[Kobi]

When the NYT broke the story on Harvey Weinstein, I was a bit concerned about how this would unfold. Given the history of how these have played out in the past, it seemed to be a legitimate concern.

With the author being Ronan Farrow (of the Mia Farrow-Dylan Farrow- Ronan Farrow-Soon Yi Previn-Woody Allen story) there was concern this history would undermine the credibility of the story. I was pleased it did not.

Even as more and more women came forward about their experiences with Weinstein as well as other named and unnamed Hollywood figures, I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Men recalling their encounters with the same type of behaviors, child stars coming forth as well, and women from other industries coming forward as well (even tho they were not naming the people involved) made me more hopeful that the scope of the problem was being realized.

Also adding to the potential for something positive was Weinstein being ousted from his own company, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences striping him of his membership, the Producers Guild of America pursuing expulsion, British Academy of Film and Television Arts ousting him, his wife filing for divorce, his lawyer quitting, the police in Ca and NY looking into criminal charges etc. Social media had started the #metoo campaign which seems to be dwindling now.

There were more stories about Weinstein leaving the country to receive treatment - all reading as tho he had admitted to the accusations. I had to dig to find that he was saying the expected - anything that happened was consensual and he would fight any charges.

There was a lot of action going on but what did it mean? Was the action the result of Weinsteins behavior being a well known secret? Was there some fundamental change in thinking about this issue? Or, were people acting and speaking out to protect themselves from potential lawsuits and/or distancing themselves from negative publicity/prior affiliations? People denouncing Weinstein and then being accused themselves of the same behavior was an interesting twist.

A week later, I started seeing examples of the norm returning. Woody Allen cautioned about a rush to judgement. Then stories were cropping up about women saying some of the encounters were consensual, while others were not. After that, I started seeing more and more unflattering innuendo and blaming about what it meant that women waited so long to come forward, and what it meant that women who are now accusing him accepted monetary settlements. That was followed by insinuations that women cannot tell the difference between flirting, someone expressing interest, someone asking them out for a date, inappropriate behavior, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape. This was followed by the usual suggestions that we need to redefine the terms - apparently this will help us women be able to tell the difference better.

This latter stuff was coming from both males and females. It is not unusual or unexpected. It is the norm.

And then today, I saw this opinion piece about Ellen Degeneres. This too was not unexpected. When people are feeling threatened, turning the tables, blaming, shaming, deflecting, derailing is very common.

Altho the Ellen opinion piece is from Fox, it still has some merit. The issue has been addressed on this site a few times, mostly from femmes who have found some posts from butches/trans (cant remember) which makes them feel uncomfortable or icky.

I keep following the story with interest to see what good may come out of this. Raising awareness of the prevalence of such behavior is a step in the right direction.

But, given it is a complex and multifaceted issue, I fear it will be swept back under the rug as soon as it is "safe" to do so.

I'm interested in others take on this, especially thoughts of anything hopeful or positive that may arise from it.