Harvey Weinstein’s conviction as a rapist in New York should serve as a really nice reminder that the #MeToo movement was about bringing down powerful men who, under the weight of substantial evidence and a reckoning within Hollywood and the media, finally got what was coming.
A couple of years after the initial New York Times report exposing Weinstein, though, the social justice movement has attempted, with much success, at co-opting it.
Now, every claim of sexual harassment or assault, corroborated or not, is considered a #MeToo milestone.
#MeToo was created for Weinstein (who from the start admitted to wrongdoing), former Sen. Al Franken (who from the start admitted to wrongdoing), and journalist Mark Halperin (who from the start admitted to wrongdoing). But with a sleight of hand and a helpful push from the media, almost everything is now considered a case of #MeToo.
“Believe all women” was the Hillary Clinton doctrine (except the ones who accused her husband).
But as described in my new book, Privileged Victims: How America’s Culture Fascists Hijacked the Country and Elevated Its Worst People, that standard has wreaked a lot of havoc on the lives of men who may very well be innocent.
College-aged men are facing this problem across the country on campuses where simple regret is now synonymous with sexual misconduct.
Countless male students have had their reputations called into question and ruined by ridiculous claims of sexual assault and harassment, all of which are now, according to the social justice mob, the same thing as the Weinstein-style #MeToo accusations.
Weinstein faced a mountain of evidence, including audio recordings, that corroborated his accusers’ claims. He is what #MeToo was created for.
