On Monday, embattled Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., apologized again to several women who have accused him of groping them during a press conference with reporters in Washington.
Franken was as contrite as he was careful, saying he either didn’t remember the events in question or remembered them “differently,” but apologized to the women nonetheless. The Minnesota Democrat plans to cooperate with an ethics investigation but does not plan to resign from office.
On the subject of Franken, there is much to be said. But one comment in particular the senator made on Monday stood out to me.
“If you had asked me two weeks ago would any woman come forward with an allegation like this I would have said no,” he reflected. “This has been a shock and it’s been extremely humbling.”
How many powerful men facing misconduct allegations in recent weeks feel the same way? How many remember the behavior in question, but thought nothing of it at the time?
Franken has admitted to being “ashamed” of the picture for which he posed while groping Leeann Tweeden’s breasts as she slept. That he never expected to be accused of misconduct indicates he had no lasting memory of taking the photograph, in turn indicating he didn’t believe it was a big deal. This, from a “progressive” member of Congress who has purported to be a champion of women and had some pretty harsh criticisms for anyone he felt lacked his level of zeal on the subject.
The #MeToo moment now appears to be at risk of veering in some questionable directions, but one of its long-term benefits will almost certainly be raising awareness around what constitutes proper and improper treatment of women, especially in the workplace, standards some men apparently still need to learn.
Franken seems to agree. “I’m going to try to learn from my mistakes, and in doing so, I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting, and I want to be someone who adds something to this conversation,” he said on Monday.
Why he would need to “learn” it’s inappropriate to grope a sleeping women’s breasts for a picture is somewhat puzzling, even if it was meant as a joke and even if he was not an elected official at the time.
But I suppose it’s better late than never.
