Lancing the boil

The boil on the underbelly of humanity has been lanced, and the results are not pretty. 

Ronan Farrow wielded the scalpel when he wrote his expose on Harvey Weinstein, and when the New Yorker published his article, they made the incision.

Since then, I've lost count of the number of sexual assault allegations reported in the news.

We have Hollywood director Harvey Weinstein.

We have Alabama judge Roy Moore.

And last night, broadcaster Charlie Rose was suspended from CBS after eight women accused him of sexual harassment.

It seems that no man in entertainment or politics these days is safe from accusations of sexual harassment.

It's long overdue.

I'm angry.  I'm very angry at the way women are treated by powerful men in politics and religion.  I'm angry at how the onus is put on the woman for not reporting abuse sooner, rather than on the man for not abusing her in the first place.  We ask the woman, why were you there?  Why were you wearing what you were wearing?  Why didn't you scream?  Why didn't you fight back? When do we ask the man, Why did you attack her? Why did you rape her? 

I'm angry, too, at the constant barrage of, "If it really happened, why didn't you say something sooner?"

In the first place, how do you know they DIDN'T?  How do you know that they didn't tell someone? 

In the second place, it takes a lot of courage to go up against a powerful man and say, he did this to me.  Our tendency IS to believe the best about prominent people.  Also, abusers are usually not dressed in rumpled, dirty clothing.  They're often charming.  They're the well-dressed, well-mannered, well-groomed men-about-town who know what to say and how to act in public. 

And I am weary of the question, "But what about false accusations?"

Yes, there ARE cases where people say things happened that didn't happen.  That's why you need people who are trained in how to investigate such cases! 

I'm also weary of the comment, "the timing of these accusations is suspicious."

Let me ask you this:  When, exactly, IS an appropriate time to report abuse??? 

Ideally, right after it happens . . . but what happens when you feel you can't or, for whatever reasons, you choose not to?  What happens if you're told, "If you tell, I will hurt you.  I will hurt your family."

I am truly angry.  And I am truly weary. 

I hope that the lancing of this boil will bring about proper treatment and healing.  Because, God knows, we need it.

Just my .04, adjusted for inflation.