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Rob
Filner. John Edwards. Bill
Clinton. Eliot Spitzer. Mark
Sanford. David Vitter. Larry Craig. Anthony Weiner.
What
do these names have in common? They are all white men, first of
all. They have law or business degrees, except for the fine Mayor of San
Diego who has a Ph.D. in the History of
Science and was a History Professor at San Diego State before running for
office. They are all philanderers,
sexual harassers, or Johns. Oh!
And, they are politicians.
With
Anthony "Carlos Danger" so present in this month's media and Filner
taking his two week intensive “re-hab” for assaulting his female colleagues, I
spent some time researching the men who came before them in the long tradition
of philandering politicians.
Filner’s
two week hiatus from his job as Mayor is "to address his 'intimidating
conduct' and failure to respect women"
(http://www.10news.com/news/mayor-bob-filner-begins-behavioral-therapy-at-undisclosed-location-080513).
Let's deconstruct his so-called "intimidating conduct."
Of
the ten women who have come forward, their allegations involved him asking them
to work without panties, grabbing their asses, kissing them, touching their
faces and asking if they will sleep with him. See the detailed disgusting
list at this link, but be sure to have an empty stomach: Accusations.
What
he has done is not simply "intimidating conduct" but sexual
harassment and in some cases, sexual assault. Whoever his Olivia Pope is who
decided that to come out and say he was going to get two weeks of intensive
therapy for decades of "cringe-worthy" behavior is brilliant.
He should not only step down from his job, but he should be sued for his
behavior and possibly charged with assault.
In
my humble radical feminist opinion, women should be screaming for him to step
down. The fact that these men --and yes, these politicians with issues
are men-- (we don't hear about female politicians behaving this way) continue
to "serve" as public servants makes me sick.
Out
of the list at the top, many of these men, after their falls from grace,
continue to pursue public service jobs. Eliot Spitzer is running for
Comptroller of New York, which seems like a big step down from Governor.
Mark Sanford just became a U.S. Representative of South Carolina in a special
election, after serving as Governor of that state. David Vitter is a U.S.
Senator from Louisiana. His involvement with the DC Madam scandal merely
affected his run for Governor of Louisiana. Larry Craig no longer serves
in office but opened a consulting firm that deals with energy issues, a.k.a.,
he's a lobbyist. Bill Clinton has become a major philanthropist and
supporter of his wife, Hilary Rodham Clinton. And it appears that John
Edwards is gearing up to get back in the so-called political saddle.
None
of these men have had their lives ruined by their so-called inappropriate
behavior nor their, in some cases, illegal behavior. I'd like to be
Superman, turn back time and put women in their places and see what kind of
after effect shows up with women harassing, cheating and buying
prostitutes. I would bet their lives would be touched forever by those
indiscretions. The double standard starts in high school and continues
long into our lives.
But
how do we as a culture accept this behavior? I'm shocked that these ten
women are just NOW coming forward to call out the lewd and illegal behavior of
Filner. I can't even look at his picture without gagging and seeing the
spittle on the cheeks of women who are Deans, College Administrators, Rear
Admirals, and businesswomen. We need to speak up when we see, hear or
experience this type of behavior and call it unacceptable and illegal.
But
I know how institutions work. And often, when someone cries out, the
institution does everything in its power to cover, hide or sweep the truth under the rug. When I was 21, I worked at the Norfolk Yacht and Country Club
as a waitress. The Assistant Manager sexually harassed me one night as I
was walking through the closed dining room. He motioned to his leg and
pointed out how long his penis was. I complained to the Manager, a
woman. She said he was “just kidding.”
I was too young and naïve to know I should have gone over her head. Plus this was two years before Anita Hill
spoke her truth. We live in a culture where sometimes it’s not worth the
headache and the struggle to speak the truth, particularly if you won't be
believed nor get any redemption for the crimes against you.
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