'Why Didn't She Say Something?'

I’ve often noticed that evil begets itself through the medium of anger.

Take racism. Some white men abuse black men on the evil principle of racism. The black men, in justifiable anger, now blame “whites” on the same evil principle of racism. Innocent whites, angry at being blamed for something they didn’t do, start to dislike blacks on, you guessed it, the evil principle of racism. Only grace and forgiveness break the chain.

It is the same with sexism and feminism. Some men are abusive toward women. Some women (feminists) blame all men. Innocent men get angry at being blamed and blame women. Stupidity ensues.

In the aftermath of Harvey Weinstein’s downfall, women are coming forward to accuse other men of sexual abuse. It may be that some of these men turn out to be innocent, but in some cases the alleged abuse was apparently an open secret over a long period of time.

Weary of listening to idiotic feminists blame “toxic masculinity,” or claim that all men treat women badly, or that all female accusations must be believed, some men have started focusing their hostility on the accusers. I see the questions on social media. Why didn’t she say something? Why did she accept the hush money? Why did she choose to preserve her career and let the abuser move on to others?

You know how they say there are no stupid questions? They’re wrong. Those are stupid questions.

Accusing a powerful person can destroy your career, your bank account, and your life — and may get you nowhere. It might be heroic to try, but we admire heroes because they are extraordinary. Most of us are ordinary. That’s what ordinary means.

I’m not a feminist. Sexuality is complicated and most of what feminists say about it is nonsense. I know that movie actresses and newswomen use their beauty to get ahead in businesses that value physical attractiveness. I know they flirt in job interviews and dress provocatively. I’ve seen it. I’ve been on TV panels where I had to work hard to keep my eyes up so as not to look down a decolletage all the way to a female commentator’s navel. And yes, men are built by nature to make a move. That’s the truth, feminists be damned.

And if we were talking about misread signals, an unfortunate remark, even a mistaken advance, I might be convinced that this was the price of doing business in a two sex world. But the stuff most of these guys are accused of is abusive, vile, perverse, and borderline violent and maybe not so borderline. Cornering women, exposing yourself, putting your hands on them, using your power to make them do things they don’t want to do. There’s no excuse for that crap. The victims are not to blame. The bad guys are the bad guys.

A woman — anyone — should be able to go about her life and her business without being molested and traumatized. That’s not some feminist diktat. That’s just decency. That’s just right. A woman — anyone — should not be blamed if she’s not a hero willing to risk everything to bring her attacker down. Basic norms of behavior between human and human should be enough to protect her. And if they aren’t enough, then we should protect her — we the good guys, society, whatever you want to call us.

I’m fully willing to acknowledge gray areas, but at some point, you’ve crossed the line. These abusers, glamorous and powerful as they are, are no more than fancy thugs. To hell with them. We can’t allow anger to cloud our minds to obvious principles of morality. That way evil lies.

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