Creating a more inclusive image of sexual misconduct

Ron Upshaw with the Ron and Don Show wrote a column Thursday about why he felt sexual misconduct of so many men is often ignored. It’s thought provoking. But I found it interesting that the feedback below the story didn’t seem to address the column, rather, the photo accompanying it.

RELATED: Why sexual misconduct is too often ignored

I have to admit something. I made the image. When columns like Ron’s come to us at MyNorthwest, we find photos, make images, post them, etc. In this case, I slapped together a collection of men who have been accused of some form of sexual misconduct. There was a method to picking the photos — they were the most easily available on our Associated Press feed. That method appears to have been unfair.

Some commenters felt that Senator Al Franken should have been included, or Representative John Conyers. Some said that the photo gave Democratic offenders a pass and was clearly biased. One person was frustrated that Bill Clinton was neglected among the more recent crowd of accused powerful men. And some commenters objected to President Donald Trump’s inclusion, arguing there are no credible allegations. Really? Have you gone through all of them? Because there are a lot. Like, decades worth of allegations. Even our own Miss Washington (2013) has come forth with a story about Trump’s alleged inappropriate behavior.

I digress.

To be fair, I made a new compilation of men facing allegations of sexual misconduct.

Now, my graphic design skills are quite rudimentary, so this isn’t perfect. The rows don’t line up exactly, and the bottom row had to be slightly larger, cutting into the three Bills — O’Reilly, Cosby, and Clinton (see what I did there). I tried to have a decent ratio of Hollywood royalty, to Conservatives, and Liberal elites. There’s a celebrity chef thrown in, too. And a couple artists for good measure. I couldn’t find any photos of Reporter Glenn Thrush or former DC Comics Editor Eddie Berganza. Sorry. The space was getting quite crowded anyway. And let’s be honest, there are a lot more accused guys out there, but eventually, as I was putting this image together, it started getting really late …

I hope that clears things up. Maybe now folks can leave such distractions behind and get on to more productive discourse — like how the issue at hand is much larger than any one person’s corner; that it’s far more serious than scoring petty points for any political team.

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