But now they are coming forth - in droves; in the case of the former head of the soon-to-be-renamed Weinstein Group, that is, they are. A similar case almost came to light about a certain batty actor, simultaneously - but that has quickly died down, as there wasn't much there to begin with. It was clearly not the same thing as with Harvey... We'll get back to it in a jiffy here...
But first - the movement. Or multiple movements, really; a French journalist came up with a hashtag for it, one that reeked of rudeness, rancor and worse sentiments still: #balancetonporc which means, literally, ''denounce the pig who did that to you'' in the present case. However, it can be interpreted in other ways too; for the verb ''balance'' can translate into ''bump'' in the sense of ''off him'' indeed... It can also translate as ''dismiss'' or ''ditch'' - but you see all the possible violent connotations there. That a female version (#balancetatruie) quickly saw the day, too, makes it even worse and ironically aggravates things ever more for the feminine cause - because, let's not deny it, the vast majority of the victims are female. Abuse of this sort happened to males too, but will then be horrendous cases of pedophilia and the victims are male but children also. It is a whole other world of hurt. There are female pedophiles out there, too, but the norm are male - hence rendering the ''truie'' (sow) even more obsolete here. The chase is therefore on strictly for pigs; the pigs who molest as if there was no tomorrow (and for many of them, there isn't - not once what they've done is finally known) and there are so many more than just Harvey...
But the campaign thought of by this Frenchie lass still boggles the mind - man, what a tart.
So glad I do not have to call you a ''colleague'' at all, madame - because the cyber divide keeps us separated: I am blogger and you claim to be the better one - the bonafide journalist. And yet, I could come up with better, far more well thought-of and planned hashtag campaigns in my sleep than you obviously can... pauvre poufiasse.
Now, the new campaign that quickly erased that major faux pas and rose to replace it is much, much better: #MeToo is the perfect thing to help the victim come forth. In just a few hours, I have seen it on Facebook and Twitter - actresses that I had no idea were ever victimized (some of them of a certain age now; some have become directors and authors) and they, too, have endured abuse of this nature. #MoiAussi... #EuTambem... #Anchio... tu vois, connasse, c'est pas si difficle que ça; si simple et si dénué de méchanceté que l'on peut distinguer la victime avec aise, sans le doute pernicieux que peut amener un ton aggressif... et sauvage.
Of course, it is entirely understandable to have a certain degree of hatred and contempt in your heart, even years after the fact; the residuals of having been so dishonored, so poorly treated... It is only human. You will want not justice - but vengeance.
The evidence of being higher than your abuser comes from there: you bring forth the facts, you divulge the truth - and you let justice come, without a belligerent tone. The swift punishment of truth coming to light will suffice; you do not have to be vulgar, mean or borderline vigilantist... But it has to be something cultural with the French; like it is with New Yorkers, for instance...
The actor we like to call ''Battaflack'' was, according to one of the accusers, entirely aware of Harvey's behaviour - only allegations, officially, at this point in time... And it didn't take long for the media to dig out some similar incidents about this thespian, too: that there had been some inappropriate gestures made in his past too. The sudden scrutiny intensified when the accuser - Rose McGowan- called out our actor here on lying about not knowing about Harvey's habits. And not only did the news hounds unearth an embarrassing lapse of judgement during an interview with Hilarie Burton almost a decade ago, it even went as far as relating the thoroughly disrespectful attitude he displayed, time and again, whenever he was being interviewed by one so-called journalist (her, too) named Anne-Marie Losique. She had to come to his defense, not to appear as a victim of abuse when she is not, by admitting that she was consenting and these shenanigans (always captured by her camera crew) were consensual...We would direct you to her official website, but it appears to have been hacked. We can only give you this link at blogging time; her own little spot on Wikipedia (she is the bimbo on the right, not the one on the left) because even the article which details her defense of Ben (you've guessed his identity by now - have you not) would not load - it is from yet another reputable haven of journalism everybody knows: dailymail.co.uk (yeah; them too.)
The truth of the matter is... it is apples and oranges. Harvey's dynamics vis-à-vis all of those actresses, the context and everything about it were totally different. Ben was either being interviewed - or openly flirting. And it was mutual flirting going on! Not with Losique though; no! Fool yourselves not into buying that: the truth about it is that she is a total floozie, a bubblehead, an airhead - a genuine blonde who happened to be born a brunette. And guys like Ben recognize that upon the first glance. He would openly mock her French ancestry (presumed; all of Quebec comes out of les Filles du Roy, right?) and would instantly switch from serious actor to playboy the moment he was alone with her - even though during an interview. He would sit her on his lap, for crying out loud; did you ever see Connie Chung, Barbara Walters or Meredith Vieira sitting on anybody's lap?!? (Okay; Meredith's locked lips with some of her guests - maybe she is not the best of examples after all? Still: Meredith, with her Portuguese ancestry and years of professionalism, is light years ahead of Anne-Marie - come on!)
Losique is a wannabee Mad Onna Ciccone, founder of ''Vanessa TV'' which aims to compete with both the Playboy Channel and YouPorn... She appears almost always out of it when she herself gives out interviews; well, cannabis is set to be legalized in her country soon... She is promiscuous to the utmost - of course she was consenting!!!
As were all the victims of the Harveys of the world... alas.
That is the saddest truth of all here: they made this conspiracy of silence work, them, the victims, not their abusers. If they had not been afraid to denounce immediately, it wouldn't have been this way - and who knows how many victims would have been spared the exact same disgusting experience, over the years...? We will never know.
Pigs and Sows - they're to be found on both sides. For some of the victims may turn out to be the same - if they haven't already.
The truth always comes to the surface though - eventually. One day...
But for the record - no... It is not ''me too'' in that sense; I was spared.
Because I was well-protected, by my parents. By my own good sense, too.
In the years in which I was ''appealing'' in that certain way - I was shielded.
And I did not expose myself to such dangers either.
One who risks nothing achieves nothing...? Is that what they say? They say a lot of things that aren't up to snuff once one looks it all over with greater care - now isn't that also true.
But the truth - with a capital T - always comes to the surface. And triumphs. Believe it, those who fear still. And the abusers can dread this - let them fear, for a change...
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