Last month Roger Ailes was ousted as chairman of Fox News because of allegations of sexual harassment from more than 20 women.
Instead of crawling under a rock, Ailes is now prepping Donald Trump for the upcoming presidential debates.
When you’re powerful, shame comes hard.
But when you’re small, you wear it all too easily, even if undeserved.
The women who have come forward over the last few months describe a culture of humiliation and debauchery at the news station fostered by Ailes and his cohorts, including Bill O’Reilly. The women kept quiet — some for years — in return for keeping their jobs and being rewarded with significant bonuses.
But make no doubt about it, the women are victims.
So it’s disturbing to read Kathleen Parker, a nationally syndicated columnist, question the women’s integrity.
“Nothing, neither money nor career, is worth surrendering your dignity and self-worth, both of which will be questioned when you call quits on a game you agreed to play,” Parker recently wrote.
That superior attitude is what keeps victims from coming forth.
These women didn’t “agree to play” some perverse game, rather they were intimidated to submit to such lewdness out of fear of having their careers, and possibly lives, ruined. It’s called survival.
There’s no gray area here. No one, men or women, should have to endure sexual advances from their higher-ups, automatically putting them at a disadvantage.
Mr. Trump, get a clue.
— Susan Lynn
