*whistles* I was not aware of the scope of the Broaddick allegations. I don't know what the options are after 20 years, but if her claims are true, I would not mind seeing both Clinton's tossed in prison for it, since it sounds like Hillary was, at that point, a willing accomplice via association.
I would hope that the Era of nearly everyone having an HD video camera in their pocket would deter this behavior. I doubt it will, but I had hoped.
I think Hillary Clinton did what was expected of her and she acted as she did for her own self preservation. She is as much a victim of circumstance as anything, really.
She is not alone in attempting to cover up her husband's, well, crimes, and she won't be the last one to do it either.
I don't think she should be thrown in prison for something her husband did and foisted on her and their daughter. And I don't think she should be blamed for it either. I see it more in the sense that she did what she did to protect herself and her future and I don't really like the thought that he did what he did, and ruined her life in the process and somehow or other people think she should pay for his crimes as well.
She saw her marriage take massive hits, she was publicly humiliated repeatedly, blamed, abused, for something her husband did and frankly, got away with.
What really gets me with this whole thing playing out at present is just how partisan the issue of sexual harassment and sexual assault has become. Look at Moore. The left are rightly demanding he should step down, as are many on the right. But Moore's far right supporters are digging in, saying that the allegations against him are either not that bad, were the norm back then, we have victim blaming and shaming, it's being called a political witch hunt by his supporters.
Then look at Franken and it's playing out in a similar fashion. The right want his blood, and his supporters are digging in, and they are saying the exact same thing about his accuser that the people on the far right are saying about Moore's accusers. Take a wander to sites like Daily KOS and it is glaring. It's become a conspiracy, she is being blamed, this is a Stone and Fox News hit, some are slut shaming her in the comments section, others are questioning why she took so long to come forward, others in the comment section are questioning how she could possibly feel sexually threatened because he was not her superior on that tour, etc.
It's literally same shit different day. I guess in this case, it's the same shit, different sides.
Frankly, Moore's supporters are vile human beings. And after reading through some horror shit on sites like Daily KOS, I could easily say the same thing about Franken's supporters.
It's no longer about sexual harassment, sexual assault. Victims are being shamed and blamed, abused, insulted. Why?
Because of partisan politics.
At the end of the day and with all known facts considered, Ms. Tweeden took the coward’s way out. This wasn’t a situation where he was in a position of power over her and she feared for her career. Franken wasn’t a senator at the time and carried as much weight in Hollywood as any other ex-SNL performer. In other words, nada.
This wasn’t a rape case, an assault case, or a power dynamics issue. This falls more into the comedian can’t tell when he’s being heckled category. I accept that Ms. Tweeden felt uncomfortable—and because she did she likely viewed all further interactions with him on the tour through cynical lenses, but Ms. Tweeden needs to realize that women can’t have it every way—wear your big girl panties and confront the issue in the moment in all cases that don’t involve power dynamics.
Ms. Tweeden stated that all she ever wanted was an apology. If that’s the case, why not confront Franken privately with how she’s been feeling for 11 years and give him the chance to (1) offer her a genuine apology and (2) learn from the situation? Had she first sought him out privately and he was dismissive or abusive rather than apologetic… okay, news conference time. Instead she chose to forever mar his reputation and possibly ruin his career. That isn’t courage; that’s cowardice. Especially given the fact that per her own words she isn’t even certain if Senator Franken (then Comedian Franken) knew how he was making her feel.
As to Jake Tapper, he laid it on a bit thick. Tweeden’s actions are neither heroic nor brave. Encouraging people to publicly shame others for sins they didn’t know they committed in the absence of a power differential is irresponsible—and that’s being kind. Not everything needs to be done publicly nor should it be. All you’ve accomplished is to further exacerbate the current culture of false equivalencies.
is the embodiment of rape culture. Now, consider
the accusation against him.
Apparently she should have put on her "big girl panties" and confronted him. While on a USO tour, surrounded by mostly male soldiers in a war zone. They also ignore the fact that he forced her into that so called rehearsal after writing her into a skit specifically designed to end with his mouth on hers and then after she shoved him away when he shoved his tongue into her mouth, he took a photo of her while she was asleep and he either groped her or pretended to go for her boobs.
Delving into the comments section brings up a world of nightmares.
Comments about how poor men just get their signals mixed up, to how this was just a funny joke, to one guy slut shaming her, to the 'what about the man', to another declaring that it was just comedy and she's taken it the wrong way, to another inventing that the whole thing including the photo was a set up and pretend (despite Franken coming out and admitting what he did - the whole story has been rewritten). One of my favourites by a fellow named I3Iessed in the Daily KoS link I posted above:
When clearly communicated by an individual to another, harassment and sexual aggression is wrong always and should be called out and treated. But, Human relationships are complicated. And people do things they do not realize will have certain impacts or will be perceived certain ways by others (Do not tell me you never did something that crossed the line with some one, only to find out afterwards). Moore was warned numerous times, reported and called out by businesses and families, but he just kept on with his dirty, pedo ways.
Franken, in the midst of an sexually charged entertainment tour with a fellow entertainer, made a bad choice in how he tried to show his attraction to this women. He clearly understands the gravity of it now. But to treat this anything like anything more than an awkward and poor interaction between two sexually active adults is ridiculous, especially considering the women even states she agreed to a physical kiss in the skit, until either more voices come out or more concrete evidence surfaces.
See how the narrative has changed? Completely leaving out the fact that she was forced and coerced into the whole rehearsal. And the whole 'this was just a poor interaction between two sexually active people'.. This was just a human relationship gone wrong. These are the same people who are (correctly mind you) calling Moore a pedophile. But then this happens with Franken and we see the results above.
It literally does my head in. It's the same type of goddamn excuses we see from the Moore camp and his supporters.
Moore belongs in prison and frankly, the mouth breathing yokels who are voting for him are probably not far behind. But what absolutely shits me about this issue is that people are becoming the embodiment of rape culture and supporting rape culture because of partisan politics.
I don't think we need an era with HD cameras. I think we need an era where these people are brought into the light and shamed for their behaviour and those who go to such lengths to condone it and excuse it, should be equally shamed and frankly, politics be damned.
I am sick and tired of having this issue being passed around like a political football. And I am sick and tired of seeing women abused and shamed for daring to come out because of politics. The narrative is no longer about the victim, but about the abuser as each side tries to defend their own and they will both happily drag the victims down to the gutter to do it.
The right blames Clinton. Pfft. This rubbish has been going on for a lot longer than Clinton and their hands are just as dirty as everyone else's are. In other words, no one gets to point fingers on this issue. Both sides are as dirty as the other.
