Be careful what you say… or said
You know how every day or month on the calendar is some kind of event? National Watermelon Day, National Peanut Butter Day, National Daytime Talk Show Host Day, etc. Let’s officially declare October “Harassment Accusation Month.”
In October it seemed like every other day there was a report about a Hollywood celebrity coming forward with allegations of misconduct. Sometimes the stories were about incidents that allegedly happened years ago. So is this a new trend in not leaving the past in the past?
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting victims should stay silent. What I am wondering is if this is going to turn into an implosion of accusations towards anybody who has ever done anything wrong. And in today’s hypersensitive world, you might think you’re a good person now but what if your words or actions from long ago are rehashed and thrown in your face.
Case in point: Arrested Development star David Cross was recently tossed under the bus by actor Charlyne Yi about an interaction over 10 years ago. He’s accused of being a racist by a fleeting moment that Cross says he doesn’t remember. It’s he-said-she-said and at the end of the day Cross had to apologize for what he doesn’t remember saying only to appease a supposed victim about something that might or might not have happened a decade ago.
Does this have people on edge? I think it should.
How many kids were teased when they were growing up? How many were bullied? Are those victims over it? Or will they feel it is fair game to lash out of any of their former schoolmates who have a job in the public eye.
It might sound far fetched but will we start hearing about celebrities who teased the kids with glasses, the overweight kids, the kids with disabilities – the list goes on.
I’m not condoning the mistreatment of others, nor am I telling victims to keep their mouths shut. But should there be a statute of limitations on a scandal if it happened way back when and people have long ago forgot about the offending act? Yes, it happened and someone was hurt by it but is it too much to bring it all back in an attempt to destroy someone so many years later? Why go public and name names to create a scandal? Oh yeah, sympathy and publicity.
