Fuck. This. Shit. [View all]

[NanceGreggs]

I am about to become very unpopular – but I don't give a fuck, so here goes.

I don’t believe the photo of Al Franken and Leanne Tweedon is an example of sexual harassment, misogyny, or any of the other things it has been described as. As the photo makes abundantly clear, Franken was not touching Ms. Tweedon’s breasts – he was clearly “hamming it up” for the camera, and NOT engaging in sexual misconduct by any stretch of the imagination.

Many have said that even joking about such things is, in and of itself, demonstrative of some underlying disrespect towards women. I call bullshit on that, and strenuously so.

To say that what is inappropriate now was always inappropriate is to ignore the fact that attitudes change, and what was accepted as humour back in the day, or in a certain context, may not be acceptable when judged by current-day standards. Thankfully, such standards change as we evolve as a nation and as a people – and what was laugh-inducing once upon a time is no longer a laughing matter when viewed through a 2017 lens.

How many of us laughed – and still laugh – at shows like I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners, which depicted women as easily-befuddled females whose only true passion was buying a new hat? We accept that punchlines that were funny in the ‘fifties are not relevant in 2017, and surely we have the intellect to realize that that was then, and this is now. We understand that context matters, and that Lucy Ricardo and Alice Cramden, while representative of the stereotypes of their era, are not representative of women in today’s world.

In judging what was acceptable in the past and what is acceptable now, it is disingenuous to apply the same litmus test across the board – as though times never change, as though the times in which we once lived have not been relegated to the dustbin of history, as though we have not outgrown depicting women as scatter-brained, hat-buying females who do housework while wearing pristine shirt-waist dresses accessorized with a string of pearls.

The fact that Ms. Tweedon suddenly remembered how horrifying an experience working with Al Franken was – the fact that the already-disgraced Roger Stone tweeted that it was “Franken’s turn in the barrel” BEFORE Ms. Tweedon came forward with her accusations, the fact that whataboutism is the ONLY defence Republicans can come up with to dispute Roy Moore’s pedophilia is as obvious as it is despicable.

I’ve read here on DU and elsewhere, time and again, that we should judge people by their actions. Senator Franken’s actions in terms of women’s rights speak for themselves.

I am appalled by how easily some people have been led to believe that Senator Franken is a sexual predator based on the word of a Trump-supporting Republican who has conveniently accused him of sexual misconduct at exactly the same time a GOP pedophile has been accused of molesting teen-aged girls. I am especially appalled by those who are equating an obviously “for yuks in front of the camera” photo as evidence of “both sides do it, so let’s just call it a wash”.

EVERY Democrat who is buying into that false equivalence is being played by the Republicans – and they really should know better.

In the meantime, the Republicans are laughing their asses off at Democrats who think (wrongfully so) that if we “sacrifice” one of our own on the altar of tit-for-tat, we come across as “fair and balanced”.

I stand with Senator Franken on the basis of what he has done, and continues to do, to further the rights of American women, and his willingness to stand with us when it counts.

I am not interested in what Al Franken said or did as a comedian – I am interested in what he says and does as a SENATOR. It is unfortunate that some people can’t distinguish one role from the other. It is equally unfortunate that some people are so anxious to believe that if we just throw one of our own on the funeral pyre, we have somehow appeased the what-about-him media gods who have decided that a human sacrifice on our part somehow evens the score – as though “evening the score” is what is important here.

If you’re buying into the current “both sides do it” bullshit being proffered by the right-wing, you are being manipulated by the very people who know how easily-manipulated you are.