Is this guy truly a predator or just a financial target of failed or failing actresses. Did he 'rape' anyone or were they just 'furthering their careers'? IMO many could have just walked away unscathed and tell him to stick it rather than 'come forward' 10-20 years later. Yep, maybe he's not a nice man but he should have his day in court first. For every Weinstein there are no doubt many more like him. If he had been a 'George Clooney' lookalike would the reaction been quite the same and as volatile. Have we seen this all before, hmmm, I think so!!!

 

I think you’re slightly off base Offroad, and I was tempted to leave this topic alone, but I feel, as a woman, that I needed to speak up. Rape is about power and control, it is not an excuse to ‘get into a woman’s pants’, there’s nothing ‘intimate’ about it and it doesn’t matter if the man is attractive or not. Attractiveness does not make the experience of making one feel weaker or smaller or less significant any more pleasant. I don't believe that these woman are coming forward now to 'pad their pocketbooks'. Many of them are already successful actresses - what would they have to gain?

People who rape, take liberties, and or walk a fine line of living above the law, do it for the challenge and to feel superior. It is not about sex, it is not about being sexy, it has nothing to do with appearance, it is merely one person doing their best to make another person feel powerless and small in comparison to themselves. I suspect they want to feel the rush of being in charge and I highly doubt the actresses that were being ‘chased by a naked man’ were partaking in the shenanigans to further their career.

As a career woman I have held meetings in which men have acted like boys and have blatantly tried to embarrass me by talking about condoms. I was leading the meeting and my boss decided to bring up the topic of condoms. Seven men and myself. That was fun.

Years ago I had a colleague who thought it was fun to walk into my cubicle at work and drop his pants and flash me to see what my reaction would be to his full frontal nudity. Repeatedly.

During an interview I had a prospective boss say that he was disappointed that he was already married when I told him that I liked my profession because it was ‘like a game’. He said that we could have had a lot of fun together.

I didn’t enjoy those moments. I endured them because I work in a profession where men rule the roost and it is male dominated. I put up with it because I have a head on my shoulders and didn’t want to cause friction in an already male dominated field. I am fortunate. My experiences are mild compared to what we are reading in the news. It doesn’t seem to matter what sector one works in either. I suspect many women in the military feel the same way. Those that speak up are chastised for breaking the silence and coming forward. Many are forced to leave the military or worse yet, when having said something, are put in a psychiatric ward for weeks on end for ‘evaluation’. A good friend of mine was raped in the Air Force, conceived, had an abortion, reported the assault and was locked up for weeks on end afterward. She suffered years of anguish and PTSD from the ordeal.

I believe in the power of numbers, not the power of intimidation. I believe that the many actresses that have come forward feel comfortable in doing so now because the story has leaked. They feel empowered to speak up because there is safety in numbers.

 

I hear what you say KD but I too see this guy as a scumbag and lowlife but if he is encouraged by hangers on he'll always win. I have always been aside from these types which I detest immensely and never 'walked' in numbers in my lifestyle, I have tended to do 'my thing' alone albeit directing enormous value projects. But, I have a problem, take pornography for instance, it is usually male dominated but with the active participation of females for the gratification of males, why, who knows, as I detest any exploitation of people whoever they are. I still continue to machinate over the HW issue and this type of exploitation but cannot see an answer to the dangerous childlike behaviour of these 'special' types. Moreover they disgust me if the allegations are true as much as cranky mass murderers but the world seems to favour the weird, odd or underdog against the legal and sane normal's, it's a dilemma we seem to have internationally and sadly it will become worse. I ask myself, why didn't these women take their cases to the police, why take the assaults to the boss of Amazon albeit he is a co-director, I am bemused by their lack of action over many years in this respect. Why do these kids these days believe they will become pop stars, footballers (soccer stars), actresses/actors rather than ordinary careers like many others, this is the sad proliferation of 'reality' shows and competitions around the globe. Hitler was a power crazed nut but HW is of the same mould IMO and equally as dangerous given the right circumstances. I will always question and continue to machinate over the WHY question. In using the term 'machinate' I use it in the most innocent sense of plotting to understand the inner minds of many people in this sordid world.

 

When I first started working where I do now, 'Why' was my favorite question. I was probably as annoying as the little kid following his parent around asking 'why' in response to everything that was said. I do still ask 'why', however probably not as much as I once did. Not because I'm not curious but rather because I feel like, sometimes, I've worn out my welcome, and I'm too busy with work to wonder.

Psychology is a mysterious topic and much has yet to be learned. Who knows why anyone does what they do. Some serial killers are charmers, some rapists are the boy next door. Manipulators know the ins and outs of getting what they want, how to get it and playing on someone else's weakness. Many perpetrators believe that they won't get caught, and they threaten their 'prey' to protect themselves from being reported. Often, if reported, the police don't take it seriously enough and put it back on the victim. We've seen this time and time again. 'How were you dressed? Did you say 'no'? blah, blah, blah'. And it works that way with any abuse of power, not just sexual assault.

When I was a little girl my dream was to be in a band. I wanted to be a singer haha. I think most of us had dreams of being something other than what we decided to 'do'. When I was a little older I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. As my parents put it, I liked to argue, was strong willed and would put up a good fight. I joined a student court and participated in mock trials. I hated it and changed my discipline to engineering. Math was like a game to me, a puzzle that needed to be solved so I concentrated on that. I wouldn't say that I had a passion for math but it was fun and interesting and I needed to concentrate on something. So that is what I did.

I'm assuming that most of those actresses grew up as children with a vision and dream. I'm assuming most of them had a passion for acting at a young age, couldn't think of anything else that they wanted to do and left home, young, with little to no money, to pursue their dream. (Who knows why anyone dreams as big as one does, whether it be for money, fame, passion or notoriety?..) Once out in California, or New York, or wherever it is that they decided to pursue that dream, they probably found themselves scraping to get by and support those dreams by waitressing or couch surfing, etc. Those that are desperate for money may think 'just this one time' and do something that they typically wouldn't do (pose for nudie magazine, partake in a **** film, etc.). I'm not saying that is 'right' but I'm saying that I can see how it can happen. Maybe others participating in that industry, actually like it and enjoy doing what they do. Only the person doing what they're doing knows why they do it - it is left to speculation for the rest of us. We can wonder all we want but unless we're inside their head, there is no definitive answer.

As for society, I agree with you completely. Society as a whole puts too much emphasis on fame, money, notoriety, etc. It still amazes me that that a football player makes more money than someone protecting our country; or that an actress doing a single show earns more than someone saving a life.

 

Hi KD, I can completely concur with your final paragraph, it's modern society at it's worst and will implode sooner or later, the Sodom and Gomorrah syndrome not that I am even the slightest religious anymore.

I believe that many follow their dreams even to destruction of their lives and that of others in some cases. I have always tried to fathom the unfathomable and have an interest in psychology and the big question of WHY. It makes me tick like so many others, it is why so many purport to be something they can never be under given circumstances, they believe in themselves to the exclusion of all else in their lives whereas some enjoy 'lording' it over lesser beings. It's a sad indictment of modern society where people feel empowered by distressing others and ultimately destroying others.

I hope you don't misunderstand my intentions on this but I try hard to see the brighter side and the good in humanity sometimes having seen all of the downsides from other angles. Unfortunately I do see the murky side of many people and often wrongly categorise them but on some occasions I am right in some instances albeit even more depressing on occasions.

 

I blame Harvey Weinstein for everything with his unacceptable behaviour. He has started a media witch hunt in the UK and now we see nothing else on the TV news except ongoing news and speculation about who, what and where in Westminster someone made tawdry advances or statements to someone else be they man on man or man on woman. It's trivialised the whole sick problem and is becoming very boring. It's now trial by media and the populace and the judiciary have no part to play in their minds.

 

The one good thing to come from the Harvey revelation is its brought to light how two faced, hypocritical, and self serving Hollywood really is. Maybe everyday people will give a little more pause before jumping on whatever bandwagon Hollywood is pushing knowing they aided and abetted a predator like Harvey all those years.

 

agreed 100%

 

For your friend who was in the Air Force, I am truly sorry that her AF supervisors and the system miserably failed her. That is a horrible tragedy.

I was debating on adding my experiences on a Land Rover Forum about sexual assault (SA), but I want to say what I had to endure as an Air Force Supervisor of 3 sexual assault victims at 3 separate instances at 3 separate locations.
Before I say anything, my aunt was raped and killed in Chicago in the late 70's so I know how evil rape is. As for the United States Air Force, there has been ZERO tolerance for sexual assault. Period. We had annual computer based training, lectures from sexual assault victims/rape survivors and we had stand down days where we didn't work at all so everyone was briefed on safety and that sexual assault/rape would not be tolerated.
As an Air Force member, there are specific steps that has to be taken to report these SA cases to the Air Force's Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SARP) Office. In my 24 year career I had 3 separate instances where 3 female Airmen adamantly confirmed under oath that they were sexually assaulted by a male Airmen. As much as I wanted to knock the guys heads in for doing such a disgraceful act, I left it up to the SARP office and our Air Force Office of Investigation (federal law enforcement agency) to investigate the crime.
After many months of investigation for the three separate instances, it was concluded that all 3 young female Airmen lied about the assault. Basically, they cried wolf. They lied to keep one's husband, another's boyfriend and even the other girl's girlfriend from finding out about them being with another guy. It was found out that it wasn't a one night stand but in all three cases, they had long time relationships with other male Airmen. Because of their false allegations, the lives of those 3 male Airmen drastically changed, and there was strong hatred for those 3 male Airmen which totally split a cohesive atmosphere not just in our Squadron but for the entire Air Force Base.
And do you know what happened to those 3 female Airmen? Nothing. No stripes taken/reduction in rank and no UCMJ violation charges were brought up. Even after they confessed to lying about the situation, we barely received an apology from them or to their attorney (Judge Advocate Officer - JAG). They were allowed to move to another Air Force Base to resume their life as if nothing happened.

 

There seems to be more and more people coming forward, both men and women. The problem appears to be power, money and a lack of moral compass preying on lesser beings who are often young people starting out in their chosen careers. The more I hear the more distasteful this whole sickly scenario becomes. It's now endemic in all walks of life from the entertainment industry to politics and local government. Many senior people need to take responsibility for the actions of themselves and their subordinates. The police need to start taking the situation seriously.