Next Up In The Sexual Assault Allegations List

Roxxsmom said:

It's not just generational, sadly. I've run across plenty of men my age and much younger who feel that men and women can never *really* be friends, and that we're just so different that there's no intersectionality of perspective or experience at all. Heck, how many threads in the writing forums on AW have been started by younger guys who want to know how to write women convincingly. It usually comes down to thinking that women are completely alien.

At least there's conversation about this today. When I was young, I couldn't quite articulate how upsetting it was to be objectified and to have my internal life and reality dismissed, though I tried. Most people, including other women, didn't get what I was trying to say and thought I was nuts, even offensive, for thinking about these things. People would tune me out or tell me to lighten up. When topics like sexual assault or harassment came up, even feminists (and few young women identified as such in the 80s) were still focused "taking back the night," not dealing with the assaults and harassment that happened in the light.

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A friend of mine once said "it might have been better if we'd held off the sexual revolution until after the feminist one was complete." Perhaps that would have been impossible - they had a synergetic effect - but it would have been helpful to have society first accept "women are individuals whose life choices must be respected" before we got to "you can have sex with anyone willing." Because it seems a lot of young men grew up believing that women owed it to them to be willing.

RichardGarfinkle said:

One of the good things about the sexual revolution was the rise in social acceptance of contraception, which helped to topple the idea of women as breeding machines, not to mention reducing the risks to life and health.

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Did it? I don't think it did. If the laws being passed all around this nation are any indicator, the idea of women as breeding machines is quite hardened in a significant portion of this country. (See: Women must be incubators for the sake of the work force and Birth control is for unhappy liberals

No surprise here other than taxpayer dollars being used to pay claims:

Fox News: Taxpayer piggy bank lets Congress settle sexual harassment cases in secret

Equal treatment for lawmakers? Don’t count on it.

A little-known law has been on the books for more than a decade that gives anyone accusing a federal lawmaker of sexual harassment the right to sue – but only if they consent to a lengthy drawn-out process that includes a written statement within 180 days of the incident, 30 days of counseling and another month or so of mediation.

During that time, the claimant’s employer will be notified. The lawmaker’s identity, however, will remain confidential even if he or she is found guilty.

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Lying Lies and the Liars That Tell Them.

Maryn said:

Aw, geez. Say it isn't so. Al Franken. He has, at least, apologized and called for an investigation into his own actions.

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Sorry. That's not going to be good enough. A half-ass "apology" in the wake of an highly inappropriate and totally indefensible act is not going to get it done.

Not this time.

In December of 2006, I embarked on my ninth USO Tour to entertain our troops, my eighth to the Middle East since the 9/11 attacks. My father served in Vietnam and my then-boyfriend(and now husband, Chris) is a pilot in the Air Force, so bringing a ‘little piece of home’ to servicemembers stationed far away from their families was both my passion and my privilege.

Also on the trip were country music artists Darryl Worley, Mark Wills, Keni Thomas, and some cheerleaders from the Dallas Cowboys. The headliner was comedian and now-senator, Al Franken.

Franken had written some skits for the show and brought props and costumes to go along with them. Like many USO shows before and since, the skits were full of sexual innuendo geared toward a young, male audience.


As a TV host and sports broadcaster, as well as a model familiar to the audience from the covers of FHM, Maxim and Playboy, I was only expecting to emcee and introduce the acts, but Franken said he had written a part for me that he thought would be funny, and I agreed to play along.


When I saw the script, Franken had written a moment when his character comes at me for a ‘kiss’. I suspected what he was after, but I figured I could turn my head at the last minute, or put my hand over his mouth, to get more laughs from the crowd.


On the day of the show Franken and I were alone backstage going over our lines one last time. He said to me, “We need to rehearse the kiss.” I laughed and ignored him. Then he said it again. I said something like, ‘Relax Al, this isn’t SNL…we don’t need to rehearse the kiss.’


He continued to insist, and I was beginning to get uncomfortable.

He repeated that actors really need to rehearse everything and that we must practice the kiss. I said ‘OK’ so he would stop badgering me. We did the line leading up to the kiss and then he came at me, put his hand on the back of my head, mashed his lips against mine and aggressively stuck his tongue in my mouth.


I immediately pushed him away with both of my hands against his chest and told him if he ever did that to me again I wouldn’t be so nice about it the next time.


I walked away. All I could think about was getting to a bathroom as fast as possible to rinse the taste of him out of my mouth.


I felt disgusted and violated.


Not long after, I performed the skit as written, carefully turning my head so he couldn’t kiss me on the lips.

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Pretty bad, huh? Oh, but it gets worse. Much worse.

Other than our dialogue on stage, I never had a voluntary conversation with Al Franken again. I avoided him as much as possible and made sure I was never alone with him again for the rest of the tour.


Franken repaid me with petty insults, including drawing devil horns on at least one of the headshots I was autographing for the troops.


But he didn’t stop there.


The tour wrapped and on Christmas Eve we began the 36-hour trip home to L.A. After 2 weeks of grueling travel and performing I was exhausted. When our C-17 cargo plane took off from Afghanistan I immediately fell asleep, even though I was still wearing my flak vest and Kevlar helmet.


It wasn’t until I was back in the US and looking through the CD of photos we were given by the photographer that I saw this one:

<I can't imbed or hotlink the image, so please follow the link>

I couldn’t believe it. He groped me, without my consent, while I was asleep.


I felt violated all over again. Embarrassed. Belittled. Humiliated.


How dare anyone grab my breasts like this and think it’s funny?

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Here's the thing: if this were Ted Cruz or Mitch McConnell we were talking about, there would scarcely be a liberal, progressive, or Democrat on this board who wouldn't be calling for those two to resign.

So I'll go first. Franken is up for reelection in 2020, but he shouldn't be. Al Franken should resign. What's an investigation going to prove? That he didn't grab Leeann Tweeden's breasts but his evil twin did? What's an apology mean 11 years after the fact? Not a damned thing.

I'm sorry it's one of my guys on my side, but unless I'm going to be a hypocrite, I can't hold Roy Moore and Donald Trump to one standard and Al Franken to another. All three should go bye-bye, but Al can lead the line to the exits.

Go. Now.

nighttimer said:

I'm sorry it's one of my guys on my side, but unless I'm going to be a hypocrite, I can't hold Roy Moore and Donald Trump to one standard and Al Franken to another.

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It is starting to look as though the fewer men we have in positions of power or privilege, the better for everyone, isn't it?

mccardey said:

It is starting to look as though the fewer men we have in positions of power or privilege, the better for everyone, isn't it?

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Someone on Twitter suggested that male politicians needed to be replaced with robots.

Um.

I can't even . . . WTF IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE? Did they miss kindergarten? Did they miss keep your hands to yourself?

The photo is much worse?

I also don't think that was in any way a half-assed apology.

I don't think he should be forced to resign, either by outside forces or by his own desire to make it right, presuming this is the end of this, because the GOP does not get to sweep heinous shit under the rug claiming it's lies or conspiracy plots and just keep rolling on while Franken should resign for that? No way, imo.

I think he should stand his ground -- his actions have always been pro-woman, his behaviour hasn't been questioned before this, and this was a sort of forced kiss and an inappropriate photo.

If it were Ted Cruz or whomever, I'd want to know if there were other things, because no, I don't think this is career-ending.

mccardey said:

It is starting to look as though the fewer men we have in positions of power or privilege, the better for everyone, isn't it?

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I'll just leave this here for you, heh.

I'm an actor, and I hate when male actors try to make me practice kissing like that! It's not cool! Do not stick your tongue in my mouth without warning! It is not necessary to the scene. EVER!

Woman who accused Al Franken says she accepts his apology.

Not saying that means Franken deserves no consequences, but if true, it’s at least noteworthy?

cornflake said:

The photo is much worse?

I also don't think that was in any way a half-assed apology.

I don't think he should be forced to resign, either by outside forces or by his own desire to make it right, presuming this is the end of this, because the GOP does not get to sweep heinous shit under the rug claiming it's lies or conspiracy plots and just keep rolling on while Franken should resign for that? No way, imo.

I think he should stand his ground -- his actions have always been pro-woman, his behaviour hasn't been questioned before this, and this was a sort of forced kiss and an inappropriate photo.

If it were Ted Cruz or whomever, I'd want to know if there were other things, because no, I don't think this is career-ending.

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The thing is, there has to be a way back.

There has to be a route for men to make things right without it destroying the career of every single man who has ever made a mistake.

Now, rape is not a mistake. Anything involving a child is not a mistake. I'm not saying that there's a way back for Bill Cosby or Roy Moore but not every offense is equal, and if we try to make them all equal, we just make it worse.

If it's a one-time error in judgement where a line was crossed, there are ways to make it right that don't have to be the end of a career.

One of the steps to coming back from something like this is a sincere apology. Not an excuse like "I'm gay and in the closet," or "She was asking for it," or even "If anyone was offended..." Sincerely acknowledging that what they did was wrong, demonstrating understanding of WHY it was wrong and offering to make up for it is part of the process. So is digging further to find out if it's a pattern, or even if there are worse offenses yet to come out - that can change the picture.

The conversation among friends of my generation is rife with examples of people who think they might have crossed a line in the attempt to be funny, or friendly, or just to show off. Are all my male friends irredeemable? They've all learned their lesson. If one of those women came up to them today and said "You insulted me when you kissed me without permission in that improv sketch," they would be genuinely remorseful. Heck, much of the way my husband and I acted at work before we were dating was WAY out of line. If we hadn't ended up together, I don't know what I would think of those times in retrospect.

Not every act is equal and not every accusation or action requires the same response. It's OK to measure individuals by different rulers based not on how we feel about them as people, but the actual facts about what they did (or are accused of) and their reaction to it afterwards.

There's a big difference between "I should not have done that, and I'm very sorry," and "Well, Mary was 14 when she had Jesus, so groping a teen is OK."

AW Admin said:

I can't even . . . WTF IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE? Did they miss kindergarten? Did they miss keep your hands to yourself?

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I'm not sure kids were always taught that.

It was pretty common when (and where) I was a kid, at least, for adults to insist on hugging, kissing, touching us, and if we objected we were being unpleasant or disrespectful. Their behavior was not unlike those guys who touch without permission and get huffy and say a woman is being "uptight" when she objects. It was all supposed to be in good fun, but it's pretty clear to me (in hindsight) that it was a way of establishing dominance and control. We were told to not do this to other kids (when adults were watching), but if someone has more status or social power than you, it is their right to control your physical boundaries.

There's also a culture of physical teasing, bullying, and harassment that exists in the world of boys and men (I certainly saw plenty of guys shoving each other and giving each other "noogies" and "wedgies" and so on), though the way bullying is turned on women and girls incorporates sexual vibes. The latter form tends to persist into adulthood, probably because of the power differential between men and women and because of the way women (and girls too) are still portrayed and presented by our culture as things--plot devices, rewards, objects of desire etc.--and rarely as real human beings with dreams and desires that make sense.

Or when women are presented as real people, the book, movie or song in question is marketed specifically "for girls or women" and not for men. Men aren't supposed to know about, or even care about, the inner life of women.

None of this makes it okay for adults to behave this way, of course. It's about time for men to use that logic and emotional restraint they pride themselves so much on and understand that this behavior isn't okay and it can incur some pretty serious penalties.

Maybe things are really changing at last. I hope they are and this isn't yet another of those cyclical flurries of outrage, like what happened during the Anita Hill testimony during the 90s, that fades into nothing again.

cornflake said:

The photo is much worse?

I also don't think that was in any way a half-assed apology.

I don't think he should be forced to resign, either by outside forces or by his own desire to make it right, presuming this is the end of this, because the GOP does not get to sweep heinous shit under the rug claiming it's lies or conspiracy plots and just keep rolling on while Franken should resign for that? No way, imo.

I think he should stand his ground -- his actions have always been pro-woman, his behaviour hasn't been questioned before this, and this was a sort of forced kiss and an inappropriate photo.

If it were Ted Cruz or whomever, I'd want to know if there were other things, because no, I don't think this is career-ending.

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Well, there's obviously enough known for Al Franken's Democratic colleagues to give back his contributions to their campaigns and endorse Mitch McConnell's call for an investigation.

Franken also endorsed a call for an ethics investigation into his actions. “I am asking that an ethics investigation be undertaken, and I will gladly cooperate,” Franken said.


Such an investigation was first suggested by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who said in a statement that “all credible allegations of sexual harassment or assault” should be reviewed by the Senate Ethics Committee. Several of Franken’s Democratic colleagues in the Senate have also endorsed the investigation, including Tammy Duckworth, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.


Later Thursday, Senate Democrats began distancing themselves from Franken by returning money their campaign received from his leadership PAC. Franken’s Midwest Values PAC has given candidates $145,500 for the 2018 election cycle. All but $5,500 of that, which went to independent Senator Angus King, was donated to Democrats.


Missouri senator Claire McCaskill will give $30,000 from the PAC to a “Missouri-based charity.” Ohio senator Sherrod Brown will give $28,000 to charities in his state, and North Dakota senator Heidi Heitkamp will give $10,000 to charities in her state.

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By no means does this make Franken as bad as Roy Moore, but it does mean the Dems have lost the tactical political advantage of watching the Repubs scurry away from Moore. Franken is a smart guy and maybe he's trying to get ahead of this, but it does shift the spotlight a bit and time spent playing defense is time not spent playing offense and shrinking the Republican majority by one.

Here's a snippet of the USO video with Franken and Leeann Tweeden and Tweeden tells CNN she is not asking Franken to resign and says his apology seems "heartfelt."

Roxxsmom said:

I'm not sure kids were always taught that.

It was pretty common when (and where) I was a kid, at least, for adults to insist on hugging, kissing, touching us, and if we objected we were being unpleasant or disrespectful. Their behavior was not unlike those guys who touch without permission and get huffy and say a woman is being "uptight" when she objects. It was all supposed to be in good fun, but it's pretty clear to me (in hindsight) that it was a way of establishing dominance and control. We were told to not do this to other kids (when adults were watching), but if someone has more status or social power than you, it is their right to control your physical boundaries.

There's also a culture of physical teasing, bullying, and harassment that exists in the world of boys and men (I certainly saw plenty of guys shoving each other and giving each other "noogies" and "wedgies" and so on), though the way bullying is turned on women and girls incorporates sexual vibes. The latter form tends to persist into adulthood, probably because of the power differential between men and women and because of the way women (and girls too) are still portrayed and presented by our culture as things--plot devices, rewards, objects of desire etc.--and rarely as real human beings with dreams and desires that make sense.

Or when women are presented as real people, the book, movie or song in question is marketed specifically "for girls or women" and not for men. Men aren't supposed to know about, or even care about, the inner life of women.

None of this makes it okay for adults to behave this way, of course. It's about time for men to use that logic and emotional restraint they pride themselves so much on and understand that this behavior isn't okay and it can incur some pretty serious penalties.

Maybe things are really changing at last. I hope they are and this isn't yet another of those cyclical flurries of outrage, like what happened during the Anita Hill testimony during the 90s, that fades into nothing again.

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My impression is that this type of behaviour is essentially bullying.

Anyone can have a moment of being a bully, in different ways. Adulthood is recognising and controlling the 'bully instinct' within us. Some try, and have different levels of success, others, do not.

I'm not however, recommending a 'kid gloves' approach to bullies. Quite the opposite in fact...

Roxxsmom said:

It was pretty common when (and where) I was a kid, at least, for adults to insist on hugging, kissing, touching us, and if we objected we were being unpleasant or disrespectful.

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Same here. Except after spending eight years in the States, I got used to the idea that I could say no to unwanted touching, even if this came from family members. When I went back to Sri Lanka for a visit, one of my father's cousins (who's ten years older than I am) said to me, "You're so flat!" And she put her palm on my chest and rubbed it around. So I reached out and squeezed her boob like I was milking a cow.

She jerked back. "What are you doing?"

"One good grope deserves another," I said. "And next time, I'll do that to your butt, too."

She didn't lay a hand on me after that.

nighttimer said:

Well, there's obviously enough known for Al Franken's Democratic colleagues to give back his contributions to their campaigns and endorse Mitch McConnell's call for an investigation.



By no means does this make Franken as bad as Roy Moore, but it does mean the Dems have lost the tactical political advantage of watching the Repubs scurry away from Moore. Franken is a smart guy and maybe he's trying to get ahead of this, but it does shift the spotlight a bit and time spent playing defense is time not spent playing offense and shrinking the Republican majority by one.

Here's a snippet of the USO video with Franken and Leeann Tweeden and Tweeden tells CNN she is not asking Franken to resign and says his apology seems "heartfelt."

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She did move the story.

She also used to appear on Hannity and apparently agreed with Trump over Obama's birth certificate.

The dems can't appear as if they're not going to be serious about it, though I think they should REALLY stop acting as if doing what they perceive as the right thing will actually have any effect on anything -- it won't make reps take notice that they should; it won't make reps stop calling them hypocrites or making up bullshit; it won't do anything but sink their own goals, same as Obama repeatedly trying to compromise across the aisle.

cornflake said:

She did move the story.

She also used to appear on Hannity and apparently agreed with Trump over Obama's birth certificate.

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Yes? And the point is? Does agreeing with Trump over Obama's birth certificate and appearing on Hannity mean Tweeden doesn't have breasts and its okay for a man she doesn't know to stick his tongue in her mouth?

The dems can't appear as if they're not going to be serious about it, though I think they should REALLY stop acting as if doing what they perceive as the right thing will actually have any effect on anything -- it won't make reps take notice that they should; it won't make reps stop calling them hypocrites or making up bullshit; it won't do anything but sink their own goals, same as Obama repeatedly trying to compromise across the aisle.

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Let's say for shit and giggles Leeann Tweeden IS a Trump supporter and she IS a Birther and she HAS shown up on Sean Hannity's show and this is all a carefully conceived scheme by Roger Stone, Evil Steve Bannon and other right-wing scoundrels to take the heat off of Roy Moore and President Pussygrabber and get Franken.

It's certainly possible. Hell, maybe it's even plausible.

But what if it's not?

Are we thinking Tweeden is the only woman Franken has stuck his tongue in her mouth and the only woman whose breasts he's grabbed while she was asleep? Maybe so and maybe no. This is Day One of the Franken Story. Hit me up next week on Day Seven and see if it still is a story or more accusers come forward.

Then it won't be a story. Then it will be a scandal.

We're just going to have to accept there are a lot of fucked-up people in Washington and they do and have done a lot of fucked-up shit. Now Al Franken is one of the good guys, at least politically he is, and that hurts, but while I don't think he's the SNL alumni version of Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, I have doubts this is the one and only bone rattling in Franken's closet. We'll just have to wait and see.

If it turns out there's a whole cemetery of skeletons in Franken's closet, he's done and should be. You can bet somebody's rattling the knob to see if they find any.

nighttimer said:

Are we thinking Tweeden is the only woman Franken has stuck his tongue in her mouth and the only woman whose breasts he's grabbed while she was asleep? Maybe so and maybe no. This is Day One of the Franken Story.

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That photograph and his response are so damning. She was asleep; he had his grope photographed. He thought it was funny.

It's funny [sic] because it's about sexually victimizing a sleeping person, someone who can't consent, and it was deliberately done so the victimizing could be publicly shared.

That's some messed up stuff right there. Don't really see a lot of difference between that and pussy grabbing #45; both are about exploiting.

AW Admin said:

That photograph and his response are so damning. She was asleep; he had his grope photographed. He thought it was funny.

It's funny [sic] because it's about sexually victimizing a sleeping person, someone who can't consent, and it was deliberately done so the victimizing could be publicly shared.

That's some messed up stuff right there. Don't really see a lot of difference between that and pussy grabbing #45; both are about exploiting.

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Except in the responses. Franken says he's sorry, admits his behavior was offensive and has a long record of supporting women's rights. Tweeden accepted his apology.

45 denies ever offending anyone, calls the victims liars, threatens to sue, Moore calls the accusers liars.

MaeZe said:

Except in the responses. Franken says he's sorry, admits his behavior was offensive and has a long record of supporting women's rights. Tweeden accepted his apology.

45 denies ever offending anyone, calls the victims liars, threatens to sue, Moore calls the accusers liars.

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I hate the fact he did it when she was asleep, though. I really hate that.

MaeZe said:

Except in the responses. Franken says he's sorry, admits his behavior was offensive and has a long record of supporting women's rights. Tweeden accepted his apology.

45 denies ever offending anyone, calls the victims liars, threatens to sue, Moore calls the accusers liars.

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The response is irrelevant. It is the act that is important.