DATELINE: BEATING THE SUGAR OUT OF THE CAIN: This might surprise you, considering the topic, but no, this is NOT about Herman Cain and his alleged inability to keep it in his fucking pants (well, it might be, but that’s secondary). This is about the entire press corps and their pathetic attempts to fill news time with their partisan bullshit. That’s what is wrong with the whole fucking continent –we have asshole politicians with a huge sense of entitlement, and a media that panders to them.
Since this story about sexual harassment broke, how many ‘experts’ have been interviewed about what this does to a person, why they might not report it immediately, why they might report it now? Well hell, why would they bring those on when they can have a plethora of pundits sit and spew erudite opinions from their assholes? As usual, the REAL story, the real opportunity to be journalists and make a difference is lost in the need to score political points one way or the other. To hear men saying that ‘it happened twelve years ago so what difference does it make’ is enough to make me want to crawl through the television screen and scrog a few scrotes.
Why didn’t these women come forward when it happened? Well, two of them did, and there IS record of that because they were in fact paid settlements that, in 2003, Herman Cain acknowledged. Funny how in 2003, he admits to something that he adamantly denies today… but I digress. Most women will not come forward at the time, because they will lose their fucking jobs if they do, or they will be poo-pooed by the rest of the male workforce and subjected to even more harassment. That’s the wonderful thing about sexual harassment – it’s like the gift that keeps on giving.
Women in that situation, by nature, feel ashamed. They shouldn't, but they do. They are accused of wearing the wrong clothes, saying the wrong words, standing the wrong way, walking too provocatively, or chewing their food in a way that would invite a man to make advances. It is always HER fault. That’s why they rarely make a claim at the time. Why did they wait for twelve years? Because they can see that now this man has a very viable opportunity to become the most powerful man in the world; how the hell many more women does that put on his holy altar? As the Big Guy in the Oral Office, how many other women would he abuse? They came forward because they are scared as hell for other women that might have to work with him. After twelve years, to dig up this shit internally and relive it though asshole reporters and pundits is not an act of desperation; it’s an act of sacrifice and bravery because they know, once again, they will be victims of abuse because of it. For reporters to say that none of these reports have a bearing on how a man will vote is nothing more than MORE evidence as to why women will not come forward when they are victimized like this. To have those absolutely ignorant blonde bimbos using their news shows to spew the Republican Party line and discredit all these women and victims is totally reprehensible. Stick to the fucking story, ladies, and quit turning this into nothing more than cheap talking points for our own pulpits. Be journalists for a fucking change.
As for Herman Cain… *sigh*… My problem is not that he apparently was an asshole twelve years ago. To be honest, working in predominantly male work environments all my life, I would be surprised if he didn’t, because, and there is no way to gently state this, a LOT of men are colossal dicks to work around. Their attitude towards women sucks. Here is a news bulletin for all you wanker-toting individuals out there: the majority of women-folk can think, we can work, and we do NOT spend our entire day dreaming of that perfect man and trying to tantalize you all.
Herman Cain COULD have gotten in front of this, but he chose to be an asshole. Yes, it was years ago and people do change, and he easily could have said that yes, he had made mistakes, yes, he has grown and matured and learned something about it, and yes, he recognizes that he can make a difference by helping to empower women and make it so this is less likely to happen. When he instead went with the ‘deny, deny, deny’ despite evidence to the contrary (yes, I am back to the cases where there were cash settlements – and those have not been disputed), it set the precedent for him, and was a pretty clear indicator that there was more to come. When he started to get angry at the press for asking him about it… considering he IS planning to become President of the United States… anyone with half a brain had to wonder what the anger was for, and realize the obvious thing is that there are even more skeletons in the closet. He has adopted the old ‘offence is defense’ principle, and it will not work. He could have turned this into something beneficial for himself, for women, for workplaces, but instead, he showed that yes, Virginia, he really is a misogynistic prick, no, he does not have any respect for women, and for sure, he is not an appropriate candidate to lead the country.
He will have a press conference today. The asshole reporters will chew apart every word he says, looking for innuendo. They will conveniently avoid discussing the fact that statistics indicate that up to 70% of women working in North America have been victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. Yes, that is UP TO, because, like cases of sexual assault, the vast majority of the cases go unreported because the victim has already been abused enough and can’t handle the shame of having to go through the process again, and again, and again, in order to get anywhere when the bottom line is, and the abusers know this, it will be one word against the other, and that very rarely works in the victim’s favor. Statistics show that at least 62% of victims will not take action. Virtually 100% of female victims claim that their harasser was a male. Of the reported 7% of men who are victims of sexual harassment (although, again, I suspect this would be higher if all of them came forward), 59% of them are harassed by women. 70% of the time, the person doing the harassing is someone of higher status and authority within the organization, 20% of the time it will be someone at the same employment status as the victim.
Am I pissed about this whole situation? Damned right I am. The media circus has proven in spades why victims will not come forward in these situations, and has set the cause of ending sexual harassment backwards by twenty years just in the last two weeks. Herman Cain has taken what could have been an incredible opportunity to make a real difference to a lot of people, and turned it into his own little fucking pity party, peppered liberally with self-righteous indignation. Despite the policies he might campaign with, despite his ability to make a speech, despite his hard earned success, he has proven he is not a man who will stand up and be counted, and in doing so he has proven he is not a man to be elected President of the most powerful and influential country in the world. He has shown it would not be appropriate to have him championing women’s rights or human rights or equality or freedoms. He has shown that he is nothing more than slimy and pathetic, especially when, as a last ditch effort, he brings his wife into the debate by stating she supports him and knows nothing about his perverse sexual proclivities. My first response to that is that if you are an asshole to women, Herman, what the hell else is she supposed to do? My second response is that she is your wife, and the wife is always the last to know, since I rather doubt your over-dinner banter includes a list of the women you groped over the course of your work day. Sorry, asshole, but your 15 minutes should be up. Unfortunately, with the media we are blessed with today, this fucking cock and pony show will continue on, to the detriment of all victims of sexual harassment, for many more weeks.
There are many people out there who have made mistakes. The real adults own up, learn and use that experience to make a difference. There are many good people out there who treat others with respect; why the hell is it so hard to find a candidate in any political suit who understands respect or shows respect? Why is respect such a rare commodity in the media now? Until we start to see that, it’s damned near impossible for us to have any respect for them. It’s time for us to start demanding it in both arenas.
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