Gregory K. Moffatt, Ph.D.
“How
do you know she’s a witch?”
“She
looks like one.”
This
comedic interchange from the classic movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail is
supposed to be satire, but these days, I’m not so sure.
Recently, a sponsor boycott ended the TV program of political commentator Bill
O’Reilly, the FOX channel’s most successful show. O’Reilly has been accused of
sexual harassment and this accusation was under investigation by his network
when the boycott was launched. Dollars talk and his show was cancelled. It
frightens me that a person’s career can be ended without due process.
In the 1950s, actors, musicians, directors, and others were blackballed in the
entertainment industry because of accusations – not proof – that they were
communists. Some were indeed members of the communist party. Some were not.
Others had to hide their sexual orientation, relationships, and children born
out of wedlock because of the very real fear that exposure of these secrets
might end their careers.
In these United States, we are supposedly free from persecution based on belief
systems. We are also protected by the Constitution that presumes our innocence
until guilt is proven. We don’t throw witches in ponds or burn them at the
stake because they look like witches. But O’Reilly has in effect been burned at
the stake without due process.
Before the lawyers reading this get too worked up, I understand that our
democratic republic guarantees the right to due process for criminal acts – not
civil opinion. But what if O’Reilly didn’t sexually harass anyone? Ooops.
His accuser stated that her “mission was to bring down Bill O’Reilly.” With
help from the court of public opinion, he was tried, convicted, and sentenced.
How do you know he’s a sexual harasser? Because he looks like one. That is a
precarious razor’s edge on which our lives also balance.
When I was in grammar school, classmates hurt my feelings on occasion. My
mother used to tell me to ignore it. That was good advice. But it seems
nowadays many of us aren’t content with ignoring people we don’t like. We have
to take it another step and ensure that we end their careers – we need to
“bring them down.” It is sort of the equivalent of kids on the playground not
being satisfied ignoring people they don’t like, but instead feeling the need
to make sure none of the other kids play with them.
This reminds me of gay bashing, a phrase that doesn’t have much meaning
anymore, but it used to be common. Groups of individuals were so troubled by
homosexual behavior that they weren’t content to voice their opposition. They
felt the need to go out and find homosexuals and beat them up. That’ll show
‘em.
What happened to O’Reilly and others is akin to gay bashing. Let’s go find
people that offend us and show ‘em we won’t tolerate their kind. That may not
seem like a big deal to you if you aren’t gay – or if you aren’t Bill O’Reilly.
I’m not an apologist for Bill O’Reilly or sexual harassment and I’m not
supporting or condemning any specific lifestyle. I’m simply noting that if a
person’s life can be destroyed because of a vigilante mentality, no one is
safe.
Once we open the door that allows the public to deliberately take people down
simply because they disagree with them then no one is safe. A philosophy of
“Don’t offend me” and “Don’t say anything I don’t agree with” is a very tenuous
one.
O’Reilly may recover. He reportedly will get paid $25 million even though he
isn’t working. But he lost his show. If he is like many of us, he works at his
job because he likes it. He doesn’t want to stay home.
In my opinion, there is a more civilized way to deal with actors and musicians
you don’t like. Don’t watch their shows and don’t buy their stuff. Like my mom
told my sisters and me, if you don’t like what people say or do, go somewhere
else and ignore it.