accusations are decades old and unverifiable.

Now, I am not saying anyone is lying about what happened to them, but memories are a thing that tends to start getting more and more fuzzy as time passes. What may have actually been and unwanted and sloppy kissing incident between two people who were substance impaired 25 or 30 years ago, can morph into forcible touching, even rape in the modern day "j'accuse" environment that seems to exist to take down and vilify men, especially successful ones.

Now again, I am not saying I condone sexual harassment or rape, but Hollywood has been well known as a cesspool devoid of morality for as long as I have lived. The casting couch has been joked about and alluded to in countless movies, television, and plays.

My point is that EVERYONE knew! They have always known. Both the accusers, the accused, and the ones that pretend they had no knowledge. They all knew. How disingenuous are they to now to try to feign outrage with the intent of using this as a political football? How many of these accusers willingly laid down on the casting couch knowing they were doing it to boost their career?

Many of the accusers are now wealthy and famous. They sure didn't seem to have an issue when it happened to them, but now that they have basically sold their soul to the devil so-to-speak, they are outraged and willing to let us all know it! Let's face it, acting is a career choice, where success is based largely on youth, beauty and sex appeal. You have only to looks at everything from movies to sitcoms to commercials to see that this is an incontrovertible fact.

The other thing that gets me is that humans are animals in clothing. Like every other species, our very survival depends on the attraction between makes and females to procreate. What used to be considered dating and courtship has also seemed to come under attack. Even in ages past that were filled with chaperones and modesty, a stolen kiss was rebuffed by a giggle and a slap of the lady's fan - not a life destroying crusade to paint them as a monster.