#MeToo was good while it lasted: From outing abusers to political bickering, the movement has run its course
With Harvey Weinstein being convicted of sexual assault and a rift in the #MeToo movement beginning, its future is in question. Has #MeToo run its course with partisan politics bringing it down?
For over two years, the Me Too Movement has been a topic of discussion in one way or another. Ever since the accusations towards Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein came to light, it was in the public discourse any time an accusation of sexual misconduct came up. There was widespread speculation of how the entertainment industry would need to change going forward, and it seemed there were new accusations about public figures coming out every single week. It wasn’t purely women who had allegedly been victims either, with Terry Crews and James Van Der Beek openly talking about past experiences with sexual misconduct against them.
However, as time went on, the movement’s purpose seemed to shift. As it began, it was anticipated that it would be a force for good, and young women and men who suffer at the hands of perverts would be more willing to come forward. This way the perpetrators would face justice. As time went on, it seemed more and more like it was becoming a modern version of the Salem Witch Trials. When Amber Heard accused Johnny Depp of sexual assault, there was a ‘listen and believe’ approach to the accusations. Later on, the tables were turned when it emerged Heard may have faked her evidence, with witnesses refuting her claims and even audio tapes where she appears to admit to being abusive herself. Then there was the Brett Kavanaugh case, with the accusations levied against the now-Supreme Court justice ranging from doubtful to downright absurd.
Situations showed that #MeToo was moving from being an encouragement of justice to a cudgel to be wielded against people for a show of social power. Comedian Aziz Ansari is one such example, where a consensual sexual act that was embarrassing for both parties was twisted into something more sinister to simply try and ruin his career. Alan Dershowitz was targeted for a case that had long been disproven as well. Situations like this seemed to encourage unvetted accusations as opposed to a ‘trust but verify’ approach. Presidential candidate Joe Biden outright stated that women “need to be believed” in these situations. It goes without saying that these are some unhealthy attitudes in a movement that wants to be considered a positive one.
With that said, many individuals did get their just desserts. As I mentioned earlier, Harvey Weinstein is now incarcerated. Once one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, he has been brought low by his inability to keep it in his pants. It’s quite the win and one would assume that his victims like prominent MeToo figure and actress Rose McGowan were happy to see him fall for what he did.
Even with that victory, other defeats can come swiftly. Another prominent figure within MeToo is actress Alyssa Milano, who was Rose McGowan’s co-star on the show ‘Charmed’. Milano is a rather open Democrat, and was very prominent in propping up the unverified accusations of Christine Blasey-Ford during the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. She even appeared at many of the hearings staring a proverbial hole through Kavanaugh in what seemed to be pure rage. All of this effort would be for naught given Kavanaugh’s appointment. However, when Joe Biden was accused of similar conduct, Milano suddenly seems to be a huge fan of due process when she wasn’t before. This started a feud between Milano and McGowan, with McGowan calling Milano a “fraud” over her sudden change of heart on how the law should work. A MeToo legal group even turned down Biden’s accuser for legal funding, showing even more blatant partisanship.
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Culturally speaking, the effect that MeToo could have had is almost exactly the opposite of what it should have had. Exposing sexual predators is never a bad thing. Any human being can identify with that sentiment. There’s nothing partisan about it. Humans want scumbags to suffer for their crimes. Taking something so simple as exposing sexual predators and making it a “smash patriarchy and/or Republicans” movement is the definition of hijacking it. It takes something that could have been pure in its intentions and instead makes it another tool of the cancer known as Cancel Culture.
Whether you agree with Rose McGowan or not when it comes to most issues, at the very least she is consistent. If you’re going to take someone like Brett Kavanaugh to task over accusations and try him in the court of public opinion, why should anyone else be different? What makes Joe Biden so special? In the eyes of Alyssa Milano, it’s the ‘D’ next to his name any time he appears on television. It shouldn’t matter if it’s a man or a woman. It shouldn’t matter if it’s a Democrat or a Republican. What should matter is justice. What people like Milano want is Social Justice in the worst sense, which is a perversion that is meant to be a cudgel against political targets as opposed to a means of punishing those who actually harm others.
On top of all that drama, the biggest villain of the whole situation that was in an actual trial is behind bars. Justice has been served, and Harvey Weinstein will pay for his crimes. His conviction shows that anyone can be laid low by justice when the victims of sexual assault are willing to come forward and help law enforcement build a case. With the proverbial dragon slain, what else is there for the movement? Is there anything? It may be too early to tell, but there don’t seem to be many credible cases out there that haven’t already been decided. Without them, the movement seems aimless.
From the outside looking in, it seems that MeToo has indeed run its course. If all they are going to do is choose political enemies, the movement has no worth outside of being an unofficial arm of the DNC. If MeToo champions more bad faith accusations or continues down the path of ‘listen and believe’, then it becomes untenable to the common man. No one likes being lied about, after all. Beyond that, if the biggest figures within it cannot stay consistent, they’re going to eat each other and the public feud will tear them apart.
At this point, it would be wise for folks to simply encourage actual victims to come forward, knowing that the prayers of the public are with them going forward. Anything beyond that has been unwanted garbage that took something that could have made a cultural difference into a bad joke.
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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
