so today, Michael Fallon resigns because he touched a reporters knee 15 years ago, and by all accounts she has dismissed it & is all water under the bridge.
Now I read that Dustin Hoffman touched a 17 year old girl & made sexual comments , back in 1985.
Is it me, or are we now going over the top with "historical sexual advances". Yes, they may not have been right or appropriate & shouldn't have happened, but they were years ago & hardly the crime of the century. I doubt whether either women now thinks about the incidents & hasn't affected their lives.
It happened, its in the past, lets move on.
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And who are you to say that these things should be forgotten about when you are not one of the victims?
Fascinating response, really.
The use of quotation marks is shabby and a nasty example of victim blaming.
Would you say this to a member of your family in the same situation?
company I’m not comfortable with the ‘let’s move on’ part of the post.
She was the life and soul of the party, gregarious and sometimes a little naive. Some small minded people would say she’s the type of woman who brought it on herself based on that description. But really get to know her and you’ll find out she had married her childhood sweetheart, is extremely conservative but she had a passion for enjoying life and moments within it.
Listening to her blame herself made my blood boil. Perhaps she led him on? Did her personally make men think she wanted that attention? One of the most outgoing people I know became a shell of themselves and after a blatant management cover up she eventually moved on to another company and she will still no longer drink without her husband.
Trying to understand what I think is the OPs point, reading the twitter hashtag #metoo made me slightly uncomfortable that some people are failing to distinguish between harassment and being asked out on a date, but in my view each case should be judged by its own merits, by the relevant authorities with the offering of full emotional support as required.
It’s not for me, the media or anyone else on the internet to tell people to move on or judge their circumstance.
Hardly leaders of men are they. Good grief.
Over the years I've witnessed numerous examples of racism, homophobia, sexism and bullying at work - most were pretty pathetic but it would be nice if we could get rid of some of this.
I hope the more serious cases are dealt with and it doesn't get hung up on more trivial cases.
Any unwanted/unsolicited physical contact of a sexual nature is sexual assault. Zero tolerance. On that basis I absolutely disagree with the OP.
As an apprentice in engineering many years ago, the treatment i got by being stripped naked, bollocks covered In blue, broomsticks up my arse, all part of being growing from a boy to a man, i wouldnt dream of making a complaint about them, and that was more humiliating and degrading than what is happening to some distressed individuals.
And before anyone gets on my case, my two younger brothers and myself were sexually abused by one of my uncles for years, no authority was interested and he was allowed to piss off to Australia where he lives today. I never think about it until these pathetic individuals keep whining on about someone touching their leg. No doubt big compo and 5 minures of fame will make some of them get over it.
My chasing women are long time over, i do feel sorry for guys chatting up girls these days.
The 2 incidents I mentioned in my OP are far less worse & imo nothing to get hung up about. There might be more to Fallon but I was commenting on the reported incident with Hartley-Brewer.
The trouble now with social media is everyone's name can be dragged through the mud whether they're guilty of something or not.
First, a flashback. Remember the media banging on every day about dangerous dogs? We even ended up with an ill-thought out and badly drafted piece of legislation. Have dangerous dogs gone away now? No, of course not, it's just that nobody in the media can be arsed to report dog attacks much anymore - unless they are really serious. Anyway, the latest exposés are beginning to border upon mass hysteria.
We now have a rabid witch hunt of ancient incidents of people not covering themselves in glory. Things have not just moved on in the working environment they have turned daily life into the equivalent of a gathering of Quakers.
There can be no doubt, surely, that a percentage of these claims that are coming out of the woodwork are malicious, false allegations made solely in the hope of achieving some compo and/or a few seconds of fame? In any event the vast majority of them will be utterly impossible to prove.
Working environments everywhere were very different many years ago. Touching, fondling and much more were everyday events. Here's a few examples: blokes in a hot environment wearing nothing more than their overalls lying under printing machines while maintaining them and having their bollocks squeezed by the women workers. (Apparently they thought it funny when the engineer, in shock banged his head on a lump of metal); a secretary stuffing her hand down my trouser pocket to fondle my cock; another who lifted her top up and asked if I liked her bra and to guess her cup size (I got it right BTW); a female member of staff in a very short skirt, sent home for not wearing knickers; an infamous gang-bang at the company Sports Club. (When the story got back to the woman's boss he asked her if she wanted to make a complaint. She told him to mind his own fucking business: she'd instigated it); a girl that didn't get a bonus and shouted across the office at her boss "so the blow job wasn't any good then?"
Sure I have been deliberately one-sided here but you'll notice a theme. None of these instances involved men using their position/power to abuse young girls. This is not a one-way street.
Finally, a story I have told before. A few years after I packed up work - I guess I was around 57 years old at the time, a girl in her teens squeezed my bum and said "nice arse" as she walked by while I was waiting for my train at Stratford Station. At the time, although she was obviously more than a little drunk, I just felt a little chuffed. I realise now of course that I should have hunted down a police officer and made a complaint about a sexual assault.
A politician touching someone's knee - really? Is that the best they can come up with? It's all a little bit like the Loudun Possessions isn't it? When is Fallon getting burned at the stake? Will Corbyn, (some years after inviting his mates round to view a naked Diane Abbott in his bed) ask conference to change his job title to "Lord Protector"?
Am I glad I don't have to go to work anymore. It must be a puritanical nightmare! These days someone would probably complain about you if you complimented their frock or their new hairstyle.