With the latest allegation of NBC anchor Matt Lauer of sexually harassing female co-workers I feel it is appropriate to give a male opinion on the culture that is being molded right now.
The list of men who have been accused of harassment is growing each day, which leads me to a few questions:
Did these men do what the complainant says, or was is it a move to get back at these men for wronging them? I feel both sides of the story should be heard before making any judgments.
Now before you get angry with me, I am not saying these men did not do what is being said about them. I am saying we need to stop holding a trial by media and as soon as anything is said fire them to save the company’s image and then figure out the story.
By doing this, we are creating a counter-culture that is making the women’s voices stronger than any other. If even a word is uttered about a man sexually assaulting a woman, the man is automatically in the wrong and anything that he says is immediately rejected.
I am not saying women should not feel empowered to speak up for what they believe in, but I am saying that a women’s voice should not be the judge and the jury in any situation.
Sexual harassment happens on both sides of the spectrum, as well. As a swimmer, there have been countless times while I am lifeguarding or when I post a photo of me and my friends after a race at a swim meet and I am sometimes shocked at the comments and questions on both sides with regard to what some people think is OK to say. But in today’s culture it is assumed that all men are pigs and sexualize women, so men “deserve it” and should just toughen up and take it like a man.
It is an uneven road to travel for men because they are immediately accused of being the aggressor or considered anti-women’s rights and a womanizer because they don’t agree 100 percent with the accusations said about them.
Men are now having to be extra cautious about anything and everything they say because it can be misinterpreted or construed as something derogatory.
Men have to almost take themselves away from situations where anything could be concocted into a story against them.
Matt Lauer’s termination shows how quick people are to get rid of someone to save their image, as it appeared that NBC was trying to beat the Variety article that was going to out Lauer.
The media and everybody else should wait to get all the facts from both sides before making statements that ruin careers and people’s lives.
