Those behind the “MeToo” movement were named Time Magazine’s collective Person of the Year on Wednesday.
Called “The Silence Breakers,” the women and men have come forth with their personal tales of sexual harassment and abuse predominately against headliners such as broadcasters Matt Lauer and Charlie Rose, movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, and several members of Congress.
President Donald Trump deserves backhanded credit to the resurgence of this long-simmering movement. Trump is on tape boasting of treating women in vulgar ways. During his campaign, more than a dozen accused him of sexual misconduct. That he won anyway stirred the pot for some who have long laid low, some from fear of reprisal, others in an effort to forget the unforgettable.
Begun more than a decade ago by Tarana Burke, a black woman who wanted particularly women of color to seek counsel, the MeToo movement broke open with the Weinstein scandal. To date, more than 3 million around the world have tweeted comments with the #MeToo hashtag.
In relatively quick succession other big shots have been called out and given the boot. What have proved the most intractable are elected officials who not only have used public funds to privately settle harassment claims but have been given soft-glove treatment by their colleagues.
It pains Senate Democrats to call someone as popular as Al Franken or as esteemed as 88-year-old John Conyers on the rug for past “indiscretions,”
It’s an embarrassment for members of the House that Texas Rep. Blake Farentholt used $84,000 in taxpayer funds to settle a sexual harassment case. In fact in the past five years, more than $305,000 of taxpayer funds have been used to settle claims made against six members of the House of Representatives, according to its Office of Compliance.
As recently as 2011, Roy Moore, the Senate candidate from Alabama, co-authored a course for Vision Forum’s Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy that contended women should not be allowed to serve in public office. Their place is in the home, barefoot and pregnant. Moore has remained in the Dec. 12 special election race despite the fact that eight women have accused him of sexually violating them when they were young girls.
President Trump has cast his lot with the Neanderthal, as has the Republican National Committee.
Most see a victory for Moore as a slap in the face to those trying to move the needle on the societal disparities that turn a blind eye to sexual harassment and abuse.
But Moore may win simply because his name is a household word. In politics, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. There’s also a strong resentment to what some perceive as outside influence and they would vote for Moore as a demonstration of (misplaced) protest.
A FEAR of the MeToo movement is that the recent upsurge will be short-lived. It’s one thing to call out the perpetrators; but another to get the needed help and support for their victims.
We are on but the tip of the iceberg. True progress will require societal change.
If you feel helpless against such odds, take heart. You can take action by supporting the work of Hope Unlimited, Iola’s shelter for sexually and mentally abused women and children.
— Susan Lynn
