I usually avoid talking politics, particularly online. There are plenty of blogs that go there, I see no reason to add my voice when I don’t know what I’m talking about. And from what I see, people are rarely able to change each other’s minds in this ongoing, often nasty debate.
Having said that, I’m going to go ahead and talk politics. I’m sure you’ve heard the sexual harassment allegations against Arnold Schwarzenegger. I’ve been waiting for a story about it; I read the Premiere article a couple of years ago with disgust and was baffled that nobody was talking about it now. Then the LA Times article hit. I guess they just needed time to get their sources lined up, as well they should. It’s incendiary stuff.
I keep reading conservatives complaining that liberals were all for keeping Clinton’s sexual peccadilloes separate from his policies but now we’re hypocrites for claiming that Arnold’s actions should make a difference. It’s a legitimate criticism, at least on the surface. But here’s the thing: What Clinton did was stupid and more than a little sleazy, but in every report I’ve ever read, it was always consensual. He had affairs, one night stands, assignations but he always waited for a response from the woman. All the accounts I’ve ever read – in the LA Times and Premiere – show Schwarzenegger as a predator, an aggressor, someone who gets off on the power he wields. That’s scary. That’s one step away from rape. I saw Arnold Schwarzenegger once, standing outside Barney’s New York with his entourage. Most movie stars are diminished in real life, just normal size. Not this man. He’s big. Dominating. If you were a woman alone in a bungalow bathroom with him, if he shoved you against the wall, ignoring your protests, how would you feel?
Yeah. It’s different.
Posted by Tamar at October 7, 2003 10:56 AM