We must be transparent on standards
AL FRANKEN resigned from the Senate and my social media feeds blew up with folks arguing that women lie, it is just locker room talk and humor, he should not step down unless Trump steps down, he is too important — the implication being look the other way — and that this is a hatchet job without a shred of truth led by Republicans. It is interesting that these were the same arguments being made about Donald Trump, Roy Moore and Billy Bush. And these same folks making these comments now rightly called BS on them then.
This is not to imply that there is a moral equivalency between Franken’s actions and those of Trump and Moore. There is not. I am not arguing that we should live in a world where consequences do not match the crime. I acknowledge that we need to be clearer in differentiating between various forms of sexual misconduct and predation — harassment, assault, rape, etc. — and what standards of proof we require for determining specific consequences for each. We need to be transparent about what our standards are and we must be consistent in applying them.
But we also need to be honest with ourselves. Most people aren’t doing that hard work. They like Franken. And, yes, I liked him, too. But, and this is really important, we cannot prioritize women’s victimization only when we find it politically expedient or advantageous. We cannot prioritize women only when it doesn’t cost us anything.
As Sarah Silverman pointed out in her comments on Louis C.K., he was both someone she loved and someone who has done terrible things to women under his power. Both those statements can be true at the same time. We can like Franken and acknowledge his political contributions while also taking seriously sexual misconduct allegations. We can do both. Both of those statements can be true.
Ultimately, if we are to truly take seriously women’s systemic and prolific victimization in this country and around the world, we must hold ourselves, as well as our friends, family, co-workers and political parties, to the highest standards, not the lowest. MELISSA GRIFFITH Albuquerque