Sexual harassment has been a resurfacing topic on the social justice frontline recently. It seems as though the news cycle has revolved around sexual allegations these past few weeks.
Just last week, famous NBC News anchor Matt Lauer was fired from the network when a sexual harassment allegation was made against him. NBC news recognized the threat he presented and ruled in favor of his anonymous accuser: having seen the evidence and heard other similar accounts.
This decision comes as a step in the right direction. Finally, after years of pay-offs, threats, and victim blaming, Hollywood has broken their own version of “don’t ask don’t tell”. This suffocating silence first broke when sexual harassment allegations were made against Harvey Weinstein in October 2017. Thus, a can of worms was opened and sexual harassers are finally being called out and persecuted in what has been referred to as the “Weinstein Ripple Effect” by most, or a “witch hunt” by some.
It would seem as if justice is finally taking control, right?
Women are finally being heard! Victims are believed and their attackers are being punished to some extent. This is a matter of celebration! Finally, our stories are receiving the acknowledgment and attention they deserve. They call this progress. Who am I to question it?
Look, I’m relieved that this is finally happening. I am proud of every single victim that has had the courage to step up. I am proud of the ones who stand in public, who have marched, who have sat in front of their bosses and superiors and with trembling hands have stated their truths. I stand beside them just as I stand behind in solidarity with #MeToo.
Source: @Thaaksi_Art
But I admit I am weighed down.
Progress is defined as “a movement toward a goal or to a further or higher stage”. As a society, we are trying to re-learn the worth of our character, morals, and value of our peers. We are finally listening to each other, and showing abusers that what they are doing is wrong. We are standing up with one fist raised. Holding up signs, marching, and chanting. As a society, we are sending out one resounding message:
No more.
But how can we call this progress when a known harasser sits in the Oval Office?
How do we dare try and call ourselves protesters, crusaders, and heroes even, when the highest ranked official was recorded saying he “Grabbed them by the p***y.”, and the country shrugged it off with a “Boys will be boys”?
How dare we say we stand on moral high ground when multiple sexual harassment reports surfaced during the presidential election campaigns, and the country still elected the accused?
Sure, other politicians are currently facing backlash for their wrongdoings. Pardon my lack of enthusiasm, but “The Leader of the Free World” has at least thirteen women alleging to have been sexually harassed by him (8 whose stories have been corroborated). Yet Donald Trump shows no remorse and even goes as far to stand on a hypocritical higher ground and shun punished sexual harassers on Twitter (even if the words seem empty and they stray from what’s important to focus on his war against “Fake News”).
I find the extreme imbalance in lack of repercussions too distracting to pat the government on the back for the few politicians that have been punished. Especially considering Trump’s victims have to live with the fact that their attacker is currently the man in charge of the country they live in.
The truth is that progress doesn’t happen in a day. I am aware that relearning is a never-ending process that takes time and effort when it happens individually, but even more when it is on a national level.
However, it is an extremely discomforting reality when Hollywood, a business built on the make-believe and public-based consumption is responding more to justice and human rights than the government.
Granted, there are more processes and levels to go through when it comes to politics. There are more “hoops to jump through” and it’s easy to get disheartened when you can’t deal with the issue directly.
Regardless, we must acknowledge that if Hollywood is taking it upon itself to pick out the abusers and harassers and punish them for their wrongdoings, it is up to us to take action against our politicians–especially when it comes to sexual harassment. After all, aren’t we responsible for electing them? Aren’t they supposed to be representative of who we are and what we believe in?
I applaud Hollywood and everyone taking a step in the right direction and punishing sexual harassers and abusers. I am proud to be able to see the shift in societal views and shedding of sexist misconceptions that held us back as a group.
But I refuse to call it justice as long as those thirteen women’s voices, along with all other victims that have been swept under the rug by politicians and their campaigns, don’t get the recognition they deserve.