How #MeToo Became #TooMuch
Non-consensual sexual offenses have always been prosecutable.
But, the #MeToo movement, originally conceived to divulge and punish genuine male sexual misconduct under existing laws, has been hijacked by progressive militant feminists who encourage and misuse sexual allegations to gain political, economic and, sometimes, personal advantage.
Feminists’ demonization of men, generally, poisons relations between the sexes and may actually have eclipsed the good served by #MeToo’s exposure of prominent sexual abusers.
Philadelphia professor, intellectual and feminist icon Camille Paglia, an outspoken critic of politically-correct social pieties, is respected much like the feminists who won women’s suffrage. In a 2016 video from a “Battle of Ideas” festival, Paglia expressed her distaste for the version of feminism currently fashionable among progressives, calling it “an absolute poison….” She said that original feminists “admired what men had done – there was no male-bashing – as became systemic…”
Today, Paglia said, feminism is based on “denigrating men” and “defining men as oppressors and tyrants…” […] “It is an absolute lie, an extrapolation of neuroticism on the part of these fanatics.”
More recently, Alexandra DiSantis wrote: “Today’s feminists don’t believe in female independence: They erase or bully women who don’t toe the leftist line…in obvious contradiction with feminism’s historic promise to uphold the individuality and agency of every woman. […] During the 1960s and ’70s, second-wave feminists promoted their agenda of sexual liberation, …third-wave feminists radicalized further by propounding…a realm of sociology that seeks to explain the entire female experience through the lens of patriarchy and oppression. […] [A]ctivists have exposed the inherent weakness of the modern feminist movement: Its embrace of identity politics undercuts its supposedly pro-woman agenda. When feminists claim to speak for all women and erase or bully those who disagree, they reveal that their dedication is not to true female agency. Their goal is rather to maintain political power and advance a radical social agenda… Today’s feminists don’t actually value female independence…“
Women, too, are hurt by the militants’ perversion of #MeToo. Categorizing relatively innocent exchanges as harassment trivializes genuine harassment and creates uncertainties that make normal interaction between the sexes difficult, even impossible. If mere allegations of sexual misconduct can ruin a man’s career and/or reputation, men simply won’t hire, mentor, travel with or agree to be alone with female subordinates. In fact, a human resources study has revealed a dramatic backlash among male employers to #MeToo excesses.
Normally, men and women are able to set their own boundaries without mandates from militants. But the times aren’t normal. Certainly, reasonable principles include respect for women and their claims, but “believe women” or “believe the victim” unconditionally aren’t principles. Courtrooms are the proper venues for deciding criminal cases. There, due process, witness testimony, evidence, corroboration and cross-examination determine verdicts.
Men, generally, are sensitive to harassment concerns and accept the common sense rules that most already observe. But men should not have to worry that politics, friendly greetings, accidental contact, post-consensual regret or revenge for a broken relationship will lead to personal disgrace or joblessness.
#Enough-is-enough.
