A male backlash against #MeToo is brewing

There is a literal feeding frenzy going on right now, which is seeing sexual misconduct allegations being heaped on men of all stripes in the Western world - too many of which are decades old, and without any possibility of proof (partly due to the passage of time, and partly because these types of alleged incidents are most often to have occurred privately and/or away from any camera).

Actual sexual harassment, or worse sexual assault, are of course unacceptable and should not be tolerated by society. Neither should any other kind of criminal behaviour. But, right now, this seems to be one of the only types of alleged criminal act that are not subject to the allegations being tested in a court of law before the alleged criminal suffers public and professional sanctions.

Two recent examples are Roy Moore (unconfirmed allegations dating back decades...including an accuser who forged "proof"), who almost certainly lost the Alabama Senate race as a result ...and Patrick Brown (just months before a general election two women made unsubstantiated and anonymous accusations of sexual improprieties from years prior) he was immediately ousted as leader of the Conservative Party in Ontario, Canada.

Personally, I do not know why any man would want to place his name in nomination for any political position at this point - because all your opponent has to do is find one or more women to make allegations against you, and you are toast (not to mention what such allegations would do to a marriage or other personal relationships).

Men are scared, and feminists are delighted. But the urge to call out and punish male sexual transgression is bound to clash with an inescapable truth: We’re all in this together, men and women.

Consider what’s happening in the capital of Florida. Female staffers and lobbyists have found “many male legislators will no longer meet with them privately,” reported The Miami Herald. “I had a senator say, ‘I need my aide here in the room because I need a chaperone,’ ” lobbyist Jennifer Green told the paper. “I said, ‘Senator, why do you need a chaperone? . . . Do you feel uncomfortable around me?’ ‘Well,’ he said, ‘anyone can say anything with the door shut.’ ”

Across industries, “Several major companies have told us they are now limiting travel between the genders,” Johnny Taylor, president of the Society for Human Resource Management, told the Chicago Tribune, citing execs who tell men not to go on business trips or share rental cars with women co-workers.

Writing in The American Interest, Claire Berlinski calls the #MeToo movement “a frenzied extrajudicial warlock hunt that does not pause to parse the difference between rape and stupidity” and “a classic moral panic, one that is ultimately as dangerous to women as to men.”

MeToo Going Too Far

What to do...

I, of course, do not have all of the answers, but I would submit that the following guidelines should begin to apply to Sexual Harassment/Misconduct allegations:

1) If the alleged conduct occurred at a time that places it beyond any legal statue of limitations (meaning that the accused will not have the opportunity to defend himself in a court of law), then the allegation cannot be made publicly.
2) When an allegation is leveled, in whatever is the appropriate legal forum/setting, the identities of both the alleged perpetrator and victim should be kept confidential, and should be under a publication ban - until such time as a legal verdict has been rendered.
3) Employers should not allowed to suspend (without pay) or fire an employee on the basis of an unproven allegation - and especially if the incident(s) in question had nothing to do with their employment. If the alleged behaviour is associated with the workplace, then the Employer must provide an internal process to investigate the allegations (using lawyers or arbitrators), and then take actions commensurate with the findings of that process (assuming it doesn't end up in the courts themselves).
4) If allegations of Sexual Misconduct are publicly made by an accuser, and the accuser does not furnish sufficient proof, either in a criminal or civil proceeding, that results in a judgement/verdict against the alleged perpetrator...then the accuser should be subject to libel/slander proceedings, and should be required to pay damages to the accused (which in many cases would be substantial!).

Some order and common sense needs to be applied to all of this, in the interests of both men and women. As the article in the link suggests, the panic that this movement is creating in the workplace may well set women back decades in their pursuit to get ahead in the business (or government) world.

If men are too afraid to have private meetings with women, or to travel on business with them, or to be in close proximity to them...for fear of having their careers/lives ruined by an allegation/claim...this is going to limit opportunities for women professionally - which is certainly going to be an unintended consequence of what is happening right now with the #metoo movement.

I don't, and never have, had private meetings with females. Common sense has dictated otherwise for the entirety of my life.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
I don't, and never have, had private meetings with females. Common sense has dictated otherwise for the entirety of my life.

Then you, Sir, are both very wise, and ahead of your time.

originally posted by: mobiusmale

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
I don't, and never have, had private meetings with females. Common sense has dictated otherwise for the entirety of my life.

Then you, Sir, are both very wise, and ahead of your time.

I saw someone accused of a sex crime when driving a female home. After he was in prison, she admitted she made it all up. That was all I needed to see to know what was and was not prudent.

You can't expect the modern feminist to behave logically and think about consequences of its actions. It is shrieking childlike brat beast that expects it's every whim to be instantly indulged. As is being proved on a daily basis, giving power to the childish and childlike is a high risk strategy for any society, and it never ends well.

I too lost a friend to prison and the story changed 6 months later. A lot easier to put someone in than get them out. She owes a lot of money but has never paid a dime.
And now with the internet he makes her life hell because he still has to report every quarter as a sex offender even though it was cleared. Her lawyer even told her to pay and he would stop.

There's only a backlash growing amongst sexual predators and men who know they don't act gentlemanly and realise they're now likely to get called for sexist behaviour.

So, honestly, boo hoo, poor abusive whinging menz not finding it as easy to be abusive anymore, that they've taken to the internet to try and drum up some sort of backlash.



Any backlash against a movement by and for victims of sexual abuse is by very definition a scummy thing to do.

No justification for it really.

Honestly I don't blame them. Which is awful because men are sexually assaulted as well, by women, and by other men. It's just on average it seems they don't open up about it like women will (and even then there are women who keep things close to them til they die)

It's a complicated and scary situation. You would think as long as you're a decent human and you know that to be true, that there would be no issues but unfortunately false accusations do happen so I can see why some of those men who know they wouldn't do that are nervous.

-Alee

PS i wouldn't put it all on the movement as a whole but there seems to always be "activists" or "super feminists" that take things into scary waters.
I think #metoo is a great thing. I have seen men use the hashtag as well and I encourage them to.

If #MeToo has gone to far, let me remind all you guys, it's largely an American woman thing. All hope is not lost because not all women are Americans. Men abusing women is a world wide phenomenon. American women being jealous and competitive with their men is especially an American thing. It's part of the ripping fabric of American society -- everyone is desperate to escape the fate of the dying middle class, and it's every man/women for herself.

The American family and American hetero relationship is basically dead. The future is terribly bleak. Without a basic harmony between the sexes there is no reversing the tide of divorce and addiction here. I don't know about Europe or Australia, but the war between the sexes in America has gotten to the point where we're getting too scared to **** properly or enjoy sex without signing an NDA. [SNIP]

Not a good sign. #MeToo will help women, to an extent, but it won't help everyone with the underlying problem.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
I don't, and never have, had private meetings with females. Common sense has dictated otherwise for the entirety of my life.

Humans no longer reproducing apparently is part of the progressive / feminist agenda.

I could actually go for some have private meetings with females.

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
I don't, and never have, had private meetings with females. Common sense has dictated otherwise for the entirety of my life.

You and Pence are both chauvinist cromagnons.

originally posted by: CulturalResilience
You can't expect the modern feminist to behave logically and think about consequences of its actions. It is shrieking childlike brat beast that expects it's every whim to be instantly indulged. As is being proved on a daily basis, giving power to the childish and childlike is a high risk strategy for any society, and it never ends well.

Modern feminists are shrieking childlike brat beasts?

Sir, do you know anything at all about feminism and feminists? Or have you just taken your opinion from far-right misogynistic anti-woman sources that have taught you that all 'feminists' are extremists who believe nonsense like 'all men are rapists'?

I assure you, what you have been told is feminism, is not feminism.

a reply to: mobiusmale

Well the new narrative is we have to treat all accusations as facts and shame them in public without any real evidence. Free countries don't work like that. I agree we have an issue and it's time for change just not a witch hunt

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Yeah weren't most of these idiots meeting women at hotels and whatnot? I'm not trying to pile on the victims here but the women sure could have used some common sense too. Very different than having a meeting at the office with other people around.

This kind of stuff actually freaks me out when I first start seeing a woman. Never been accused of being creepy (in real life) but I've also met some insane ladies recently, and not in the fun kind of way. One was so weird I gave up getting back a North Face jacket rather than talk to her again.

Absolutely no way I'm bringing some girl home if I meet them at a bar now, which is actually probably a good thing.

I have no doubt there are tons of creepy dudes in positions of power preying on women, but ruining someone's career based on 20 year old claims seems absurd. At the same time, better late than never to protect the next batch of naive women from some of these people. Like Weinstein.

I do hope that this movement won't be completely co opted by nut jobs that think flirting is rape and that going forward women do feel comfortable reporting actual misconduct when it happens.

originally posted by: Painterz
There's only a backlash growing amongst sexual predators and men who know they don't act gentlemanly and realise they're now likely to get called for sexist behaviour.

So, honestly, boo hoo, poor abusive whinging menz not finding it as easy to be abusive anymore, that they've taken to the internet to try and drum up some sort of backlash.



Any backlash against a movement by and for victims of sexual abuse is by very definition a scummy thing to do.

No justification for it really.

DO you always see things in a nerrow lense? So you're saying ruining the lives of people with just accusations is the right thing to do? I Agree with the movement just not all are real sexual assault and simply for attention

a reply to: Painterz

I speak as I find, as aposed to parroting groupthink and boilerplate.

originally posted by: IgnoranceIsntBlisss

originally posted by: bigfatfurrytexan
I don't, and never have, had private meetings with females. Common sense has dictated otherwise for the entirety of my life.

Humans no longer reproducing apparently is part of the progressive / feminist agenda.

I could actually go for some have private meetings with females.

No, humans reproducing equally outside of abusive controlling misogynist relationships is part of the progressive feminist agenda. Where women have equal power as men, and men in positions of power and authority don't get to leverage that power and authority to force women into situations they're not comfortable with.

originally posted by: Painterz
There's only a backlash growing amongst sexual predators and men who know they don't act gentlemanly and realise they're now likely to get called for sexist behaviour.

So, honestly, boo hoo, poor abusive whinging menz not finding it as easy to be abusive anymore, that they've taken to the internet to try and drum up some sort of backlash.



Any backlash against a movement by and for victims of sexual abuse is by very definition a scummy thing to do.

No justification for it really.

I think you have largely missed the point here.

a) nobody is interested in protecting actual perpetrators, or creating a backlash against actual victims
b) if someone wants to allege a sexual indiscretion, they should do so within a legal forum of some kind...not on CNN, without proof.
c) people's identities, and their careers, should be protected until the allegations are legally proven

Otherwise, a smallish number of men are going to suffer needlessly, due to false allegations - and millions of women's careers and businesses are going to suffer as men move to protect themselves, by limiting (or eliminating) their contact with females.

originally posted by: JDmOKI

originally posted by: Painterz
There's only a backlash growing amongst sexual predators and men who know they don't act gentlemanly and realise they're now likely to get called for sexist behaviour.

So, honestly, boo hoo, poor abusive whinging menz not finding it as easy to be abusive anymore, that they've taken to the internet to try and drum up some sort of backlash.



Any backlash against a movement by and for victims of sexual abuse is by very definition a scummy thing to do.

No justification for it really.

DO you always see things in a nerrow lense? So you're saying ruining the lives of people with just accusations is the right thing to do? I Agree with the movement just not all are real sexual assault and simply for attention

Of course I'm not saying it is the right thing to ruin peoples lives with false accusations. Don't be absurd, and please don't put words in my mouth.

But you're conflating #metoo with false accusations. Don't you see why discrediting #metoo by saying 'BUT FALSE ACCUSATIONS' is a pretty scummy thing to do?

These two issues can both exist on their own. They don't need to be jumbled together. People who try and jumble them together are trying to discredit #metoo.


You don't go up to a rape victim and shout 'MEN GET FALSELY ACCUSED OF RAPE!' do you? Because that's what this is.

originally posted by: CulturalResilience
a reply to: Painterz

I speak as I find, as aposed to parroting groupthink and boilerplate.

Well then, you might want to go and talk to some actual real feminists then. Instead of the imaginary feminists you're reading about on the internet. You might find it quite enlightening.