A smile, a question and discomfort
Disclaimer. I'm a big fan of Brie Larson. She is a terrific actress, musician, very intelligent and she showed tremendous grace when she presented Casey Affleck with his Best Actor Oscar.
That being said, I'm a bit confused by a Tweet she put out recently regarding an encounter she had with a TSA agent.
As someone pointed out in a response:
"When women tell us what makes them uncomfortable we should listen so we don’t put them in these situations. Brie, I’m sorry."
In another tweet in this thread, Ms Larson wrote:
"Second: ask questions. If you don't understand, believe in us enough to learn more. This can be challenging if our perspectives differ."
I have some questions but before I pose them, I want to offer an opinion. I personally believe that it is inappropriate for any law enforcement officer to ask for a phone number and so on, while they are on-duty. The color of authority adds pressure to the person being asked to assent to the request that makes it an unfair question.
Setting that aside, I do have a few questions I'd like to ask Ms Larson, although I'll never get the opportunity.
If there is a different reason why it was wrong for this TSA agent to ask other than the above, why was it wrong?
Do you feel that your smiling at this man encouraged him? IMHO you are not to blame for his asking for your number.
When it is appropriate to ask a woman for her number, to avoid making her feel uncomfortable?
What can we as men do, to reduce the discomfort experienced by women?
* * *
This is not some trivial thing. The trolls who are blaming her, calling her names like "snowflake" and the like are assholes. Women should feel safe to live their lives without being made to feel uncomfortable.
How a woman is dressed or appears has nothing to do with appropriate and inappropriate behavior toward her.
The accusations leveled against Harvey Weinstein regarding sexual harassment bear extra scrutiny for the same reason that the actions of Tim Murphy (soon to be a former Congressman) deserve closer examination. They stink of hypocrisy.
Tim Murphy has been a member of the House since 2003. He's been a staunch Pro-Life advocate. So it came as quite a shock when it was revealed he has insisted his mistress get an abortion.
Harvey Weinstein has been a liberal Democrat and self-professed supporter of women's rights for decades and if the New York Times story about him is accurate, he's been harassing women the entire time.
The Weinstein Company will probably do little regarding Mr. Weinstein's transgressions.
As to Mr. Murphy, there's an additional factor to examine. It appears that he is an officer currently serving in the U.S. Navy Reserve, assigned to the Walter Reed Medical Center. If that is accurate (it was hard to tell because some of the references say "serves" and other say "served"), then he should be brought up on charges of adultery.
An excerpt from the Uniform Code of Military Justice:
62. Article 134—(Adultery) a. Text of statute. See paragraph 60. b. Elements.
(1) That the accused wrongfully had sexual intercourse with a certain person;
(2) That, at the time, the accused or the other person was married to someone else; and
(3) That, under the circumstances, the conduct of the accused was to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces or was of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces.
If the Liar-In-Chief is going to insist on enforcing the laws to the strict letter, this man is worthy of at least an Article 32 investigation, if not a Special Court-Martial in this instance.
That being said, I'm a bit confused by a Tweet she put out recently regarding an encounter she had with a TSA agent.
As someone pointed out in a response:
"When women tell us what makes them uncomfortable we should listen so we don’t put them in these situations. Brie, I’m sorry."
In another tweet in this thread, Ms Larson wrote:
"Second: ask questions. If you don't understand, believe in us enough to learn more. This can be challenging if our perspectives differ."
I have some questions but before I pose them, I want to offer an opinion. I personally believe that it is inappropriate for any law enforcement officer to ask for a phone number and so on, while they are on-duty. The color of authority adds pressure to the person being asked to assent to the request that makes it an unfair question.
Setting that aside, I do have a few questions I'd like to ask Ms Larson, although I'll never get the opportunity.
If there is a different reason why it was wrong for this TSA agent to ask other than the above, why was it wrong?
Do you feel that your smiling at this man encouraged him? IMHO you are not to blame for his asking for your number.
When it is appropriate to ask a woman for her number, to avoid making her feel uncomfortable?
What can we as men do, to reduce the discomfort experienced by women?
* * *
This is not some trivial thing. The trolls who are blaming her, calling her names like "snowflake" and the like are assholes. Women should feel safe to live their lives without being made to feel uncomfortable.
How a woman is dressed or appears has nothing to do with appropriate and inappropriate behavior toward her.
The accusations leveled against Harvey Weinstein regarding sexual harassment bear extra scrutiny for the same reason that the actions of Tim Murphy (soon to be a former Congressman) deserve closer examination. They stink of hypocrisy.
Tim Murphy has been a member of the House since 2003. He's been a staunch Pro-Life advocate. So it came as quite a shock when it was revealed he has insisted his mistress get an abortion.
Harvey Weinstein has been a liberal Democrat and self-professed supporter of women's rights for decades and if the New York Times story about him is accurate, he's been harassing women the entire time.
The Weinstein Company will probably do little regarding Mr. Weinstein's transgressions.
As to Mr. Murphy, there's an additional factor to examine. It appears that he is an officer currently serving in the U.S. Navy Reserve, assigned to the Walter Reed Medical Center. If that is accurate (it was hard to tell because some of the references say "serves" and other say "served"), then he should be brought up on charges of adultery.
An excerpt from the Uniform Code of Military Justice:
62. Article 134—(Adultery) a. Text of statute. See paragraph 60. b. Elements.
(1) That the accused wrongfully had sexual intercourse with a certain person;
(2) That, at the time, the accused or the other person was married to someone else; and
(3) That, under the circumstances, the conduct of the accused was to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces or was of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces.
If the Liar-In-Chief is going to insist on enforcing the laws to the strict letter, this man is worthy of at least an Article 32 investigation, if not a Special Court-Martial in this instance.
posted by me at 3:41 PM
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