I knew hypermoralistic sexual harassment hysteria would have gotten completely out of hand once this sort of vain. attention-grabbing, applause-seeking, "new-man" op-ed began springing up in major newspapers. It's written by one Ari Wilkenfeld, a partner at the "female majority-owned" law firm that represented the woman who initially complained to NBC about Matt Lauer's wretched behavior. Good for her, and good riddance to Lauer. As for Mr. Wilkenfeld, he should have his preening ego checked for acute elephantiasis.
The piece is is titled "All men should be facing the mirror on sexual harassment," which is a prima facie absurdity. All men should no more answer for sexual harassment than all women should answer for daycare child neglect. But Wilkenfeld, hoping for mass approval of his exquisite sensitivity, ventures that "For us men, looking at the disease [of sexual harassment] can be hard, because it is us." All of us. Every last one of us, even the meek, utterly decent men who would never, for even a moment, ponder the degradation or physical harassment of women.
Wilkenfeld goes on to observe that "First, we [men] need to recognize male privilege in all its forms and be cognizant of how it benefits men in every aspect of our lives." That, of course, holds true outside of brutish behavior; it has nothing sui generis to do with the power structure of workplaces. Wilkenfeld then proceeds with another wild, gross generalization: "Our misogynistic culture has helped every man, regardless of his station, get to where he is today." Every last one. "Second," he writes, "men can no longer act as disinterested bystanders." Again, all men do this, we presume? "Third, we need to have honest conversations and take responsibility for our actions." Now who the hell would take issue with that? (excepting Republicans).
"Last," notes Wilkenfeld with a schoolboyish fervor for apple-polishing, "men and women need to be able to discuss where the line is…. I must always reevaluate and check in with [my women partners] to be sure. The onus should not be on my female colleagues to tell me when I’ve crossed the line or even when I’m approaching it. The onus should be on me — and all men — to know what’s appropriate and what’s not. And if you’re in doubt — don’t say it." Then I'll say it. Wilkenfeld, you must be a world-class halfwit and full-blooded sycophant if you don't already know what's rhetorically acceptable and must clear your language with others. You're an embarrassment to manhood.
Before someone jumps on me for being a sexist Neanderthal, I should disclose that I find women, by and large, to be the superior sex, and, by and large, I am mortified by the behavior of many or perhaps most men; their USA! USA! chants at Trump rallies, their chest-painting and howling at football games, their proclivity to find stimulation in a NASCAR race but be altogether bored by literature, philosophy, higher politics — virtually any intellectual exercise. Wilkenfeld may be an embarrassment to manhood, but I'm embarrassed by what passes for manhood.
At any rate, I quite expected the look-at-me, aren't-you-proud-of-me? testimonies and self-serving groveling and shallow Sunday School-moralizing such as Wilkenfeld's to find their way into the op-ed section of major newspapers. They are now upon us, which is Step Two of the harassment hysteria, which — looking at the upside — suggests that Step Three isn't far behind: a calm, rational, genuine discussion of male power and women's many disadvantages.
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Postscript: A woman reader emailed to object to my belief that women are superior. Just to clarify for others, this was my emailed reply: "But in some ways they are objectively superior, for certain purposes. Feminists often point out, for instance, that in managerial positions (and politics) women tend to be cooperative rather than aggressive, hence more gets done. Sociologists back this up. Women tend to take greater interest in their children's education. Again, studies back this up. One could go on. In other ways men are superior (obviously jobs that require strength, and in some cases, warfare). All in all, though, women's unique qualities are better suited to humankind's evolution. These days it's brains over brawn. And the psycho-sociological research on women's gifts is overwhelming."