The Latest: Television industry women support Brokaw

[light Worker]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by muriel_volestrangler (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: AP

A group of 65 women in the television industry have circulated a letter in support of NBC’s Tom Brokaw after he was accused by a former colleague of unwanted sexual advances.

The women say he has treated all of them with fairness and respect, giving them opportunities for advancement and championing successes in their careers.

Maria Shriver, Rachel Maddow, Andrea Mitchell, Kelly O’Donnell, Anne Thompson and Kristen Welker are among the women who put their names to the letter.

The women wrote that they know Brokaw “to be a man of tremendous decency and integrity.”

Brokaw denies the former colleague’s accusations...

...

Read more: https://www.apnews.com/a141f743e7244c0d8d6c56373e063d2d

[Honeycombe8]

1. Okay, THIS one is unbelievable to me.

I'm gonna need to see some proof. It's way after the "event," and way after the "Me, too" thing. They needed to come out with this when the Me, too movement was going strong. Also...an attempt at a kiss does not rise to the level of sexual harassment. If it did, I could do you a list a mile long. Men are usually the aggressors in romance in our society. If a man misreads a signal and attempts a kiss, that is not sexual harassment, IMO. If he then drops the matter or asks you about it, and esp if he apologizes for misreading what he thought was a signal.

[PoliticAverse]

2. Groping someone at work does constitute sexual harrassment...

In a series of interviews with Variety conducted over several months, Vester alleged that Brokaw physically tried to force her to kiss him on two separate occasions, groped her in a NBC conference room and showed up at her hotel room uninvited. Two friends who Vester told at the time corroborated her story with Variety, and she shared her journal entries from the time period. Brokaw, who has been married to Meredith Auld since 1962, has never before been publicly accused of sexual harassment.

From:
https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/tom-brokaw-sexual-harassment-nbc-news-correspondent-1202789627/

[Honeycombe8]

3. "Groping" is a conclusion. What exactly did he DO?

Did he put his hand on her arm? On the back of her head? What?

Like the one who said that Franken "groped" or "assaulted" her, when he had put his hand around her waist when he came in close to smile for the selfie that she requested. That's not groping or assaulting. (She did claim he gave a squeeze, when he did that.)

Trying to kiss her - not sexual harassment. He gave it a shot (if true). Big deal.

The devil is in the details. I don't believe this one.

[RandomAccess]

4. Trying to kiss IS sexual harassment,

UNLESS the woman is leaning in eagerly and expectantly --

and all the more so when the man has a position of more power. Absolutely sexual harassment.

Groping is normally understood to be physical contact with intimate body parts -- breasts, genitals, butt but might be other body parts too, I suppose, based on this definition:

informal
feel or fondle (someone) for sexual pleasure, especially against their will.
"he was accused of groping office girls"

[Honeycombe8]

6. Not to me. As I said, men are the aggressors in our society...

It is expected that often it will be the male to initiate a kiss. That is not sexual harassment. You simply say no, and move on. It's only when the guy persists against your wishes that it becomes harassment.

But you don't know the details. You don't know anything about it, it seems. But are quick to declare him guilty? Interesting.

[RandomAccess]

8. Where did I say he was guilty?

I was talking about sexual harassment in general, not BROKAW's sexual harassment. But yes, if he -- a married man, and her far more powerful colleague -- were trying to kiss her who was pulling away in a not dating or clearly flirtatious situation, yes I'd definitely call him guilty.

But I DON'T know for sure what happened, and will wait for further clarification.

Personally, I think Brokaw's an ass. Is he a misogynist perpetrator ass? Or just a regular ass?

[The Mouth]

5. The eternal conundrum...

"Innocent until proven guilty", versus the ability of an oppressed and disadvantaged party to seek and receive justice against a vastly more powerful one. If I'm not mistaken (I often am), it's been wrestled with, without perfect success, since either the code of Hammurabi or various books of the Pentateuch.

[Honeycombe8]

7. The timing is the problem.

Not when it occurred. Okay. That's often the case when the harasser is powerful enough to kill a career. But not when Cosby's accusers started coming forth some time ago. And not when the "Me, too" movement got underway.

This is suspect, to me. And not sexual harassment, because the details are lacking.

Consider the real sexual harassment. Matt Lauer raising the skirt of a subordinate to rape her. Cosby drugging and raping or sodomizing women. Charlie Rose parading around naked in front of subordinates he asks to come work with him at his house. And so on. Fast forward: Brokaw tried to kiss me. Seriously?

[WhoWoodaKnew]

9. I'm gonna be patient and not jump to conclusions on this one. Something doesn't add up.

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Locking - the AP story was posted shortly after the 8:10pm indicated in it

on Friday evening, so was about 20 hours old when this thread started on DU - outside the 12 hour limit. Please repost in General Discussion. Thanks.