Stick
it to harassment
Elisa
Herrera
In
January 2001, republicans around the country
rejoiced as Bill Clinton, the infamous womanizing
democratic president, left the Oval Office,
making the position available to someone
who would "restore honor, integrity,
and decency" to the nation. Stories
of sexual harassment uncovered during the
Clinton investigation fueled a debate over
how government leaders should conduct themselves
outside of work, splitting the country in
two. On one side were conservatives disgusted
with the tales of Slick Willy's sexual shenanigans
welcoming a new era in which our representatives
would be models of morality for the country's
children. On the other side were Clinton
supporters disappointed with the President's
behavior nevertheless insisting that elected
officials should only be held accountable
for how well they serve their constituents,
not how well they handle their private affairs.
In
the few remaining days of the California
recall election, the state's voters witnessed
news reports that echoed the sexual scandals
of the 1990s as six women made serious allegations
of grabbing, groping, and other improprieties
by Republican gubernatorial candidate Arnold
Schwarzenegger. In the days following the
break of the story, several more women came
forward to accuse Schwarzenegger of sexual
harassment.
These
accusations have brought about a rehash
of the Clinton era in more ways than one.
The debate over public versus private lives
has also returned, but with a few slight
modifications. This time around, the
republicans who chastised Clinton have adopted
their foes' arguments and state that the
way politicians conduct their private lives
has no bearing on their potential to serve
as great leaders. Not to be outdone on flip-flopping
opinions, democrats have retracted their
previous statements as well and now claim
that someone who shows such obvious disrespect
towards women cannot possibly represent
the people or provide capable leadership.
Though
the numerous allegations bring to light
profound revelations regarding the current
state of gender and equality issues, politicians
avoid any opportunity to explore these serious
social problems so prevalent in today's
"advanced" civilization. Instead,
politicians favor engaging in shouting matches
over which party has more sexual harassment
accusations and which action is the most
offensive. As party loyalists attempt to
ascribe who is bad and who is worse, the
real issue at hand fades into the background.
Democratic and republican officials alike
have shown that they have very little concern
over the effects sexual harassment has on
the lives of victims. Rather, their primary
concern is over the effects sexual harassment
has on the careers of assailants. Neither
side actually cares about harassment unless
a particular case can be used as leverage
against the opposing party. Consequently,
harassment victims seeking justice are further
injured when their painful and humiliating
experiences are exploited for political
gain.
By
conducting themselves in this manner, career
politicians of any political persuasion
demonstrate their indifference to the real
concerns of the people and reveal their
true intentions to become elected at all
costs -- even if it means stepping on their
constituents along the way.
Elisa
Herrera is a graduate student of history
and can be reached at haytmayl@hotmail.com.
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