History is prone to repeating itself because men, yes MEN, do not learn from the lessons of the past. Going by the recent headlines over the past few months, the ways of men have led to the downward spiral of the world today. From the white supremacists protesting the decline of their “supremacy” in the south to the sexual predators in the west, we are trapped in a cycle of drama and shock. From Westminster to Hollywood, men and their predatory behaviours have become headline news as several women are now speaking out, naming and shaming these disgusting men.
These men, entitled by the privilege awarded to them in an industry that has enabled this behaviour and covered it up all in the name of profits. The industry is not without guilt; protecting these predators and perpetuating their depraved acts. Theirs is an alternate reality, in a bubble where nothing can touch them, they suffer no consequences for their actions, repercussions from an industry that has spoilt them. Mine is not to reason why for there can be no excuse for such behaviour. The world is filled with powerful men whose masterplan it would appear it so ruin her. Every day is a new string of allegations against famous men, politicians, CEOs, etc. And those whom we task with our protection are only protecting the powerful. Nothing is more detrimental to humanity than men with power. Fact.
When Dominic Strauss-Khan was arrested for sexual improprieties with a maid in a hotel in New York, the media did not so much questions his actions but called into question the motives of the maid. Bill O’Reilly is alleged to have gotten away with sexually deviant ways and intimidation and the buffoon’s network, FOX, for years covered up and excused his inappropriate behaviour all in the name of ratings. Calling this inappropriate makes light of these behaviours, which are point blank ABUSE. Abuse of power and position, from men devoid of any moral compass. When news of abuse is reported, the media’s initial response is to question the victims, cast doubt because it couldn’t possibly be that the person whom they have propped up for years as this beacon of societal norms and decency is nothing more than an outright abusive sociopath. It is hard for them to fathom that their adulation have been misguided. Why is it so easy to discredit one woman’s voice and wait for more to come forward before we start paying attention? And more to Jane Fonda’s point; why does it have to be a white woman’s problem before it is taken seriously?
We live in a society where a judge is more sympathetic to a rapist than to his victim. Will take into consideration the future of a rapist than the horrors that lie ahead for his victim. Will excuse the behaviour of a rapist because his heinous act will have a deeper impact on his future than his victims. Sexual assault and abuse against women, committed by men, is often times subject to more scrutiny than the man who committed the crime. As if the offence is her fault. They blame us for what we wear, what we drink, what we do regardless, excusing that as a reason for crimes against women. Two NYPD police officers were recently arrested for rape against a victim whilst she was in handcuffs, which they said was consensual. Take this all the way to the top, you have a man who bragged about grabbing women by the pussy an elected official. The same man thinks highly of white supremacists, calling them very fine people.
But some say the tide is turning. Is it?
Much as this is a watershed moment, inequality brought us to where we are today. An issue that ought to have arisen many years ago, when maids and waitresses were being abused by men of power. When young girls were and are still being trafficked from their homes in developing countries and pushed into prostitution in other “developed” countries. Those are voiceless victims and women of other races just like the twenty-six young Nigerian girls who were found dead at sea during a migrant crossing. All said to have been abused before being killed. There has hardly been a media furore over this. Issues such as these are nowhere near as important until it affects women of the upper echelons, white women in powerful places. Women on the margins have suffered and continue to suffer these horrific abuse brought upon them by men, but theirs is not a voice that is often considered. They are invisible for the most part. It is sick and tragic and it makes me impossibly angry.
When inequality is rampant in industries across the board is it truly a turn in tide? When women cannot speak up because who will possibly believe them? Will anything ever change? If Black women cannot speak of harassment without being questioned, if a Latina cannot speak out against sexual violence without being branded an opportunist because of the status of the accused; will anything ever change? What’s worse, are the people who stay silent- agents, managers, casting directors, cast members etc. Those whose silence makes them complicit. Women who continue to work with men like Woody Allen and celebrate rapist Roman Polanski are complicit. The fashion industry who, until recently, worked with and embraced predators like Terry Richardson are complicit. Waiting for that can of worms top open…
The world is filled with deplorable men drunk on power, whose only aim in this life is to ruin her. This is not the end, it is just the beginning.
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