All of Hollywood, and much of the country, is talking about Harvey Weinstein’s decades-long history of sexual assault. After years of ignoring rumors, and silencing women who came forward, the media and the movie industry are finally taking it seriously.
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The importance of people talking about misconduct in the workplace is being amplified after the Weinstein incident, and it's eye opening for audiences everywhere to see these things. As a society, we get to comfortable in our sects, we pass off issues like this as not our problem, when in reality, we contribute to the atmosphere that allows these things to happen. The author of this article captures just what its like to be in an imbalance in power and have to cave in to giving sexual favors in exchange for work. Especially in a tight knit community like opera, its very hard to move up in the industry as it is, so often times people feel the need to have to cave in in order to further their career. This is not and should never be the norm. Ignorance is as bad as condoning the action itself. It's time that across the board, in all industries, we send the message that not only is this morally reprehensible, its illegal and has no place in society.
I think this article does a very important thing; it holds the powerful accountable. Unlike the article titled “I’m a Coward” by Liz Meriwether, this writer places no blame on the victims of assault. Instead, he ends the article with a call to action, directed specifically and forcefully towards the people at the top. I think this is totally the right path to take. While the victims of sexual assault need to gather their strength and stand up for themselves, we should be teaching people how to not commit sexual assault instead of how to deal with sexual assault. Nothing in our culture should infer that, when you are inevitably sexually assaulted, you need to learn how to deal with it and that’s that. Our culture should not focus on addressing victim’s mental health more than the consequences you will face when and after assaulting another person. This is such a difficult and prevalent issue. Leaders and those in power can’t ignore it, for we can’t conquer it without them.
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