Al Franken's Saturday Night Live era was full of jokes disparaging women

[loyalsister]

186. This duscussion should be about a culture that has permitted and rewarded sexism and misogyny

The numbers of women coming forward reveals an institutional problem. 70s SNL is a clear example. It's a problem when it is intentionally buried through threats and intimidation. Turning sexism into a joke has rewarded the behavior. Franken has listened and learned and provides an example of how people can change their minds with more information. He has handled it well. Unfortunately, this has revealed a more insidious element that has allowed the misogyny and sexism and sexual abuse to thrive. Turning this into a story about accused men is similar to the way white people sometimes turn the attention to themselves when confronted with racism. Doing so is a defense of white supremacy and in this case a system that permits sexual assault to go ignored. Imagery and dialogue have played a big role. As some of us are trying to confront the intrinsic problem the voices are being drowned out and the conversation derailed by hysterical defenses of accused men.

Most of us here agree that the way women have been harassed and abused is a serious problem.
It is also becoming clear that it has been damaging to people at in numbers we didn't realize. It is not surprising that coming to terms with it can be intimidating and spark defensiveness. And, we have an opportunity to rethink some of what has perpetuated a mindset that it is acceptable for women to be objectified and abused. Al Franken is apparently willing to take a second look at his own part. That is a huge contribution to the broader conversation that we are trying to have. From what I can tell, he knows it's not about him.