This issue Reconnect’s old editor MARTIN FOSTER has been moved to comment on the shocking revelations of sexual misconduct that have been uncovered in society.
I STILL feel privileged that Scott is happy for me to continue with my More Follows… columns – and I’m never short of something to write/rant/ramble on about. Possible subjects for this issue (and they may yet be revisited for future issues) included: life here at Tigley Tump (we’ve just finished planting around 1500 trees and it’s truly humbling to be doing our bit to create part of the future landscape); mobile phones (mine, bought as a secondhand reconditioned unit, died and I really resent the fact that while they represent the ultimate in people power technology, when they go wrong, we’re all expected to be IT experts and run tests on this and download that and delete the other before the actual experts will, or can, get on with actually fixing them); and death and funerals (a subject that I’ve touched on before but which our family’s revisited recently after the demise of our beloved Auntie Eileen). But I always believe it’s best to go with your gut feeling and my gut’s been churning recently at every new mention of just how awful men can behave towards women and children. Not a day goes by without another perpetrator being named and shamed; we will surely look back on this period as a one of society’s biggest shifts in attitude and (hopefully) behaviour. From sexual harassment in all quarters of society (and particularly evil when involving the abuse of power in the workplace and other institutions) to the staggeringly widespread production of porn (and before anyone attempts to defend its ‘use’, let us consider just how the stuff is produced), it runs through so many peoples’ lives, like a seeping seam of poison. To those of us who feel sullied by the behaviour of our fellow man, it is cleansing and refreshing to witness so much of this outrageous behaviour being exposed, making room for at least a little justice and, for some perhaps, a little closure. Social media – another example of people power all the time it’s being used responsibly – has played a big part in furthering the cause, giving publicity and support to movements like Me Too and the End Violence Against Women Coalition. Is it not though, sad that in order to be able to move forward into a new caring era of mutual respect, we first need to draw up a set of rules. As a result of the Harvey Weinstein revelations (and don’t you just hope any fellow, as yet unexposed, abusers are really bricking themselves?), the actors’ union Equity are considering new guidelines for sex scenes in movies. Surely film makers and actors know where they want and/ or need to draw the line? Not making films based on shit books like Fifty Shades of Grey would be a good place to start. And someone in an office somewhere in Whitehall (presumably) is currently drawing up a code of conduct for Parliament and the House of Lords. Do the people we elect to run our country really not know how to behave without a rule book? I guess ‘guidelines’ like these are useful when someone is taking legal action, providing a benchmark against which people’s actions can be measured and compared. But wouldn’t it be better if we could just assume that anyone taking a position of authority, or working within any area of vulnerability, would act decently and respectfully? Surely we all know what that means (and the wholly appropriate outrage expressed in all quarters concerning recent scandals suggests we do) and surely laws already exist to punish those who choose to ignore it. And in all the recent media coverage, I’ve yet to see anything relating to any form of investigation or research around the motivation of the offenders. When an internet porn ring is exposed, it shows how it infects every area of society and when a case of child abuse hits the headlines, more and more victims feels emboldened to step forward to tell their stories. So the problem is rife to the point that it’s actually a significant part societal behaviour – but how much do we know about why they do it? If we had a better understanding of why some men feel able to totally ignore these social laws, perhaps it could lead to us doing something about curbing its frightening growth. Maybe it’s time to recognise what we all know what ‘bad’ behaviour is – to find out more about those who decide to decide to do it anyway.