So, I've been struggling a bit with how I feel about all of this. It's a very serious, complex subject.
First off, when we're talking about famous people - be it politicians or entertainers - I think we have to have the self-awareness to realize that our biases play a factor. How we feel about a person in general will color our reaction when that person is found to have done gross/creepy/illegal things. If we already don't care for the person, it'll be easier to pile on, but if we like the person, the reaction might be one more of disappointment, with more willingness to hear the person out before throwing them to the wolves.
So when I'm looking at all the people who've been accused recently, I look at people like Al Franken, Louis CK, and Kevin Spacey, greatly talented people who I've always respected, and I'm trying to balance my bias with the fact that they've been accused of serious things.
I'm finding it hard to get past Spacey's accusations. It looks pretty bad.
What CK did was also pretty fucking gross, but it occurs to me that of the accusations put forth, the most recent one was over a decade ago, so is it possible he's evolved since then? Maybe, maybe not. Who the hell knows, but it's something I wonder about. It's certainly disappointing and it makes, at best, the version of him from a decade+ ago look like a creep.
Franken is the only one I'd go to bat for right now. So far it's one accuser, and the act was an inappropriate kiss and inappropriate photo that was taken, in obviously terrible judgement, for comedic effect. It was gross and childish and I really wish he hadn't done it.
But bias or not, we have to be careful to not make false equivalencies. What Franken did is not the same thing as Moore apparently serially attempting to engage in sexual relationships with underage girls. It is not the same as CK jerking off in front of people. It sure as hell is not the same as what Weinstein's done. I reserve the right to change my mind if more people come forward to accuse Franken of the same or worse behavior, but my current judgement can only be based on what we know now.
People are asking if Franken should resign. Someone in here even said he should. I don't think so. And it would be easy to say that I'm a hypocrite for saying that we can't afford to lose him because every Democratic vote in the Senate is important to stopping the Republicans from doing terrible things when that's pretty much the exact argument all these people in Alabama are making for supporting Moore(the ones that aren't too busy calling the accusers liars, that is) - because they need a Republican in the Senate. I mean, the governor of Alabama yesterday said she believes the accusers but doesn't care because Alabama needs a Republican Senator.
But I don't think I am a hypocrite because - again - not all sexual misconduct allegations are the same. Again, what Franken did IS NOT THE SAME as what Moore is accused of. If Franken was accused of what Moore is accused of, I WOULD think he should resign.
And I guess that gets to the crux of where I'm at. All sexual misconduct is gross at best and unforgivable at worst, is wrong, and should never happen. But it's NOT all the same.
I really don't want it sound like I'm apologizing for anything any of these people have done. It's all really gross and offensive and inappropriate and creepy and off-putting, but there are degrees to all those things, and we shouldn't just lump everything together.
As an aside, even though people who do these things deserve to have repercussions, it does make me a bit uncomfortable the way the media and corporate America react to these things. By which I mean, as soon as someone is accused, all business partners have to cut ties and the person's career has to be over. Netflix couldn't dump CK and Spacey fast enough. HBO deleted CK's stuff from their on-demand, and Spacey was cut out of a film he'd already shot. If CK gets work again, it won't be for a while, and I'm not sure Spacey will ever get work again.
It's one thing to cut ties going forward, but to get rid of the stuff they did in the past? Make it like they never existed? They did bad things and they deserve what comes, but it still feels disconcerting to me, like a kind of lynching of someone's professional life, everything they worked for gone in an instant. When the Weinstein stuff first came out, I thought to myself that he might just put a gun in his mouth. Now I'm thinking the same about CK or Spacey. The whole thing just makes me feel uneasy, even though they did terrible things, but maybe it's just me.
Also, there's a lot of back-patting going in the media about the moment we're in and women finally being empowered to speak and how we as a society have to deal with this. Women being empowered is always great, but I hope we don't convince ourselves that we're making more progress than we are. There are still girls on college campuses who get assaulted and when they come forward are asked 'are you sure you didn't just have sex and now you regret it?'. They are women in the military who come forward, and then military court does nothing.
This is a huge, complex, profoundly important issue that permeates so many different areas of life, and we shouldn't think that a few actors/comedians/politicians being revealed means that society is magically changed over the course of a month or two, anymore than electing a black president meant that society magically became post-racial overnight.
This was long and kind of all over the place, but I just needed to get it out. Frankly, I'm a bit nervous that I might have offended people with some of the things I said, which is absolutely not the intent. I tried to express myself as thoughtfully as I could, but this is an extremely sensitive topic, and the last thing I want to do is come across as insensitive about it.
. I just tend to feel much more comfortable communicating when I'm writing (or typing) than I do when I'm speaking to somebody in person (unless I'm comfortable around them and know them well). I used to be painfully shy as a kid, too, which I think explains some of that awkwardness.
the certainly makes sense.
Blessings on the aware, considerate one. 
