Careers ruined or at risk from accusations of sexual misconduct

[pbrower2a]

(06-30-2018, 02:35 PM)beechnut79 Wrote:

(06-28-2018, 12:36 PM)pbrower2a Wrote:

(06-28-2018, 10:11 AM)beechnut79 Wrote: What do you feel got us into the current conservative mood on sexuality? We obviously though haven't returned to the scarlet letter days, and probably never will.

We probably missed our best chance to move toward sex work legalization during those freer, more swinging times of the 70s and early 80s. But no doubt the reason it didn't become a central issue was that for most it was so easy to get it for free.

And WWI was over by the time liquor prohibition began. It was for the most part a product of the WCTU (Women's Christian Temperance Union), ironically at a time when women didn't have anywhere near the economic and political clout that they do today.

1. a large number of children born out of wedlock, often with overtones of class *welfare) and raace (biracial children born to white women). Such was a consequence of the sexual revolution.

2. AIDS. Enough said about that.' Swinging' sexuality began to get the perception of excessive risk.

3. Tales of child sexual abuse and a climate becoming increasingly hostile to such.

4. the rise of the Religious Right in the 1970s and especially the 1980s.

It might seem that the struggle of homosexuals to get marital rights would look like a big liberal win -- but much of the struggle involved appealing to conservative concerns, including child welfare and law--and-order. People who find that a loved one has been gay-bashed or threatened with such see something very wrong with gay-bashing. It's a violent act, and even for a fundamentalist Christian it means that the homosexual beaten to death can never receive the Witness of Jesus that might lead the homosexual into a 'straight' orientation.

1. Do you feel that the wave of sexual assault and harassment allegations is also a consequence of the sexual revolution, even to the point of it being considered its dark side? Because the actions are so revolting, it may not be a popular opinion at the moment, but I am disturbed by the fact that many allegations are slamming those involved before there can be any due process, which is supposed to be guaranteed in criminal cases but seem not to apply in the workplace. Also the concept of innocent until proven guilty doesn't seem to apply there either. Punish the truly guilty, yes. But why can't it be approached with open-mindedness and willingness to be flexible. After all, anyone can take any comment made by another out of context if they just happen to be in a bad mood. We seem to have become both too sensitive and too insensitive at the same time. I do, for better or worse, find it quite disturbing that today so many are being shown the door for things they many have only received counseling for in times past.

Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words... people will always have sexual fantasies. Hollywood is infamous for exploiting those. Many men would love to have Scarlett Johannsen-- a Jewish mind in a Scandinavian body sounds sexy to me.

This said, sex brings out the stupidest behavior in us all. To put it kindly, any two morons who can't do anything else can have sex, which may explain why there are so many morons. People say dumb things that come off sexist or politically incorrect. We should expect this, as we are not saints. Problems come of course with the inexcusable assault or quid pro quo.

I still think that much is being covered up. People got away with a lot because of the question of credibility.

Quote:2. The AIDS issue isn't really that much in the news anymore even though no positive cure has been found. But there are medications now available to prolong the life of a person exposed to the point that it is no longer quite the automatic death sentence that it once was. Besides, statistically we have a much greater probability of getting killed on the highways.

True, but it mattered greatly in the past. If people are surviving twenty years with AIDS instead of seven, AIDS is something to avoid getting. Having caught myself dozing off behind the wheel, I try to ensure that I am not driving at such times, or that if I must drive, I am prepared to stop and take a nap even if I am a couple of miles from my destination. We all must contemplate the seriousness of risks and the rewards for taking the risk.

Quote:3. What do believe is behind the increasing hostile approach although such acts can never be truly justified?

It used to be easier to hide, especially in the authoritarian family in which any show of dissent was seen as a grave sin. Plenty of people used to feel an entitlement to beat children severely as 'discipline'. Such 'discipline' might have enforced incest. Or, in the ultimate example of traditional authoritarianism, the legendary jus primae noctis .

Quote:4. Where does the Religious Right have that much political clout? Church attendance continue to decline throughout the denominations. If they had that much power, especially in Christian communities, wouldn't we have returned to a mindset where it is considered blasphemy to shop on Sundays?

The denominations -- fundamentalist churches are often non-denominational, and thus pastors are exempt from supervision by a bishop or other such authority. (bishop, from episcopos, literally overseer). Such gives a pastor great leeway to tell his flock exactly what to do in ways that might be heretical or at least set off warning signals in some denominations. While denominations have been weakening, fundamentalist non-denominational churches are still growing.

The fault with the low formality is that these churches cannot get the funds for lobbying state, local, and federal governments. They do not have networks -- yet -- but that would reduce the power of the clergy.

Quote:5. (My own add-on) Can we only imagine what it means to have a heart-centered, passionate, liberated mind? More accurately, whey can't we moved toward a time when this kind of approach might be treated as an asset rather than a liability? For more on this one look at the thread I started about being unkind and less caring.

I am tempted to believe that the post-industrial world will give people freedom from the drudgery of the forty-hour workweek, much as the modernization of the economy as a necessary consequence of the Crash of 1929 made necessary shorter hours and more leisure. We cannot reasonably expect to work just to built personal fortunes (economic reality requires consumption as a driver of economic activity) or to buy stuff that we can never use (basically, hoarding). The only alternative to expanded leisure is a more oppressive economy in which people work more hours solely to enrich elites -- and that will go over badly.

But with more leisure, most of us will find that we use it for enrichment of our personal lives, lest we discover how empty our souls really are. We can buy more experiences, but let us remember well: few of us ever have a peak experience in the presence of some computer, TV, or even movie screen. We will mostly need more education just to deal with the added leisure unless the time is to become alienation. Mindless travel? Does anyone expect to find much delight in traveling the whole expanse of Interstate 35 between Duluth and Laredo? (OK, I have been on it 'only' between Des Moines and San Antonio). Interstate 80 from Cleveland to Cheyenne is no delight, either.

We should be teaching our children to appreciate great literature, art, music, and drama. Those are never wastes of time. Our physical education in schools should have a focus more on individual sports and outdoor recreation instead of team sports. I will remember some hiking and camping experiences more than many other events in my life. That's more important than making some big deal in a monetary transaction. Economic gain is at most a means to an end, and status symbols have meaning only in a milieu of mass poverty. We need to make time precious even if we get oodles of it. Having nothing but time and nothing constructive to do with it? That's what prison is.