Excuse me, ma'am, did you put a pubic hair on my Coke?
I am so fucking sick of hearing the "rarely heard" Clarence Thomas whenever I turn on the damn TV. What, he can't bother to raise his voice regarding issues brought before the Court, but he can blather on and on now that he's got a book coming out? Give me a damn break! I remember the confirmation hearings, I remember Anita Hill's allegations, I believed her, and I still believe her. It's a travesty that he was appointed and never punished for all the bullshit he put her through (and others, I have no doubt, were harassed by him but too intimidated to come forward). In a political world of hypocrites, he ranks near the top.
I'm probably more incensed about this than I would be if I wasn't a victim of sexual harassment myself. I'd probably be less outraged if my daughters had not been victims of, if not outright harassment, inappropriate behavior from both bosses and (need I even say it?) MALE customers. My middle daughters are 19 and 20, the ages at which women get hit upon the most, and they are beautiful girls. That fucking well does NOT mean that ANYONE has the right to make remarks or propositions of a physical nature to them. It is NOT ok for my daughter's boss to buy her lunch at McDonald's and remark that he doesn't know how she stays in such great shape. It is NOT ok for my other daughter to be propositioned by customers while she is working. ESPECIALLY after she's made it clear that she is not interested.
Just this morning, my daughter told me about a local plumber who came in for some carpeting. He asked her if "[She] came with the carpeting." My daughter said no. He pressed her on it. She said she wasn't interested. He said, "Come on, you can help me install it. I'll give you money." She said no again. He said, "I mean it, I'll give you a lot of money. You can help me install this in my van." I about hit the roof at this point in the story. I told her that he was breaking the law by offering her money for sex and that she should have gotten on the loudspeaker and called her manager to the register. I told her that she should have told him she'd call the cops. She said she was trying to hold it together and would have gone off on the guy if he had persisted beyond that point.
It shouldn't have even gotten that far. This fucking skeeze should not have the idea that he can say what he wants to a pretty girl behind the cash register just because she has to be nice to the customers. She knows who the guy is, and I immediately said first that I was going to call him at work, and then said I was going to call my quasi-brother, Matt (because my own brother doesn't live locally), and we were going to go down there together.
Of course she doesn't want me to do any such thing. But I haven't decided whether I will or not. Because nobody has the right to make a woman feel that "[i]t would have been more comfortable to remain silent." Nobody should be made to feel that they had used "poor judgment" or that they have to take "angry or even militant steps" to stop harassment or abuse. (quotes from Anita Hill's testimony)
Saying no should be enough.
What would YOU do if your daughter had been the target of such harassment? I really want to know.
I'm probably more incensed about this than I would be if I wasn't a victim of sexual harassment myself. I'd probably be less outraged if my daughters had not been victims of, if not outright harassment, inappropriate behavior from both bosses and (need I even say it?) MALE customers. My middle daughters are 19 and 20, the ages at which women get hit upon the most, and they are beautiful girls. That fucking well does NOT mean that ANYONE has the right to make remarks or propositions of a physical nature to them. It is NOT ok for my daughter's boss to buy her lunch at McDonald's and remark that he doesn't know how she stays in such great shape. It is NOT ok for my other daughter to be propositioned by customers while she is working. ESPECIALLY after she's made it clear that she is not interested.
Just this morning, my daughter told me about a local plumber who came in for some carpeting. He asked her if "[She] came with the carpeting." My daughter said no. He pressed her on it. She said she wasn't interested. He said, "Come on, you can help me install it. I'll give you money." She said no again. He said, "I mean it, I'll give you a lot of money. You can help me install this in my van." I about hit the roof at this point in the story. I told her that he was breaking the law by offering her money for sex and that she should have gotten on the loudspeaker and called her manager to the register. I told her that she should have told him she'd call the cops. She said she was trying to hold it together and would have gone off on the guy if he had persisted beyond that point.
It shouldn't have even gotten that far. This fucking skeeze should not have the idea that he can say what he wants to a pretty girl behind the cash register just because she has to be nice to the customers. She knows who the guy is, and I immediately said first that I was going to call him at work, and then said I was going to call my quasi-brother, Matt (because my own brother doesn't live locally), and we were going to go down there together.
Of course she doesn't want me to do any such thing. But I haven't decided whether I will or not. Because nobody has the right to make a woman feel that "[i]t would have been more comfortable to remain silent." Nobody should be made to feel that they had used "poor judgment" or that they have to take "angry or even militant steps" to stop harassment or abuse. (quotes from Anita Hill's testimony)
Saying no should be enough.
What would YOU do if your daughter had been the target of such harassment? I really want to know.