Guest Commentary
By FRANK WATSON
Contributor
The “Me Too” movement appears to be gathering momentum as more and more women come forward and report long ago incidents of sexual misconduct. Currently, the most noteworthy accused is Alabama senatorial candidate and former state supreme court judge Roy Moore. Moore’s case is noteworthy because he adamantly denies all charges.
His denials didn’t stand a chance. He has been tried and convicted in the national press. Republican leaders have repeatedly asked him to step down from his campaign. Even Ivanka Trump has joined the lynch party.
If Moore fondled two young girls, I agree with Ivanka that he should occupy “a special place in hell.” As a nation, however, we shouldn’t be too hasty to condemn the accused on 30-year-old memories.
I am old enough to recall the witch hunts that resulted from supposed repressed memories during the 1980s and 1990s. Parents and childcare workers were convicted of abuse including child rape based on memories uncovered during psychological counseling.
One noteworthy example was a father in Olympia whose adult daughter “remembered” that he had sexually abused her repeatedly when she was a child. As the accusations expanded to the father’s coworkers and neighbors, the fiction became apparent. The courts began to doubt the validity of recalled repressed memories when a different father was accused of raping his daughter. The case was dismissed when the accused was found to be a virgin. The accusers actually believed their accusations.
I can personally testify that this can happen. When I was a squadron commander in the Air Force, one of my young female pilots asked me to change a squadron policy. When I refused, she told me that I only did so because she was a “girl” — her words, not mine. I became a bit angry and explained in no uncertain terms that second lieutenants did not demand policy changes by their commanders.
She left my office and proceeded directly to a lawyer and filed a sexual harassment complaint against me. The witnesses to the exchange saved my career. Their testimony, however, did not alter the lieutenant’s conviction that I would have reacted differently to a male. Unfortunately, there is a 55-year-old woman out there who has no doubt that I sexually harassed her over 30 years ago.
Two of Moore’s accusers have made serious charges which, if true, are unquestionably sexual misconduct. It is not only sleazy, it is illegal for a grown man to grope underage girls.
The other seven, however, are “Me Toos” and add nothing except volume. If the new definition of sexual misconduct includes flirting and telling a lady that she is attractive, we are creating a monster.
Please don’t misconstrue my words; sexual harassment is wrong. No one should feel pressured for sex in the workplace. Military law prohibits sexual relationships with subordinates and rightfully so.
It is against the law for teachers to date their students. Those who don’t keep their hands to themselves should be treated with contempt. Adults who touch children inappropriately should go to jail.
On the other hand, we need to be careful. Men have a right to feel comfortable too. It can be downright scary when your bosses wife hits on you. Dredging up old memories should not become a fad. If given credibility, old misunderstandings and differences of opinion can ruin good people.
The “Me Too” movement is fraught with dangers of over zealous political correctness.
Frank Watson is a retired Air Force colonel and longtime resident of Eastern Washington. He has been an independent columnist for over 18 years and has been published in the Davenport Times, the Newport Miner and the Whitman County Gazette.
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