It's only been a few weeks since the sexual assault allegations against media mogul Harvey Weinstein exploded into public view. Since then there have been new allegations made against other powerful men in various industries seemingly almost every day.
So it has been asked: Why do the axes seem to fall swiftest on the heads of the liberals who are only accused, and not even convicted. On the other hand conservatives seem more resilient and able to withstand allegations...no matter how severe with little to no backlash/repercussion/loss of status. Why is this?
I think I have a possible answer: those accused are guilty. Some might be feeling some remorse and are silly coming clean after being caught, but there is much more to the story then just that bit. Remember that in most cases the actions happened years or decades ago, that is seems like a lot of people know, and that there is a ton of evidence. And not just evidence to try someone in the court of the public, but also a court of law. And in most cases the higher ups in a company knew all about the actions, and have for years, and have through actions or inactions covered it up. So when a guy is finally outed as a bad guy, the company that knew all about it all along, is quick to get rid of the guy. So it's not punishing the innocent that have not been proven guilty in a court of law; it is companies distancing themselves from someone they know is guilty. Not only does the company not want bad press, but on a more darker note, they might have more dark secrets they don't want a light shinned on because of this one guys actions.
People in power, or the public spotlight always have and always will face attacks from others that want to tear them down, hurt them or simply want power or money. A lot of such accusations are false: people just make them up. And if something is false the target, as well as their company, will fight to prove that the accusation is false. And sometimes, yes, the accusations are true and the person and their company will fight to the last breath to keep the truth from coming out.
But there is another twist. The person is guilty, beyond guilty with tons of witnesses and other evidence, and the company they work for knows all about it. It is covered up, of course, as such things are done. Some of it is just part of the social networks of power, but there is another obvious reason to do it: money. If someone is working for a company and is making that company tons and tons of money, they can both look the other way and cover it up.
And a lot of people cover such things up for many other reasons. It's worth remembering here that the model Cara Delevigne, who described alleged harassment and assault by Harvey Weinstein in an Instagram post, said she had kept silent about her experience with him because "she didn't want to hurt his family."
Charlie Rose and Louis C.K. admitting to doing what they were accused of doing. And their companies wasted no time in getting rid of them.
Semantics can't govern our lives, only the law. Otherwise, every cause can just devolve into a witch hunt and gender relations neither benefit nor improve. The only ones who benefit are the media who play us like emotional puppets.
