Disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted of criminal sexual assault and rape in the third degree this week. He did catch a break in being found not guilty of the more serious charges of predatory sexual assault and rape in the first degree.
Weinstein’s conviction was celebrated by President Trump and many of his supporters.
“I think from the standpoint of women it was a great thing, it was a great victory and sends a very strong message,” Trump said. “The people who liked him were the Democrats.”
There is some cause to celebrate. Weinstein was a major Democratic donor who backed many liberal causes and was a close ally to the Clintons. The Jewish film mogul produced all kinds of smut and degeneracy, all while exploiting gentile actresses. His downfall unveiled the dark side of Hollywood and the scummy types who run it.
Weinstein was a scumbag, but principles are more important than people. So no one on the Right should cheer on this “great victory for women.” These convictions embolden the #MeToo Movement and the dubious accusations feminists encourage. MeToo does not aim at ending sexual abuse but obtaining power. MeToo empowers women to consider every bad date, every awkward flirt, and every rude comment as sexual assault. The movement wants to cow men and impose matriarchy on American society.
Weinstein’s conviction is a great victory — but not for Trump’s America.
Many of Weinstein’s accusers were victims of gross and aggressive behavior, but at least one seemed to be just a jilted ex-lover. Jessica Mann had a long relationship with Weinstein and never complained about it until reports broke that Weinstein was an abuser. Mann testified in court that the mogul raped her and humiliated her with “golden showers” and other vile acts. While she was supposedly enduring this abuse, she was sending dozens of texts and emails to Weinstein about how she loved spending time with him. She also told her friends, family, therapist, and life coach that she enjoyed dating Weinstein. But she testified that this was all a lie.
Mann’s testimony was key to the trial, and it amounted to the court buying her word that she happily dated the man who raped her. This testimony helping convict Weinstein sets a terrible precedent. Now any woman can claim her ex-boyfriend raped her and her word will be enough to send the accused to prison.
While Weinstein is a very unsympathetic character, so are many of his accusers. Actress Rose McGowan, a deranged spinster, was one of the first to publicly go after Weinstein. Some Trump supporters wanted to make her a heroine, despite her clear goal to topple the patriarchy and blame everyone for her career decline.
The most unsympathetic is arguably Asia Argento. Like Mann, the Italian actress claimed Weinstein raped her even though she went on to have a relationship with the movie producer. Her fellow Italians doubted her claims and she was pilloried as an opportunistic prostitute in the Italian press. After accusing Weinstein of rape, she possibly inspired her boyfriend, TV show host Anthony Bourdain, to kill himself. A few days before Bourdain took his life, the forty-something Argento was spotted making out with another man. Argento herself allegedly sexually assaulted a minor. She settled that case out of court. A true woman of virtue.
Most of the accusers are similar to Mann, McGowan, and Argento. They received boosts to their careers thanks to Weinstein, but became bitter after it didn’t translate to their expected level of success. Most of these women willingly submitted to Weinstein — it’s the bitterness that led them to cry rape in public. They knew what they were getting into when they visited Harvey in his bedroom.
It is good that they are exposing this ugly side of entertainment, but let’s not pretend these actresses lack agency. MeToo is similar to campus rape hysteria. Many co-eds say they experienced sexual assault after unfulfilling hookups or bad dates. They exploited rather conservative notions of young women as pure and wholesome girls to elevate their dubious claims. “A good girl like that would never do such a thing! The evil fratboy must’ve raped her!” We are supposed to pretend that these mentally ill actresses were also virtuous paragons before Harvey got his slimy hands on them. The implication is that women lack the ability to be responsible for themselves and can’t take ownership of their decisions.
These Victorian notions contradict the proponents’ desire for unrestrained sexuality. The modern feminist believes she can and should hook up with as many partners as possible. If one doesn’t work out well, then it must be the man’s fault — he might even be a rapist.
Annabella Sciorra did time on Weinstein’s casting couch as well as the race mixer’s drafting table.
Even if she was just taking a role, it’s difficult to have complete sympathy for her; beyond a private, interracial tryst (which is arguably equivalent to rape anyway), she was promoting behavior which is utterly destructive to White men and women - including greatly increasing their chances of being raped.
Posted by Weinstein’s Demise is No Victory on Wed, 26 Feb 2020 15:48 | #
Annabella Sciorra did time on Weinstein’s casting couch as well as the race mixer’s drafting table.
Even if she was just taking a role, it’s difficult to have complete sympathy for her; beyond a private, interracial tryst (which is arguably equivalent to rape anyway), she was promoting behavior which is utterly destructive to White men and women - including greatly increasing their chances of being raped.