For example, a politician or CEO in his 50's has been accused of sexual harrasment in his 20s, but not after. Should he face the same ramifications, such as loss of his job, as he might face if he was guilty of the offending behavior within the past five years?
Sexual harassment has the spotlight on it these days which is good. But in order to curtail it peroid...women should be allowed to take off their high heels and bust the rude fucker right cross the head until he understand that it won't be permitted.
I am as old as some of these men that face these accusations. Men don't get a "free pass" because being humane wasn't trending. A man absolutely knew when he made me uncomfortable at work. He absolutely enjoyed your it, especially when he was in a position of power. It didn't take having a vagina to think "Who behaves this way."
They knew it was wrong. They always knew it was wrong. My gender should not be a factor in having a higher moral compass.
No, but the laws at the time, and the distance from the activity are pretty significant. being made to feel uncomfortable isnt really criminal, now is it?We all deal with things that make us feel uncomfortable everyday. If its illegal, you step forward and say something. If you remain silent for long enough for a reasonable statute of limitations to pass, then clearly you wernt that uncomfortable.
Whats statute for petty larceny or lewd public behavior? something like that would be appropriate.
@dellik At the time pre-Anita Hill exactly where did one go for sexual harassment? That uncomfortable feeling was "sexual harassment."
Certainly there are consequences to that behavior today. Excusing the behavior when it was crystal clear it unwanted is unacceptable.
I find it a bit nauseating that you want to excuse men yet you expect women to go outside what was the social norm at the time and report the behavior.
I believe in making the punishment fit the crime, and I also like to allow for people to improve as they mature. Maybe the person in your example could undergo interview or a seminar on what is appropriate, but losing his job under such circumstances seems overly harsh. Social mores have changed drastically since many of us were young and navigating it with our peers.
John Aubrey, the diarist, tells a story about the Earl of Oxford. When the Earl made a low obeisance to the Queen (Elizabeth i), he happened to let go a fart, at which he was so ashamed that he left the country for 7 years. At his return the Queen welcomed him and said, “My lord, I had forgot the fart”!
The medievalist within me loves this story!
A crime is a crime is a crime. We are glad that you never sin before.
cultures change . what is acceptable now may not be in 30 years and the reverse is true. what is not acceptable now may be in 30 years. should we punish people for a non violent action done 30 years ago ? not in my opinion
Absolutely! Should we wallow forever in our judgmental condemnations? Forgiveness and moving on with life would seem the better option.
If a person is engaging in antisocial behavior, it is society’s obligation to curb that behavior. Once the behavior stops it should be end of story. We have all made mistakes.
No. No one should get a pass for sexual harassment. If young men know that there will inevitably be a price to pay, they are much more likely to keep their raging hormones in check.
No he shouldn't necessarily, because people grow up and mature, young men can be impulsive, they make mistakes, driven by hormones and knee-jerk stupidity, if they have demonstrated that they have changed their behavioral patterns, then a life long pariah status serves no one. Remember the old saying "Give a dog a bad name,..and you may as well hang it"
Having said that it is very much dependent on the gravity of the offence and if he has shown sincere and genuine remorse.
If he was an SS Guard overseeing a concentration death camp, then he is inextricably linked with an evil and cruel regime which is to fogive with any time limitation. He will have what they the Human Stain.
Can we talk about less relavent examples as well?
How long can we give someone flack after we caught them throwing fake poo in the Hot Tub?
Or how about whether we tell other Atheists or Agnostics it is faux pas, hypocritical or if it is straught up subconscious theism when we see them habitually say the names of previously literally accepted dieties when they are surprised or hurt.
I think it really depends on the situation and what they did. Some guy who made a trashy joke in front of the wrong person or even grabbed some girls butt one time is different than people in power positions repeatedly using their power to intimidate or abuse others sexually without ramifications.
A person doing that once?
As a low level person?
He's done it throughout his career.
It took one woman to be brave enough to breach the gate.