counterpunch | The New York Times recently
published a list of 25 men “accused of sexual misconduct” since the
Harvey Weinstein revelations first came out in early October. The list
is a who’s-who of “players” in the entertainment, political, media and
corporate worlds. Even scandalous stories about Bush-the-elder are
finally coming out after decades of suppression. In being outed, many
of the male predators have lost their jobs or contracts, some of their
marriages ended, high-priced defense lawyers have been retained and a
few say they are seeking professional counseling.
Many of those identified as being or having been a sexual aggressor
are being subject to public shaming. For a while, their lives might be
miserable, under a public magnifying glass as to how he could have done
what he is “accused” of doing and, therefore, who really is this
man? However, for some, the price to be paid may be far harsher,
including an arrest, trial and (if found guilty) jail as a sex
offender. Prosecutors in New York, Los Angeles and London are
sharpening their legalistic claws as they seek criminal indictments
against Weinstein. Who will be the next player to fall?
Since the Reagan-era of the 1980s, the U.S. has engaged in two
domestic wars – a war on drugs and a war on sex. Both have roots dating
from the 1920s Prohibition campaign; both rejected the 1960s-70s
countercultural insurgency. Both have been played out at federal and
local levels — and both are failures!
The country’s drug-addiction “epidemic” has shifted from black to
while, from the inner-city or urban ghettos to the suburbs and rural
heartland. Throughout the country, low-level drug offenses are being
decriminalized, criminal penalties are being lessened and the
traditional ethos of harsh punishment is being undercut by calls for
restorative justice.
When launched, the war on sex drew politicians, law enforcement and
people of good intentions, conservative and liberal (including anti-porn
feminist and gay-rights advocates), into alignment with the religious
right. They joined forces in a campaign to forcefully suppress what was
broadly conceived as a domestic security threat, violation of the
sexually acceptable.
The sex offender was – and remains — a perfect target for moral
outrage. He (mostly) is someone who crossed a moral line and committed
an unpardonable offense. If he cannot be executed for his affront to
civil and religious decency than, at least, he can be shamed or
stigmatized, imprisoned, placed in indefinite detention and listed on a
sex-offender’s registry.
The 25 men identified by the Times are “players” in the
entertainment, political, media and corporate worlds. Others will
surely be added to the list. Their outing is a friction point in the
seismic shift in American social values now underway. Those so far
identified come from the celebrate sector, not most people everyday
life. Unfortunately, misogyny is endemic to American life, but gets
little local media or public attention until it becomes a media
spectacle like what’s happening today. Its all-to-often considered a
private matter, rather than a social practice.
