The
actress, Eliza Dushku while filming "True Lies" alleges she was sexually
harassed by the stunt coordinator, Joel Kramer (see link below.) Will
the egregious sexual harassment of women by men of power ever change? I
am a feminist and have been since I honed my political philosophy over
40 years ago. I know of Eliza Dushku but have not seen many of her
films. I know, though, she has a loving family. It is the most
egregious thing that men -- triple that for the film industry -- have
done to women because they knew women would sacrifice most anything to
achieve the most American of dreams - - a Bette Davis success. Young
actresses race with the clock to craft a career at a young age before
the hands of time wreak havoc on their bodies and fade that dream. It
must be a hellish life to desperately want something but to have the
stress that aging places on a young woman, especially so on a teenage
girl, in her quest to perfect her craft in an unforgiving career where
each blemish on a woman's body is a threat to something she so
desperately wants to attain.
Having
said that to lop blame on those who knew her secret 20 or 30 years ago
but did not speak out when it happened during a time when doing so would
have possibly ended their loved one's career is unfair. We cannot, I
think, and must not levy blame on those who knew about it then but said
nothing. It was a different time. It was not so many other victims'
faults either at that time who feared exposing their secret would be
like ending their lives.
Powerful
men exert powerful fear simply look at our so called president to
understand that. Times have changed. Is it safe to come out of the
Munchkin dark? The hope is it is and it will remain safe. I fear,
though, some men's sexual voraciousness and anarchistic actions on that
unyielding appetite will change little. Some into the future will still
prey on the less powerful because they know they can. Eliza Dushku
shares an egregious experience with millions of women young and old
across the globe many of whom still cannot reveal their shame. Many
still wear the scarlet letter.
It is our right in this nation and, indeed our duty, to speak out in our time because now we can. Men of good faith and men of ethics must speak out, stand with women and say MeToo.
Will
this phenomenon that the powerful have over the powerless ever change?
Martin Luther King quoted Unitarian Minister Theodore Parker: The Arc
of the Moral Universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Let us hope
it does despite and, perhaps, because of the right wing extremist Trumpian times
in which we live.
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