Of Hypocrites and Predators

Published: November 13, 2017

By Jim Lichtman
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Last night, 60 Minutes offered a powerful story by Aly Raisman about how the U.S. Olympic gymnast was sexually abused years ago by former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar.

One question that continually comes up during stories like this is, why now? Why didn’t you report this earlier?

Raisman’s answer, “Why are we looking at why didn’t the girls speak up? Why not look at what about the culture? What did USA Gymnastics do, and Larry Nassar do, to manipulate these girls so much that they are so afraid to speak up?”

Alabama voters will go to the polls December 12 to fill the Senate seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Some will undoubtedly vote for alleged pedophile and current GOP candidate, Roy Moore.

Last week, Leigh Corfman alleged that Moore sexually assaulted her when she was 14-years old.

As reported by The Washington Post (Nov. 9), “Neither Corfman nor any of the other women sought out The Post. While reporting a story in Alabama about supporters of Moore’s Senate campaign, a Post reporter heard that Moore allegedly had sought relationships with teenage girls. Over the ensuing three weeks, two Post reporters contacted and interviewed the four women. All were initially reluctant to speak publicly but chose to do so after multiple interviews, saying they thought it was important for people to know about their interactions with Moore. The women say they don’t know one another.”

The obvious question is why Corfman chose to bring this up a few weeks before a critical election?

“ ‘I have prayed over this,’ Corfman says… ‘All I know is that I can’t sit back and let this continue, let him continue without the mask being removed.’ ”

Moore, Alabama’s self-styled Elmer Gantry, has called the allegations “fake news” and “a desperate attempt to stop my campaign,” by political opponents.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney tweeted (Nov. 10):

“Innocent until proven guilty is for criminal convictions, not elections. I believe Leigh Corfman. Her account is too serious to ignore. Moore is unfit for office and should step aside.”

The number of allegations of sexual assault against public figures has increased to an appalling degree in the weeks following initial reports about Harvey Weinstein. The number of women accusing the Hollywood producer of sexual harassment and even rape, has now grown to a staggering eighty.

And allegations against others are coming out from behind a curtain of silence as more women and men speak out.

“In July 2016, Kevin Spacey sexually assaulted my son,” former TV anchor Heather Unruh said. “Kevin Spacey bought him drink after drink and when my son was drunk, Spacey made his move and sexually assaulted him.”

Time magazine lists 38 public figures (Nov. 10), who have had allegations of sexual misconduct lodged against them. Among them:

Former FIFA president, Sepp Blatter; writer-producer Matthew Weiner; producer-director Gary Goddard; Rolling Stone publisher-founder Jann Wenner; Democratic Minnesota State senator Dan Schoen; actors Steven Segal and Jeremy Piven; National Public Radio senior vice-president Michael Oreskes; New Republic President and publisher Hamilton Fish; CNN reporter Mark Halprin.

Comedian Louis C.K. is the latest to be accused by 5 women who spoke publicly about the comedian’s transgressions. However, C.K. is unique. He’s the only one to openly admit it.

“These stories are true … I also took advantage of the fact that I was widely admired in my and their community, which disabled them from sharing their story and brought hardship to them when they tried because people who look up to me didn’t want to hear it.

While C.K.’s admission appears sincere, it doesn’t change the fact that he behaved with full knowledge that he was wrong. That shouldn’t let him off the hook.

Meanwhile, back in Alabama, even though The National Republican Senate Committee has cut-off fundraising for Moore, many supporters aren’t buying any of the allegations.

“…as one GOP stalwart put it,” AL.com reports (Nov. 10), “[supporters won’t believe it] “unless Moore was ‘caught on video with a dead boy or a goat.’ ”

Well, we had a presidential candidate on video a few weeks before the election, bragging about assaulting women and that didn’t change enough minds.

Sadly, we are living in an age where tribalism eclipses common sense, even with multiple reports about an alleged sexual assault on a 14-year-old.

On Saturday (Nov. 11), former aide to Senator Rand Paul, Eric Dondero, tweeted:

“I would be fine with a child predator in the Senate, so long as it would keep the Democrats from stealing this seat. Child molesters are evil. Democrats are even worse.”

We’ve seen hypocrites and sexual predators before, remember Anthony Weiner? Roy Moore is, sadly, the latest incarnation.

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