The Court of Public Opinion

So... now what of all of these accusations of sexual misbehavior among the powerful and elite or even the average Joe from Hollywood, Government, Professional Sports and the Military? It used to be that you were innocent until proven guilty, but something has changed. If a man or woman or if several come forward and accuse someone (usually a man) of sexual misconduct it seems they are immediately judged by the court of public opinion. I'm not defending any of these men and their behavior, but I am concerned at how quickly a career can be ruined without any due process.

In most of the cases we're currently hearing about, the accused have taken at least some ownership of their transgressions so I suppose that gives us the right to judge them without due process. But what happens if and when someone makes a false accusation and the accused denies it but its too late, we've all decided that it's probably true so lets hang him out to dry.

Have you ever found yourself in that kind of a scenario? I have. My second wife, as she decided she was pissed enough at me, filed a report with the police saying she feared for her life that I might physically hurt her. I was so apathetic that if she wanted to leave I was pretty much fine with it and I was ready for that change. It was a relationship going nowhere fast and I was only sticking around myself because of our 8 month old son. When she told me that she wasn't coming home and was staying at her aunt and uncle's place I told her fine.. I'll pack your clothes for you. You can come by and get them when you want them. We didn't have luggage or boxes to put them in so I used garbage bags. When the police showed up at my door to tell me I needed to move out of my parents duplex, (they lived on the other side) because she filed a restraining order against me and I wasn't allowed to be within 500 feet of her, they saw the garbage bags and that confirmed for them what  she told them... which was that I was going to throw out all of her clothes.

That's the short version of that story and I tell it as an example of someone lying to manipulate the system to her advantage. It happens. It will happen. And someone's career will be destroyed... at least for the short term and many will never believe that person didn't do whatever they are accused of, even if they are exonerated.

None of this is meant to excuse the behaviors of the many men who have in fact crossed certain lines that shouldn't be crossed. But I do wonder if this is just a unique moment in history where the tipping point of something so rampant requires us to take this more immediate action of shaming these men. Or is it the beginning of the end of the justice system as we know it? I certainly hope for the former.

If you haven't been watching the new Seth MacFarlane series, The Orville, then you've missed an episode that touches on this very topic of being judged by the court of public opinion. Season 1, Episode 7, Majority Rule. I highly recommend the series as each episode seems to involve some kind of social message despite the typical Seth MacFarlane humor. It's like Star Trek with a sense of humor.

UPDATE 11/17/17

I felt the need to add this updated comment here with a link to a post that touches on the very same concerns that I have as well as other similar concers and this is written much better than I write. I hope you'll take a moment to read it. You'll find it here on the Daily Beast, it's written by Erin Gloria Ryan.