#Me Too Needs Less Evidence Than You

There has been something bothering me about the new #Me_Too movement. It is not just the immediate popularity. It should however not be ignored that we seem to have a new movement every year that gets pop at the awards shows, generates ratings, and are soon forgotten (BlackLivesMatter, Diversity, LGBTQ, etc.). I am looking a bit deeper. I am looking at our ideas of justice. We need better laws and protections but instead, we settle for social gratification that offers few if any solutions. I decided to open the floor to my issues with this movement and offer some points for your individual rumination:

Scenario: I

A woman can go out with a man and "say" nothing to him when he physically touches her or makes attempts to have sex with her. The woman can later (after many years) come back and "accuse" the man of assault and the man can be fired immediately without a trial or investigation. The man can also look like a victim basher if he takes the woman to court for defamation of character and false accusation.

Scenario: II

A cop can beat or kill a black man with cameras capturing the entire situation without pause. The family of the man can "accuse" the officer of murder but the cop is not fired, placed on legal hold, or simply laid off without pay. Ultimately, the courts will get involved and only then will the officer possibly be fired, acquitted, or convicted. Most often officers are acquitted, but they will always get the benefit of the doubt, even when the proof is visual and not mere accusation.

We have a problem in our country with the Rule of Law, privilege, and public opinion. People are dying on camera and the burden of proof is blown away or given less value than a he-said-she-said accusation. Why is there a distinction? Why do the mere words of an assaulted woman carry more weight then than the visual of state-sanctioned murder?

It is not about a current movement. It is about fighting against vigilante thoughts on justice. We have many cases in the history of false sexual allegations sparking riots and murders. En masse the American white male has always been willing to kill and murder for his wife or child. Facts have always mattered little in these situations. The point is that sexual assault happens but it should be investigated and taken to trial. It should have the same legal processes as all other assaults. We should balk at the thought of a person getting fired faster from an accusation than he would face alongside a filmed assault or murder!

The situation is definably disgusting. All victims and perpetrators deserve legal and appropriate justice. That is a movement I can get behind without abrogation or doubt. Doing it right ensures

that innocent people are not victimized on either side of the problem. What say you?