The Out of Alignment Year in America: #MeToo Round 2

It is upside down when one guy is accused of sexual harassment and becomes the President of the United States https://people.com/politics/donald-trump-sexual-assault-accusers-want-justice/and the guy reporting the incident is immediately fired.  https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/robin-roberts-interviews-billy-bush-exclusively-gma-47557411  Billy Bush did not have the strength of character to stand up to Trump who was a big reality TV Host of The Apprentice.  He wanted Trump to like him.  Billy has since lost his job and his wife.  Trump is President.

Then there is Alabama. Who will win that election?  Will Al Franken be forced to resign? (There is a difference between malevolent behavior intended as a sexual advance and behavior that is improper and in poor taste. Both Moore and Trump intended their behavior to initiate a sexual act. Franken did not.)  I graduated from UC Berkeley with a major in sociology so now, you will assume that I am a left-wing Democrat.  Not true.  I am a moderate.  I wore the elephant watch when I was in grammar school and I was a member of the Young Republicans when I was in college.  I was so happy to meet President Reagan in the Rose Garden when I was an intern at ABC NEWS in the 1980’s.

Strangely, the Republicans of the 1980’s and 1990’s and early 2000’s are not the same as they are today.  So for the record, I am now a registered Democrat, in a family of generations of Republicans.  I need to reveal this only to go on to my thesis that the America that I knew as a child and a young adult is completely messed up now.  America has become tribal.  America is divided.  Too far right or too far left does not work. In short, America is out of alignment.

Sexual harassment clearly cuts across party lines.   In the Age of Trump, it is coming to light. Afterall, as Trump proclaimed  “When you are a star, you can do anything.”  Harvey Weinstein and others are slowly learning that statement is not so true anymore.

2017 has been an exhaustive news cycle. Fake News has been brought into the country’s lexicon.  When we all found out about Bill Clinton’s escapades it was an embarrassing time for the United States.  But back then, we did not have a choose your own news cycle and America was not as tribal.  It is now.

We are living through history, and it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.  Will Trump last out his term?  Good question.  Will men have more respect for women in the workplace?  Only time will tell.  But, they are certainly getting the message.

 FYI, my former attorney, Annie just interviewed me on the subject. ( See the previous Blog ) She has this really great Podcast.  Check it out:  https://unravelingpink.com/2017/10/23/napodpomo-huh-30-male-ally-moments-in-30-days/   MALE ALLY MOMENTS WITH ANNIE APPLEBY.  It is the third episode.

* Note:  If you are bored with these #MeToo stories, beware, this is just the tip of the iceberg.  There will be an avalanche of stories crossing all forms of employment.  Because it is and has always been a problem just now gaining some light.

* Update from Billy Bush

 * Update from Al Franken

Guys, it is time to think before you act.  Ask permission.  If it is not granted.  STOP.

UPDATE:  Harvey Weinstein is a pig.  I know this from my own experience at Paramount Pictures.  Glad Gwyneth can speak truth to power now:  https://fortune.com/2018/01/29/gwyneth-paltrow-goop-health/?utm_campaign=aud&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social-owned 

 Also, Thank You to Uma Thurman and all the other people who can stand up!

###AEA