Monday, November 20, 2017

Few Will Mourn Charles Manson, But We Should Be Happy He Had a Long Life

Since I was really young Charles Manson has been America's greatest embodiment of evil.  I remember reading Helter Skelter, about Manson's orchestrated Tate and LaBianca murders.  I was probably too young, but the idea of Manson's cult was fascinating and also scary.  Now Manson has died and we are getting a rehash of the horrors of his murdering followers and his long term ability to stay in the public eye.  

Manson has been the country's boogie man for 5 decades and many were truly upset when the government reversed his death sentence because of court changes. After which there were even more angry that he was getting taken care of in prison, in conditions that led to a long life span.  While I understand that desire for revenge, I have felt that on a very personal level, the fact that he was kept alive and fairly healthy late into life is good for all of us. 

We are a country of laws and built on the concept of justice.  We have courts, lawyers and prisons that deal with those that violate the laws of the country.  But prisons were originally less about simple punishment and more about attempts are rehabilitate.  The idea was that we can set people on the right path after being in the penal system.  While that ideal might still exist in theory, we know that prison is the cost of violating the law. In some jurisdictions one can lose their life.  But while in custody of the government,  that is what prison is, we must make sure that the government treats those in prison as humans and within the values and laws of the United States.  Manson, while despicable, is a perfect canary in a coal mine for our legal system.  How we treat the worst of those in our prison systems is a good barometer for how all prisoners will be treated.  Making sure that Manson's rights are not violated makes it more likely that others, both criminals or those simply suspected of criminal behavior are treated better.  Manson's long life is a good indicator that while prison might be a hell hole in some ways, the system is not taking into its own hands that which the law wouldn't allow.  While I know that sounds naive, I am sure that there some times that guards are involved in the prison yard justice, we know that for the most part there is some protections.  

Revenge is sweet at first but grows bitter with time.  I am happy that there are signs that at least someone like Charles Manson is not simply at the mercy of a emotions of those who have power over him, but that our values stand in the breach.  It may not feel good for us, but thinking beyond this single example we should be happy.  The world will not really miss Charles Manson, we will always have his infamy as our history.  Today, let's not get angry that he lives so long, be happy that if we ever are accused of a crime, that our judicial system is still based on the ideals that our founders created.  

Friday, November 10, 2017

It Was Never About Sex

I have sat down to write this blog post so many times, and so many times what has happened is that someone else comes forward with accusations of sexual harassment or assault aimed at a famous person.  One of the things that comes out is that we now have come to the point where the accused's politics play a role.  A Washington Post story that broke yesterday found four women who said that as teens Roy Moore engaged in an inappropriate relationship with them and at one point a women who was 14 years old was molested by Moore.  For those who don't know, Moore is the former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice who twice was removed from the court for violating Supreme Court decisions and he is the current Republican Senate candidate in the special election in Alabama.  This is a difficult and disgusting story and we need to make sure that this isn't just some made up nonsense, however the story is well sourced and the push back is interesting.  Alabama state Auditor Jim Ziegler in trying to defend  Moore's apparent sexual activity with teens as young as 14 :
"Take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus.”  Seriously, this is where we are.  (Let's remember Moore attacks Islam by calling Mohammad a pedophile).  Some Republican leaders have taken to say "if the accusations are true..." While innocent until proven guilty is a value we hold true in this country, the story seems to have a great deal of support suggesting that Moore has a history that has been kept quiet in Alabama for years.  The women in the story were reluctant to go on the record and like so many others the floodgates have opened and more women are coming forward.  This is true of the various others as well, Harvey Weinstein, the movie mogul and large Democratic supporter was also accused of horrible acts of assault and intimidation and it seems every day more women come forward.  I would hate to try to list the names of people accused in just the last week, I am sure I would miss someone. 

But in all these stories, the one thing that is missing is that none of these stories is about sex.  It is about people, mostly men, using sex as a weapon to assault others, mostly women.  It is a power and control.  Rape has always been a way to claim superiority over someone.  It is used in war and in fact the have been cultures were the winning armies would rape the survivors of the battle as a way to humiliate them, and then rape the women of the conquered village.  While the perpetrator may get a sexual release from that activity described in these accusations and allegations sex requires consent.  Even when consent appears to exist, when someone is at the age of majority for example.  The power dynamic of the relationship is a factor.  That is why trying to explain away the attacks on children using an ancient relationship is just ridiculous.  It is why the Monica Lewinsky relationship with President Clinton was completely wrong.  We have to stop thinking about these things in the context of sex and start thinking about them in the context of violence.  Too often because of the fact that there is a sexual component to these stories people attempt to write it off.  The #metoo has shown that these kinds of attacks are no rare and too often people try to justify it.  Imagine if these women who have been touched, harassed, and raped were saying they were stabbed or even robbed.  Would we be so nonchalant?  Should a movie director, a politician, a priest, a rabbi, a teacher or anyone be allowed to violate the body of another person under their charge or in their constituency?  Right now there are some trying to make excuses for people who have.  That too is not a new thing.  It happens all the time and we are at a place in society where we must draw a line in the sand and stop it.  We elected a President who bragged about sexual assault, saying that he could do it because he was famous.  Alabama may elect a man who may well have assaulted a 14 year old and used the Bible to explain it away.  We are seeing the first bricks in the wall that have blocked women especially from coming forward coming down.  The entertainment industry has exploded with accusations that were open secrets and people are paying the price.  Louis CK, Kevin Spacey and of course Weinstein have lost jobs, income and may lose their place in the industry.  But we need to do more, we need to hold people accountable when rumors are bouncing around and shine a light on them.  We must not laugh it off and take it seriously.  We must give up our politics and grab onto our humanity when it comes to this kind of behavior.  This is not a women's issue, it doesn't matter if you have a wife or daughter, it is about making sure that all of us are safe in body, and that powerful people can be held accountable for their actions. 

To Alabama I say, Roy Moore has twice been taken off the court for violating the Constitution, he has used language to dehumanize LGBT community members and Muslims, he has called for the death of Americans for who they love.  If you don't want to believe he is a child molester, that is fine, but with his track record do you want to take a chance he might be? 


It is All a Conspiracy

 Sometimes an event could have a giant impact on the world we live in, but not have a similar cause.  A disgruntled man takes aim from a six...