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| Photo by Marco Bianchetti. |
Finally got through some articles on my reading list and made it to this GQ piece called Why Do the Bad Men Think We Need Them by Jaya Saxena? It's great! You should read it!
It looks into the attempted returns, or promised returns, of some of the men accused of serial sexual assault. In particular, Matt Lauer and Louis CK. (First of all, I generally don't even remember that Matt Lauer exists, but then again, that was before his accusations as well as after.)
I particularly appreciated the comparison made in this article between these famous, powerful men and someone in a more regular office job. Saxena mostly refers to the person's inner life - feeling shame, being unable to show their face in that workplace again - but I would also like to consider external perceptions for a moment.
People often worry about whether it's fair to "ruin the lives" of these rich, powerful men by taking away their jobs.
First of all, let's remember that if a life IS being ruined, then it's the MAN who ruined his OWN life by behaving in a terrible way. Whatever the consequences are that he faces, they are the consequences of his own actions.
Second, I think in a normal office, no one would think twice about taking away the job of someone who serially harassed and assaulted his coworkers. No one would say, "but what about his future?" or "is it really fair to take away his livelihood?" They would say, "we need to get him out of this office!" and "we don't want a lawsuit!" Why are we so much more concerned about the men who are already super rich (and thus automatically have a safety cushion and a number of other options at their fingertips) than a regular guy for whom losing one job could actually throw him into financial ruin?
Third, most of these men are working in the entertainment business. Guess what? A whole lot of random things can make someone's entertainment career dry up. Like suddenly not being likeable to the general public. It is, as they say, a risky business.
But enough from me, go read the article!
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