Politics

It's time to get real serious and honest about sexual assault. Ever since Rose McGowan accused Harvey Weinstein of sexual abuse or rape, almost everyday since that time there seems to be one story after another about some notable male person being charged with sexual misconduct; Roger Ailes, judge Roy Moore of Alabama, former president George H.W. Bush, Comedian C.K. Louis, Minnesota Senator Al Franken, and the latest, co-anchor Charlie Rose of CBS This Morning and Director Oliver Stone. The fact is, this behavior should not surprise many American because it is nothing new. Hollywood is certainly not H-o-l-y-wood, and who can forget all the salacious content during the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearing before the all-male Senate Judiciary Committee to become the next Supreme Court Justice. White men forcibly raped their Black female slaves with impunity and does not the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence attest that . . .ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL? This was no accident but intentional and women were not given the right to vote ("suffrage") until 1920, half a century after freed slaves were allowed to exercise the franchise.

When former president Bill Clinton appeared on the Oprah show and she asked him about why he had sex with Monica Lewinsky. At first he paused, and then after pondering for a few moments, said quite frankly, "I did it because I could." This is the crux or focal point of White male power that translates into privilege because for the most simple of reasons, you do it because you can. Think about it for a minute, who controls all the institutions of power in America? If any woman is in a position of power in this country, a more powerful man, whether a husband, father, or a group of White men exercise control over all important economic, religious, legal, military, political or other decision-making systems that control the allocation of resources and the valuation of such in society. While due to the current situation and all the attention a few individuals have been publicly exposed and shamed, it is prudent that a few of them will receive some kind of legal sanction or punishment, but it won't really change anything from a macro level because women are not valued the same as White men; earning roughly $0.72 to each dollar that a male is paid for the same type of work. Like any scandal, this too will blow over and people will forget about it when the next mass shooting or terrorist attack happens as the major news networks bombards the airwaves and social media with unrelenting, repetitive and  continuous round the clock coverage.

Robert Randle
776 Commerce St Apt 701
Tacoma, WA 98402
November 21, 2017
[email protected]