[Politics] Harvey Weinstein

alfredmizen said:

1.) I haven’t got a daughter
2.) Has he been convicted of rape ?

As far as I know he hasn’t , so perhaps you’d care to abide by the principle of innocent until proven guilty ? He may well be a total creep and sleazebag but last time I looked that wasn’t a criminal offence or I’m sure you’d be behind bars as we speak , all in all nibble this post is a fine example of why you’re considered an utter , utter bellend , if this was a school report I’m sure I’d be rating it as “must do better”.

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marlowe said:

I think it is more a case of not wanting to suffer condemnation themselves. The power and influence these men wield is far reaching. That power can influence the lives and careers or jobs of a lot of people. I'm not just talking about the entertainment industry but even in more mundane lives. For instance even the owner or manager of a small corporation or business can abuse his power whereby people would be too scared to side with the victim. People are naturally concerned about their own welfare and if there is a risk to their own livlihood they will turn a blind eye or even support the abuser and justify their stance by going into denial that anything wrong has taken place. I wish people had more moral courage but sadly when their own interests are on the line they don't. Maybe we'd all be guilty of that in a certain situation. I'd like to think I wouldn't. I've been tested myself before and thankfully done the right thing but who's to say that would always be the case if my own livlihood was really on the line. I wouldn't be very proud of myself if I didn't, I know that much.

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Nibble said:

My inaccuracies don't make your pathetic joke any less sick or you any less of a tool.

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Lush said:

I would be surprised if most women don't have a story of sexual assault of some degree involving flattery and/or abuse of power. I know I have. I've never told a soul out of embarrassment that I was that naive and stupid.

It's a small minority of men who behave in this way, but I imagine it's happened to a lot of women. They've just never told anyone, because at best you feel like an idiot. At worst people will think that you're trying to get some kind of advantage.

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edna krabappel said:

Another one pops up

So you've worked hard for however long to try and make your way in your chosen career. You come up against somebody who could potentially give you your big break, or ruin you (it seems highly probable that he threatened to damage their careers if they didn't give him what he wants: abusers frequently use threats to achieve their aims). Maybe there's a split second where you think you can bury it at the back of your mind for the sake of one man destroying your chances.

It's incredibly common for those on the receiving end of sexual harassment or abuse to minimise it in their minds. We see things happen to other people and we think "how horrendous", but when it happens to us, we don't see it in the same light. Cards on the table: years ago I'd been on a night out with colleagues (not in my current job). As we walked back home, the numbers dwindled as people gradually reached their homes. In the end, it was just me and one guy left walking. As we passed a park, he grabbed hold of me forcefully, shoved his tongue down my throat and dragged me towards some nearby bushes, saying more than once (I've never forgotten his words) "Come on: you and I both know it's going to happen".

After a bit of pushing and shoving, I eventually managed to fend him off before he got what he- evidently- wanted, told him to leave me alone, and walked off, looking back over my shoulder as I went. I didn't even want to run or to make a scene, which makes absolutely no sense to me now. At the time, whilst it wasn't nice, I didn't know what to think. I trivialised what had happened in my mind, and tried to forget about the whole unpleasant experience. I don't consider myself the wallflower type, nor somebody who would ignore wrongdoing. Yet I look back at that now, and I ask myself why I never reported him to anyone. Why I didn't ever say anything to him when we were back at work subsequently. If I'd seen that happening to anyone else, I'd have told them unequivocally to do something about it, whether that be criminally, or on an internal work basis. I don't remember thinking I needed to keep quiet for the sake of my career. I suppose I figured it was just One Of Those Things that happens in life if you're female, and that perhaps it wasn't worth making a fuss about. Because it was "only" me.

If I'm honest with myself now, I probably thought (1) it's my word against his; (2) nobody will believe me on that basis; (3) some people will choose to believe that perhaps I'd somehow led him on (I hadn't: he was one of the bigger tossers in the office), and thus I was fair game (4) it can't be sexual assault or harassment because that happens to other people, not me.

If you've never been on the receiving end of anything of this nature- and hopefully that's most of you- then I get why you think that victims should "do more". But the human mind works in funny ways in traumatic, frightening or uncomfortable situations, especially where sex is concerned. It's still a taboo subject, and you only have to look at the rape conviction rate in this country to know that victims are all too frequently the subject of vile unwarranted conjecture.

I can totally grasp why most of the women on the receiving end of Weinstein's alleged behaviour didn't speak out at the time. It can be a very lonely world when you've been convinced by the perpetrator that you're the only person something like that has ever happened to.

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