So exactly what is this \u201csexual harassment,\u201d that Herman Cain is now charged with?\u00a0 How does it differ from what is generally referred to as \u201cmaking a pass?\u201d \u00a0How does it differ from \u201csexual assault?\u201d\u00a0 And how does it differ from what has happened in almost every office on Capitol Hill? From what we know, what is actually being alleged by Cain\u2019s detractors?\u00a0 To better define the terms we need only examine a few brief episodes in the storied life of Bill Clinton.<\/p>\n
On April 25, 1978, after speaking before a group of nursing home executives in Little Rock, then-Arkansas Attorney General Clinton gained access to the hotel room of Van Buren nursing home operator Juanita Broaddrick, under the guise of wishing to discuss nursing home issues with her.\u00a0 While there, Clinton insisted on having sexual relations with Ms. Broaddrick, and when she refused he threw her onto the bed and forcibly raped her.<\/p>\n
What Clinton did to Ms. Broaddrick was far more than a mere \u201cpass,\u201d and it did not amount to \u201csexual harassment\u201d because Clinton had no control over his victim or her business.\u00a0 What he did in that particular episode comes under the heading of sexual \u201cassault.\u201d \u00a0He raped her.<\/p>\n
On May 8, 1991, while attending a yet another conference at a Little Rock hotel, then-Governor Clinton spotted a young woman, an Arkansas state employee, working at a registration table in the hotel lobby.\u00a0 Thinking that he\u2019d like to spend some private time with her, he dispatched a member of his state police security detail to invite her to his suite.\u00a0 The young woman, Paula Corbin Jones, could not imagine why the governor wished to see her, but when she entered his suite and the trooper left the two of them alone, she learned why she was there.\u00a0 Clinton unbuckled his belt, dropped his trousers, and demanded that she perform oral sex on him.<\/p>\n
That episode cannot be classified as sexual \u201cassault\u201d because he did not physically touch her and his actions far exceeded what might be considered a mere \u201cpass.\u201d\u00a0 However, since she was a state employee and Clinton was at the very top of her chain of command, the episode was clearly a case of sexual \u201charassment.\u201d\u00a0 She ultimately won an $850,000 judgment against him.<\/p>\n
On November 23, 1993, during his first year in office, a White House volunteer named Kathleen Willey made an appointment to see Clinton in the Oval Office.\u00a0 Her husband\u2019s business was failing and she wanted to ask Clinton\u2019s assistance in obtaining a full time paid position.\u00a0 During the interview, Clinton took her to a small kitchen unit off the Oval Office where he proceeded to pin her against a wall, kiss her, and fondle her breasts.<\/p>\n
Since Willey was not a government employee the episode could not be classified as sexual\u201charassment\u201d and it was far more serious than a mere \u201cpass.\u201d\u00a0 The courts would probably have classified it as a \u201csexual assault.\u201d<\/p>\n
Of course, while Herman Cain may have his presidential ambitions sidetracked for allegedly putting his hand, uninvited, on the thigh of a female companion, and while former Senator Bob Packwood (R-OR) was dismissed from the Senate for stealing an occasional kiss, uninvited, from one or two of his female aides, liberals and Democrats continue to revere Clinton as the elder statesman of their party, even though he may be the nation\u2019s most notorious serial rapist, sexual predator, and philanderer.<\/p>\n
Humans have been living together in organized societies for more than four million years, yet it still appears surprising to many that males and females of the species will, whenever the mood strike them, pursue each other for purposes of sexual gratification.\u00a0 They do not, however, seem surprised at their own interest in learning every salacious detail of the sexual peccadilloes of others, or, in the case of liberals and Democrats, participating in the \u201chigh-tech lynching\u201d of another conservative black man.<\/p>\n
A reader in Texas has responded to my recent column titled \u201cHerman Cain Must Be Destroyed.\u201d\u00a0 She suggests, \u201c\u2026the major problem is the tendency to \u2018take offense,\u2019 the offense being defined by the recipient of the \u2018offense,\u2019 without regard to the intention of the \u2018offender\u2019 or the actual harm (in dollar terms) to the recipient.\u00a0 Courts of law can\u2019t evaluate degrees of hurt in \u2018hurt feelings\u2019 or degrees of fear in \u2018intimidation.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cFor eons men have been the pursuers of women, and this gave women a position of power: to accept or reject.\u00a0 That is how the species evolved.\u00a0 Males who out-pursued others because they were faster, stronger, smarter, or more attractive passed their genes along, while the slower, weaker, dumber, and uglier ones were eliminated from the gene pool, and thus over time civilization occurred.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have always been predators\u2026 of both sexes. \u00a0It is human nature, and no amount of legislation will change this.\u00a0 What can the law do?\u00a0 Impose fines?\u00a0 Incarcerate rude people?\u00a0 How about bringing back stocks and pillories and letting the public exact retribution by pelting harassers, taggers, bratty kids, and disrespectful folks of all sorts with rotten eggs or tomatoes?<\/p>\n
\u201cEven assuming that Cain \u2018harassed\u2019 these women, when does obnoxious behavior become reason to disqualify an otherwise competent person from holding public office?\u00a0 Well\u2026 that depends, doesn\u2019t it, on whether the guy is going to promote OUR agenda or THEIRS?!!\u201d<\/p>\n
She concludes, \u201cHerman is what we need.\u00a0 A real man, a success, a role model for minority kids and kids from unfortunate circumstances, a true, native-born and raised American.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also has a bit of advice for the victims of Cain\u2019s alleged harassment.\u00a0 She says, \u201cBottom line: You\u2019re a BIG GIRL.\u00a0 Deal with it.\u00a0 If you can\u2019t stand the dog-eat-dog competitiveness of the corporate world, start your own business, marry a guy who will take care of you, get a Sugar Daddy, or just end it all.\u00a0 Don\u2019t expect the world to change to suit you.\u201d<\/p>\n
What she suggests is that every man and woman on planet Earth does things to make themselves more attractive to the opposite sex.\u00a0 \u00a0Some are born with natural beauty, while others of us are not so fortunate; we must resort to artificial means to enhance our attractiveness.\u00a0 Men, as well as women, spend huge sums of money on hairdressers, cosmetics, cosmetic surgery, health club memberships, clothing, etc\u2026 all for the purpose of enlarging the number of potential mates.\u00a0 Women, especially, use cosmetics and \u201cshow a little skin\u201d in this never-ending game.<\/p>\n
So should we be surprised or shocked when our efforts actually bear fruit?\u00a0 And if we should happen to attract the attention of some that we have no interest in, it\u2019s up to us to deal with it as best we can.\u00a0 Girls learn at an early age that they are in control of the \u201cmating dance.\u201d\u00a0 The test for young men is to learn how best to handle rejection\u2026 the kind of rejection we feel when we finally work up the courage to ask a girl to dance, only to be rejected with a disdainful, \u201cNo, thank you,\u201d and having to walk away amidst the giggles of her girlfriends\u2026 our tails tucked between our legs.<\/p>\n
In such instances, it has never occurred to me to engage a lawyer to sue for emotional distress.<\/p>\n
How many \u201cpasses\u201d or sexual \u201covertures\u201d are made in any given day\u2026 some by men, and some by women?\u00a0 In a nation of 320 million people, would we be safe in assuming that, on any given day, at least one person in ten is either the target of or the originator of some form of sexual overture\u2026 from a mild flirtation to a Bill Clinton style \u201cassault?\u201d\u00a0 The point is, it is a common occurrence in everyday life and it should not be treated as an Earth-shaking event.<\/p>\n
What is so terribly unfortunate about the Herman Cain case is that, to date, only two of the four women in question have had the courage to come forth and state their charges publicly.\u00a0 The others prefer to remain anonymous and continue to hide behind their attorneys.\u00a0 Cain contends that the incidents of harassment alleged by former employees at the National Restaurant Association were investigated by in-house counsel and human resources professionals and were found to be without merit.\u00a0 But were they?<\/p>\n
Most of us could go on with our lives, unimpeded, if we never knew another detail of the charges against Cain.\u00a0 However, if the mainstream media insist that he must be disqualified from seeking the presidency if, in fact, he did place his hand on a female companion\u2019s thigh some 14 years ago, then, by all means, let us have all the lurid details so that we can compare his alleged transgressions with our own.<\/p>\n
In my own experience, I confess to having known some of the brightest, most beautiful, most fascinating women in the world.\u00a0 They have all been such exceptional beings that I feel totally humbled knowing that they took the time to spend a few hours, a few days, or a few years with the likes of me.\u00a0 But if someone were to ask me to describe, in each case, which of us initiated the relationship, I honestly couldn\u2019t say.\u00a0 It just happened that way; it was a natural thing.<\/p>\n
Yes, it is true.\u00a0 When it comes to sexual relations and any other kind of male-female interaction, men are from Mars and women are from Venus\u2026 and we should all stop acting as if we\u2019ve just discovered that the Earth is round every time we hear of a sexual confrontation between a man and a woman.\u00a0 Go Herman!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So exactly what is this \u201csexual harassment,\u201d that Herman Cain is now charged with?\u00a0 How does it differ from what is generally referred to as \u201cmaking a pass?\u201d \u00a0How does it differ from \u201csexual assault?\u201d\u00a0 And how does it differ … Continue reading