Paul Elam’s thoughts on the allegations against Michael Kimmel.
William Collins’ thoughts on this piece:
”We need to adopt the same sceptical stance towards unsubstantiated #MeToo accusations against Kimmel as against anyone else. Justice does not depend upon whether you happen to agree with the accused’s opinions.
This is the reaction I was concerned about.
Sargon did a rather stunning video some time back (and I’m not actually a great fan normally) which listed a huge catalogue of male feminists who have a history of sexual harassment (or, at least, accusations – not sure which in all cases). So there may be something to be explored here – e.g., are male feminists actually more likely to be harassers?
An interesting question, but not one easily answered because of the need to filter out false accusations, which is always difficult. And it would have to be approached statistically, not on the basis of individuals.
Having said that, Paul does write – rightly –
“the proper thing to do here is to point out that the charges are not proven (and they aren’t), that Kimmel is entitled to due process and the presumption of innocence (which he is) and that despite his longstanding professional efforts to minimize the problem of false allegations, they are a very real thing (and they are). It is proper, also, to question the very foundation of the accusation’s weight; whether asking another adult to sleep with you, if it even happened, is harassment.”
