Bad Behavior and Explanations

The news lately has been full of stories of  famous or at least well known men having behaved badly sexually toward women (and sometimes boys or other men)  by  actions including vulgar and unwanted solicitations, insulting inducement, harassment, intimidation, bullying, or even assault or rape.

Some religious and social conservatives have blamed this on people’s abandoning traditional notions of proper sexual behavior  - such as the disapproval of sexual activity before or outside of marriage, the condemnation of homosexuality as sinful, the particular importance of female virginity at the time of marriage, and the general view of sexual interest and behavior  as part of humanity’s lower nature  -   starting with the so-called sexual revolution of the 1960s and getting worse ever since.  To them there is a natural progression from  more liberal attitudes on sexuality   to Weinstein, Spacey, and Lauer.  Yet there is no necessary or observable connection.  It is quite possible to think that people do not need the approval of the government or a church for their sexual activities, that homosexuals are not sinners, that  virginity up to marriage is not important, and that sex is a fine thing and still disapprove of and refrain from coercing or harassing  anyone sexually. Many people do  so, while many people with strict traditional beliefs are guilty of these things.  The argument seems to say more about a historical thread of hostility to sexuality in Christianity than about anything really occurring. It calls to mind both Mencken’s definition of a puritan and the old quote about a person having been taught  that sex is the most bestial and degrading of human activities, and one must save it for one the person he loves most in the world.

Some leftist feminists have put the blame on masculinity – not some  men’s hubris, indecency, or lack of honor, but on masculinity itself. This makes even less sense than what the social conservatives are saying. There are plenty of strong, masculine men  who restrict their romantic attentions and activities to women who are receptive to them, do not assume all women fall into that category, and behave as gentlemen.  There are plenty of wimps who are harassers or worse.  (It is fair to note that it is likely  neither Al Franken nor Kevin Spacey nor Matt Lauer, to cite some prominent examples, would be seen by most people as an exemplar of masculinity.)  This argument seems to say more about a thread of neurotic man hating in leftist feminism than about anything really occurring.  It also serves to support the viewpoint of some rude stereotypes and crude jokes about leftist feminists. 

There are, however, some simple and obvious observations to help explain what has gone on.   Successful phonies are good at fooling people and often can do so for a long time. Unethical people will tend to do what they think they can get away with.  When they get  some power and authority, they will tend to think they can get away with a good deal.  Fame  does not make trash any less trashy or scum any less scummy.  People sometimes tolerate more than they should from people they fear or think can be of benefit to them. That covers a lot of it. 

Crimes and Other Things

There are crucial distinctions separating  crimes, actions creating a civil liability, and simply sleazy or disgusting behavior. It is important to resist tendencies to blur or ignore them - whether by making crimes out of non-crimes, excusing bad actions  because they fall short of being criminal, or something else.  

 Taking examples from the news,  if Harvey Weinstein raped any of the women who say he did, he is a criminal and should be prosecuted as one.  If he went against policies or mutual understandings on harassment  in his treatment of women working or wanting to work at his  movie company, he  is liable to lawsuits for doing so. In the unlikely case he did neither but only behaved  for years as a crude, overbearing,  obnoxious lecher, he is still a lowlife whose company decent people might want to shun, but not someone who should be hauled into civil or criminal court.  If Kevin Spacey attacked and  tried to sodomize a fourteen year old boy, he is a criminal and deserving of prosecution (deserving even  if that is impossible due a statute of limitations). If he harassed fellow actors on the job, he is fair game for lawsuits. If he did neither but continually hustles and propositions the legal age men he meets socially without respect to their interests or inclinations, he is still a very  unpleasant character but not someone who belongs in court. If in his thirties Roy Moore felt up a fourteen year old girl, he is a criminal pervert who should be prosecuted (should even though can’t due to a statute of limitations).  If in his thirties he only trolled malls for and  tried to date legal age teenage girls, he is a creepy guy one would not want to hang out with but not someone who should be in court.

Not every bad action is a crime or even a tort. There are many things one  should disapprove of or condemn which are not matters for the government or the  law but rather for individual judgments base on one’s sense of decency and propriety.