|
Herman Cain valued his sexual gratification more than the careers, future, lives of the women he harassed. When he got the urge he gratified it, (or attempted to), with no thought to the women he used.
When he thought about running for the Presidency, his arrogance and selfish behavior continued. He had no thought to the allegations coming out: no concern for his wife or for the women he harassed.
He counts on our community to force the women into silence. And we do not disappoint.
The accusers are denounced. Their motives are relentlessly questioned. If they don't come out, it is because they lied. If they do come out it is because they want attention or money. Their characters, appearances, lifestyles are denigrated. Every syllable of their statements are dissected, nitpicked, ridiculed, dismissed. Every reaction they had during and immediately after the harassment are minimized and questioned. They are called liars and whores.
His supporters hate those women. There are no boundaries to their assaults. They encourage silence. But, those reactions are not limited to his supporters. We are all encouraging silence.
And Cain's changing stories, dismissals, refusals to answer questions, history of numerous allegations are ignored, glossed over, excused. He goes on talk shows and humiliates the victims, laughing about sexual harassment.
And the crowd laughs with him--the crowd of independents and democrats and republicans laugh while giving him record contributions.
Cain is getting a societal bail-out as we continue to force women into silence and perpetuate the value of sexual gratification over the lives of our women.
|