Society is disappointing. On one hand you have Roy Moore who is being accused of raping minors and he continues to deny it although it's plainly obvious he is lying. On the other hand you have comedian on a USO tour who is being accused of kissing a woman during a skit, and then taking a funny photo where it looks like he groped a woman who was sleeping.
I am surely not defending Al Franken, but I'll give him a lot of leeway because he was a comedian when this happened.
Here is the picture:
However, what amazes me is how these two people reacted to these accusations.
Roy Moore is denying everything. He said, on camera, that he has no idea who the latest victim was, that he had never met her, and never heard of the restaurant that she worked at. She came forward with her year book which he not only signed, but also mentioned the very restaurant he denied ever hearing about. Roy Moore is calling this a "political witch hunt".
On the other hand you have Al Franken. Shortly after this story broke he admitted he had done this, accepted it, apologized for it, and welcomed an investigation into his actions. He said - and I am quoting here - "I am asking that an ethics investigation be undertaken, and I will gladly cooperate."
In fact, here is his full Facebook post:
Quote:
The first thing I want to do is apologize: to Leeann, to everyone else who was part of that tour, to everyone who has worked for me, to everyone I represent, and to everyone who counts on me to be an ally and supporter and champion of women. There's more I want to say, but the first and most important thing?and if it's the only thing you care to hear, that's fine?is: I'm sorry.
I respect women. I don't respect men who don't. And the fact that my own actions have given people a good reason to doubt that makes me feel ashamed.
But I want to say something else, too. Over the last few months, all of us?including and especially men who respect women?have been forced to take a good, hard look at our own actions and think (perhaps, shamefully, for the first time) about how those actions have affected women.
For instance, that picture. I don't know what was in my head when I took that picture, and it doesn't matter. There's no excuse. I look at it now and I feel disgusted with myself. It isn't funny. It's completely inappropriate. It's obvious how Leeann would feel violated by that picture. And, what's more, I can see how millions of other women would feel violated by it?women who have had similar experiences in their own lives, women who fear having those experiences, women who look up to me, women who have counted on me.
Coming from the world of comedy, I've told and written a lot of jokes that I once thought were funny but later came to realize were just plain offensive. But the intentions behind my actions aren't the point at all. It's the impact these jokes had on others that matters. And I'm sorry it's taken me so long to come to terms with that.
While I don't remember the rehearsal for the skit as Leeann does, I understand why we need to listen to and believe women?s experiences.
I am asking that an ethics investigation be undertaken, and I will gladly cooperate.
And the truth is, what people think of me in light of this is far less important than what people think of women who continue to come forward to tell their stories. They deserve to be heard, and believed. And they deserve to know that I am their ally and supporter. I have let them down and am committed to making it up to them.
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This is what I expect from an elected politician. When they do something wrong they accept it, own up to it, apologize for it, and then welcome an investigation. None of this fucking "deny, deflect" bullshit.