Today’s homily got its inspiration from an article reader Linda Calhoun sent me a few days ago. It’s called ‘1 in 4 men don’t think exposing themselves constitutes sexual harassment, survey finds‘. This absolutely blew me away. There are still a large number of tweets and other media about the topic of men (because it’s usually men) who are finally being exposed as predators in the media. There’s so much else going on it’s not front and centre right now, but it’s not going back into the shadows. Because of this, the idea that so many men (and women!) still think this way is shocking to me.

I knew anecdotally from discussions on other websites that there were still plenty of otherwise intelligent men who had some pretty appalling attitudes when it came to sexual harassment. Still though, I thought that it would be universally accepted that getting your dick out without it being obvious the woman wanted you to, isn’t on!

The survey of 1,000 USians began with the question, “What do you think counts as sexual harassment.” The instructions were to select all the examples that applied. In a bending-over-backwards attempt to be fair, I would say that the question is badly worded. “Harassment” is ongoing behaviour, and all the examples were written as if they were one-offs. However, they were talking about harassment, so the implication should be understood by all but the most pedantic.

Further, as the article points out, “Merriam-Webster defines sexual harassment as ‘uninvited and unwelcome verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature especially by a person in authority toward a subordinate (such as an employee or student).'”

The article notes:

The survey found that 91 percent of women and 83 percent of men thought “being forced to do something sexual” fit the bill.

If that doesn’t count as sexual harassment, what does? Who are the 17 percent of men and 9 percent of women who don’t agree?

Men were even less likely to characterize behaviors that didn’t involve physical touch as sexual harassment. Twenty-four percent thought flashing someone doesn’t count and 30 percent thought making sexual comments about someone’s body isn’t harassment.

You can see the full results of the survey here, and they make interesting reading. Here’s a graphic from the survey to whet your appetite:

Definitions of sexual harassment.

(Click graphic to go to source.)

I find the big gap between men and women in these is concerning. Also, the fact that so many things that are clearly a form of sexual harassment, abuse, or violence aren’t considered that by so many. I would have selected every one of the above. I don’t think that’s unreasonable. Why should anyone have to put up with unwanted attention from anyone?

 

Political Tweets

Well said.
(Via Ann German.)

 

This is what the GOP thinks of the people who vote for them.
(Via Ann German.)

 

When the news of credible allegations of paedophilia against Roy Moore broke, his Democratic opponent Doug Jones soon went ahead of him in the polls. It seems Alabama has got used to the idea of a pervert for senator, because the polls are neck and neck again.
(Via Ann German.)

 

Just sayin’.
(Via Ann German.)

 

Pre-Mueller Time Tweets

We need a new category folks!

Seem this is another of those “open secrets.”
(Via Ann German.)

 

Oh dear, another thing Jared Kushner “forgot” to disclose when filling out those pesky government forms. This time it’s the Ethics Committee who weren’t told the full story. I recommend reading the short Newsweek article the link takes you to.
(Via Ann German.)

 

Mueller Time Tweets

Harriet Litman of the New York Times has done an excellent summary of the Michael Flynn issue.
(Via Ann German.)

 

Human Rights Tweets

It sounds to me like the CIA and other intelligence agencies under the Trump administration are looking more and more like the FSB (the new name of Russia’s KGB). There are some scary quotes from Mike Pompeo (pronounced pom-pay-oh, not pop-pee-oh, if you’re reading this 1News) in the article in the link.
(Via Ann German.)

 

Religion Tweets

Of course, these fu€kwit$ can’t help but bring their God into the situation to try and make everyone think they’re really good people. Flynn’s statement following his arrest included the words, “I recognize that the actions I acknowledged in court today were wrong, and, through my faith in God, I am working to set things right.” Unfortunately, it works on many too, especially on Trump’s Evangelical base. Most of us thankfully see it for what it is – blatant hypocrisy.

It makes what James Comey did all the more enjoyable …
(Via Ann German.)

 

The blatant hypocrisy of religious extremists disgusts me. This is Roy Moore’s latest effort:

 

It got this response:
(Via Ann German.)

 

This is excellent!!!
(Via Ann German.)

 

Scary Adults Tweets

Following on from the scary response to the sexual harassment survey, and the “Scary Kids Tweets” – now we have “Scary Adults Tweets.”

A comment on the times we live in. This is what happens when the most powerful man in the world embraces conspiracy theories and has people believing that top media outlets are “fake news” and fake news is real.
(Via Ann German.)

 

One response …

 

Funny Tweets

A wee ditty …
(Via Ann German.)

 

Someone found a pic for Donald Trump to retweet!
(Via Ann German.)

 

Christmas Tweets

Here’s a good one!
(Via Ann German.)

 

Space Tweets

Very interesting stuff.

 

From the YouTube description:

The Optical Search for QED Vacuum Bifringence, Axions and Photon Regeneration (OSQAR) experiment at CERN searches for axions, hypothetical particles that could be a component of dark matter and explain why our universe is made of matter instead of antimatter.

 

Other Animals Tweets

The latest update from the wonderful Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire, England.

 

Oh man! What a cutie!

 

Feeding the hedgehogs to help them bulk up for winter.

 

Very cute!

 

I wonder if they’ll make friends? Maybe they are friends, and they’re hiding their illicit relationship from the human who’s filming!

 

Some nice guys.

 

Cute.

Marine Tweets

Another amazing undersea creature …

 

Whales are cool!

 

I hope he put them back in the water!

 

Bird Tweets

Magpie mischief!

 

The amazing expanding nest of the lang-tailed tit.

 

We’d all want to be rescued from there!

 

Insect Tweets

Wow!!! What a creature and what a pic!!!

 

There are more! This account is a great find!

 

 

 

 

 

And we still have the amazing Gil Wizen.

 

Dog Tweets

Typical Lab behaviour. They’re such lovely dogs!
(Via Ann German.)

 

Cat Tweets

He’s got his thinking cat on …

 

Awwwww!

 

This cat has found a nice warm place for a nap!

 

I’ve seen this video before, but it’s so cool it’s worth posting again.
(Via Ann German.)

 

Flying puffball!

 

Japan’s Cat Island.

 


 

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