Neil Degrasse Tyson - Sexual Misconduct Allegations

Oh Jesus no no no. Not him!

 

I think #metoo has been weaponized. Prior to future elections, there'd be quite a lot of such coming out's.
Nobody would know who to believe, and then they'd have to act (vote in elections) based on the relevance/irrelevance of the stories to the job being elected for.

I hear that the senator who claimed to be the Giant of the Senate, is planning a rerun in 2020.

Eventually when the nation becomes too calloused about such things as power-harassements, it won't be good for social interactions.

 

Yes, the weaponizing of any powerful movement is inevitable. But even with the messiness of metoo it is still valuable I think. The social stigma of sharing an experience of harassment has reduced only because of this movement, and men are also finally feeling the social pressure and stigma that women alone had to bear so far.

 

An achiever=a powerful man.

Rihana,

I am not fully conversant with the said case. However, my general view is as under:

Many #MeToo claims may be true or false. Most of them do not have any proof, does that mean they are false? How can a creepy hand movement or a grab, a sexual innuendo or a sudden hug/kiss be proved? It is always his word against hers. The world is still by men and for men. When a trusted male, a superior who has a say in her career crosses the fine lines, the shocked woman has many things to process, at once, before reacting. Unless seasoned, one cannot turn around and slap or make an issue of it then and there. Also, we need to examine why only a few men are targeted by the #MeToo movement and not all.

Prior to an important event like an election or a promotion if the issue is raised, one may doubt the veracity of the claim, otherwise, I think we should view the case pragmatically and give the benefit of doubt to both the man and the woman and wait until the court verdict is out. It is pointless to waste our precious time passionately supporting one against the other with limited data.

You may question, then why I posted a thread on #MeToo? It was a response to the posts by some men misusing the social media to abuse, trivialize and ridicule an important issue plaguing women.

Most creepy men are emboldened by the social support. They are smarter and have a quick and convincing alibi so they escape easily and their victims feel helpless. For example, as we all know most doctors are men and when ill, women have to go them. There are a good number of male gynecs too and their patients have no issues with them. But there are a few creepy ones, who misuse the patient's trust and when accused, they have a strong professional alibi to fall back upon. The flirty eye contact or a caressing in the name of checking and so on, differentiates one from the other AND there can be no proof!

The best thing about #MeToo is that it has emboldened a few women, brought in a lot of awareness. It has removed shame associated with being a victim, as men are becoming aware and it may reduce their entitlement mentality and it will definitely improve safety at workplaces.

May justice prevail.

 

There are rarely witnesses to sexual misconduct. It's almost always a he-said-she-said situation. In the past, men received the benefit of the doubt. Victims had to prove their case in court, were subjected to often dehumanizing cross-examination and their sexual history was exposed. Since the #MeToo movement, the accused is publicly called upon to prove his innocence and his sexual past is raked up and discussed.

IMHO, both situations are distasteful. When accused of a crime, the accused is entitled to due process. Trial by media should not be a thing.

What hasn't changed is the human desire to gossip and opine. We used to do this face-to-face. Today we do it electronically to a much wider audience. Over the years, innocent people have often been maligned, the guilty have often been talked about. All that has changed is the size of the audience.

Discussing sexual crimes publicly instead of in hushed whispers is a good thing. It results in victims feeling less isolated and perpetrators being exposed.

In the future, I hope we teach young men to behave appropriately at all times and we empower young women to say "No" loudly and publicly to inappropriate behavior on the spot. Trying to figure out who said/did what to whom years after the fact is dang near impossible.

Neil Degrasse Tyson's defence on Facebook sounds credible enough. But how could it not? He is an erudite and well-spoken man with access to public relations and media management teams.

Short answer to your question is I don't know whether or not he's guilty. I wouldn't be surprised either way.

And now a fourth accuser has gone public ...

 

We all have a group of close chat friends. These kinds of issues get mentioned in the group. Girls know that some men think they are god's gift to women, and often girls themselves had made men think that they ought to have less self-doubts on the matter (of being god's gift to women). And on top of all that, there are games to be played in order to pair up with a suitable one. Messy things tend to happen.... even in the lives of the regular sort of specimens; more so to attractive, intelligent men. NDT is one of those. If I am in the jury box, and I had heard what we have so far, I couldn't convict. Even though I might think:

Overall, very few men do not need the Man's Prayer. Which goes...

I'm a Man, but
I can change.
If I have to...
I guess.​