If you're like me, you're wondering who else in high profile, high-dollar arenas might be cringing in fear that their past sexual harassment/assault crimes will be revealed.
If you're like me, you are shaking your head in dismay because someone you admired for years turned out to basically be a hyena behind closed or semi-closed doors. Or you may have gone into some denial, or at least felt clueless as to whether to continue to acknowledge this person's positive public achievements. You may be wondering what the heck was wrong with you that you didn't pick up any "creepy vibes" from that person. You may be cringing at the possibility that the dark nature of another favorite celebrity could be revealed any day. It's like I warned in past columns: We can't put anybody on a pedestal. Clay feet are too plentiful.
Yes, this year Christmas season has had to share the spotlight with Celebrity Scoundrels: The Sexual Harassment Edition, and along with the gift wrapping, wassail punch mixing, caroling, tree trimming and stocking-hanging has been multiple allegations of groping, lewd comment-making, molesting ... raping. A list at Abcnews.go.com of men accused of sexual misconduct was depressingly long and held some additional surprises for me personally. Granted, these are accusations, some of which have been denied, and some of which could be unfounded. But then, there's been a lot of apologizing ... apologizing after the indiscretion has been revealed.
It almost seems as if sexual mistreatment is just now being seen as the bad behavior it has always been. Along with bullying, it's one of the devil's most-easily-pulled-out-of-the-bag, one-trick-pony ways to rob us of self-esteem, often very early in life, and therefore rob of us our true purpose. For every celebrity who has had the covers yanked off, there have been a few thousand street-corner busters, corn-cob Casanovas, drunk uncles, predatory preachers, deviant dads, small-town company presidents, educators of both sexes, Mrs. Robinsons and such. That's why #metoo has become the hashtag of the day.
"If you ever doubted that sexual harassment and sexual assault were incredibly pervasive in our society, a new social media campaign makes it hard to ignore," according to an Oct. 16 article at Fastcompany.com. "Countless women -- and even some men -- are distilling a lifetime of stories of assault, harassment and unwanted attention into two little words: Me too. ... While many celebrities have weighed in to say that they have been harassed or assaulted, the egregious behavior extends far beyond Hollywood as the social media campaign shows." And, hey, me too. Let's just say that old devil and his minions put in some overtime -- in multiple arenas -- to keep me parted from my purpose, and I'll leave it at that.
My concern at this point is that #metoo will become obscured when the next catchphrase comes along. My hope is that raising children to be not just men and women, but gentlemen and ladies becomes "a thing." My hope is that the golden rule spreads to "do unto others as you would have them do unto you and your husband/wife/son/daughter." My hope is that more of those put in positions of power and influence ... whether in a corner office, at the top of the Nielsen ratings or Billboard charts, or in the confines of one's home ... will get the message that to whom much is given, much is required and that payback can get even worse than public embarrassment or job loss.
Seeing as it has bled so heavily onto the Christmas season, this issue ought to inspire each of us be retroactive and proactive. Retroactive, in that we can reflect on and examine our relationships and think of anyone who we may have hurt and dishonored in the past. Proactive, in that we can go to those people and offer a sincere apology ... so much better than any pre-written, formal apology lest our act of injustice comes to light at an inopportune time.
Let's talk indeed:
hwilliams@arkansasonline.com
Style on 12/10/2017