It’s been an odd Spring as we head into Summer. Killer tornadoes all over, and I do mean ALL over, the country. And, as if the natural disasters weren’t enough, powerful men seem intent on destroying themselves.
Why do we insist on living where we do?
I see these comments on all the news sites, you know the ones: ‘well THOSE people insist on living there, they get what they ask for’…I think this week’s tornadoes in Massachusetts put the lie to that theory. There is literally no corner of this country that does not live with the threat of geo- or meteorological events of an unbecoming nature, as well as the actual ramifications thereof.
Likewise, it seems there’s not one corner of the globe where powerful men don’t think themselves above the laws of nature, what some call ethics or morality. As I have been nowhere near DSK, John Edwards or Ratko Mladic (or even Anthony Weiner for that matter), I cannot possibly speak to their guilt or innocence (and yes, by all means, I DO realize that Mladic is in a category beyond compare to the others).
All I can do is offer one simple observation: Men with even a little power sure do seem to find themselves in these situations with alarming frequency. Why is that? Is it as inevitable as it seems? Is this some force of nature which has yet to be classified and studied properly? I realize that this phenomenon is not exclusive to men, but for women, it’s like that tornado in Massachusetts: something that logically you know is possible, but your eyes are always gonna be on the Midwest anyway…Peace.
–s
My favorite response to the nuttiness thus far, from Marlo THomas in today’s HuffPost:
“But, of course, men have always had a litany of “universal truths” to back up their behavior that have been passed down from generation to generation: “Men have their needs.” Or, “For men, it’s just a physical thing.” Or my all-time favorite, “Boys will be boys.”
Well, not so fast, boys.
The most potent images from this, the ugly month of May, speak with certitude about how quickly those age-honored traditions are unraveling:
Strauss-Kahn doing the perp walk in handcuffs. Weiner crying at the mic. And not a single wife standing silently at her cad’s side, her face frozen in shame. (Okay, maybe Mme. Strauss-Kahn did — but they’re French.)”