TRUTH SEEKING: reveal the Truth
HOLD ACCOUNTABLE: accept responsibility
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE: change behavior; make amends
Bill Cosby was a major crack in the sexist cultural dam. Choosing a sexual predator for the highest office in this country while rejecting a historic women candidate increased the strain. Harvey Weinstein blew a hole in it and now a flood of women’s stories are pouring out. A gender pressure cooker that has been simmering throughout recorded history has just blown a major gasket and it’s taking out somewhat indiscriminately anyone who gets caught in the current wake of accusations. Child predators and sexual assaulters hold equal footing with butt slappers and unwanted propositions. Exposing one’s genitals is treated equivalent to an uninvited kiss. The sheer volume, breadth and depth of what women still have to endure in one of the most gender liberal societies on the planet is breathtaking to come face to face with, even to those of us who have experienced it, and it has quickly become clear that we have no framework to evaluate, judge, punish, or otherwise put in context what we are now experiencing. We need some kind of structure or context to deal with this. A case by case basis response, tried in the public media, with various standards for verifying the facts, with a one size fit’s all solution will soon collapse under the sheer weight of the unfairness of outcomes, and frankly the size of the problem is just so big and reaches so deep in our society that this kind of response will eventually just wear us all out, if not backfire. So what can we do?
Here are some ideas.
A. Accusations must meet some standards.
Can the accusations or information be verified in some way that is reliable? This does not mean we have to “disbelieve” or to attack any accuser nor does it require the same standard of what it would take to get a conviction in a court of law. It simply means if we as a society are going to bring cultural judgement and consequences to bear upon an individual for actions we need to demand that those accusations be vetted to a reliable extend. Multiple accusers, reports made at the time, physical evidence, are just a few of the standards that could be applied. Unverified unsubstantiated accusations are just that. They are not an attack on the accuser, just not enough information to demand action at this time and without such verification we should withhold our denunciation.
B. Admitting to the truth of vetted accusations is foundational
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That the perpetrator admits their involvement and takes personal responsibility.
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The perpetrator apologizes and attempts to redress those injured or the greater issue in some way.
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The perpetrator commits to abandon that behavior and to promote and be an example of appropriate behavior
This is a deal breaker, no person who has met the standard of verifiable accusations should be allowed to proceed with “business as usual” with approval by our society without accepting responsibility and a declaration of an intent to a change of behavior.
C Different acts carry different weight and by implication require different redresses.
Reject the implication as espoused today at a news conference by Kristen Gllibrand that all categories of allegations deserve to be treated the same. Our justice system recognizes that not all crimes are equal and deserve equal punishment. While this is determined by a complicated system of tradition, legal, and legislative actions, we can create informal guidelines that makes distinctions between high level crime, rape, physical assault, and drugged, as opposed to a verbal comments or a squeeze on the butt in public. Making a distinction is NOT letting someone off the hook or sanctioning such actions! It is simply recognizing that if we make this a one size fits all system of penalties, in the long run the unfairness of such a system will erode public support and minimize the seriousness of the issue.
D. A way back into society or to continue forward for an individual must be created/allowed.
Simply kicking everyone out of their job who has discriminated against women in the past is going to create a massively big unemployment line in addition to throwing a lot of good people with capacities we could use out of the game. Addressing behavior that historically has permeated our society at every level since its inception requires a more thoughtful and nuanced approach. We could look to as a model to something like an informal version of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission where our goal is to seek to uncover and bring into the light the injustices that have happened and then “lean towards restorative rather than retribution” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_and_reconciliation_commission
Place Al Franken and Roy Moore on the above outline and see where they come up. Do they score the same? Should they receive the same condemnation? Should we equally demand they both resign? Their score gives us information on how to treat their situations. If we take the road that all accusations are true, all accusations have the same weight, and the only course of redress is expulsion, we will not only create a brittle set of standards unable to address situations fairly but we will be giving Trump and the ALT RIGHT a way to weaponize our own set of moral values, forcing us to expel those with any accusations at any level of transgression in order to keep our supposed high ground while they elect child abusers and sexual assaulters.
Ultimately this is about the future. The reason we are reaching into our past to expose this deep institutionalized and culturalized abuse of women is to exorcize this behavior from business as usual so we all can be free from the burden of this massive injustice. That’s what we want to accomplish. Let’s keep our eye on that goal.
TRUTH SEEKING: reveal the Truth
HOLD ACCOUNTABLE: accept responsibility
RESTORATIVE JUSTICE: change behavior; make amends