I recently read a “news” story, the title citing an obvious fact— “Why Sexual Harassment Lawsuits are Hard to Win” by Ed Leefeldt of CBS news. Okay, I’m lying, I didn’t read it… The reason I didn’t read it is the title angered me.
We all know it’s hard to win lawsuits against harassment. We have known since the days when cavemen dragged women around by their hair. It is not news.
The fact that someone would write this article, at this point in time, when women are finally coming together to fight back, on this day of reckoning, this story that can only serve to discourage more women from coming forward, is a passive aggressive attempt to silence.
A worthier news story might be- “Taylor Swift Wins Lawsuit Against Indignant Groping Denver DJ David Mueller.” He thought he was getting even by sending her coins. I hope he enjoys his unemployment, and stops blaming his victim for his downfall.
Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year,” the #MeToo movement, isn’t diminished by the winning or losing of lawsuits. Public humiliation is the best form of punishment.
Outing molesters has a dual effect— First, it serves as a scarlet letter, a visible warning to would be victims, bringing shame on those men incapable of feeling remorse. Second, the financial ruin brought on by their behavior is more damaging than a guilty verdict with no prison time, out of the public eye.
There is a third bonus in all this. Now that there are financial repercussions, and these powerful men have become impotent, future would be assaulters will think twice before they victimize. Is it worth it?
Whether or not sexual harassment lawsuits are won, they have pulled the assailants out of the shadows, and we know who they are.
It is equally difficult to win any sex crime lawsuit. More than 99% of rapists never spend a single night in jail. I’d wager the percentage of convicted rapists who are affluent and white is nonexistent. This is the culture we have accepted. It’s time to change that as well, and we will.
To CBS, you lost me at hello.
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<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/gorge/”>Gorge</a>
A lot from Lydia 