Is Twitter or Facebook the best court to provide justice?
Oct 30, 2017, 12:09 PM | Updated: 12:55 pm
(File, Associated Press)
(File, Associated Press)
Well, it appears as if the modern court of public opinion will be happening on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Ever since the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse story broke, there have been a string of accusations flying around social media. The details are salacious, and make for tantalizing clickbait. Should we also be the online judge, jury, and executioner?
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The latest bomb to drop today is about actor Kevin Spacey. He was accused of an awkward sexual encounter and outed as a gay man for a drunken night that happened 30 years ago. “Star Trek: Discovery” actor Anthony Rapp recently told his story to Buzzfeed. Rapp claims that in 1986, Spacey made a pass at him while drunk at a party. Spacey was 26 and Rapp was 14 at the time.
Spacey has now apologized in a Twitter post and has taken this opportunity to come out as a gay man.
— Kevin Spacey (@KevinSpacey) October 30, 2017
Last week, it was political author of consequence Mark Halperin. The details of his story are much more lurid. I can’t even recount them on the radio. At least 14 women have said the “Game Change” author sexually harassed them. He was fired by MSNBC.
Is this how we are going to do this now? Give an interview with a website or tweet about that creepy encounter with a famous person from years ago?
Here’s the thing that I’m confused about. What does justice look like?
Harvey Weinstein was fired from his post, and summarily banished from the Motion Picture Academy. But Bill Cosby and Woody Allen are are still members of the Academy. What about Roman Polanski? Should he be in or out? Who draws the line, and how is it drawn?
Are there any statutes of limitation? What if it was 30 years ago, like Kevin Spacey? Is that different from a prolonged pattern like Weinstein or Cosby? Is it possible for a person to evolve over the years, or is sexual aggression one of those characteristics that is fixed in stone? Is it the creep factor, the number of victims, or the size and frequency of the settlements that gets you the scarlet letter?
Please don’t get me wrong, I have no desire to defend sexual predators. I applaud the bravery of victims that have been inspired to come forward and shed light on the dark secrets they have carried with them for all these years.
But what happens to the ordinary people being harassed by non-famous abusers? Where is their vindication? Should they go beyond #MeToo and begin to tweet the names and details like we are beginning to see in Hollywood and politics?
I’m all-in for changing the culture around men in power abusing their station. I wonder if we are doing it the right way.
