My original bio line did not include the part about defensiveness. The original consisted of what is now the last line: “Which reality is the real reality?” I was inspired to add the other parts during a conversation with Elle Beau in which she made the following remarks:
The additions to my bio line were inspired by the above remarks:
My fundamental reaction to the Me Too Inquisition…
…is to give it an eyeroll and ignore it.
My circumstances preclude my being affected by The Inquisition. I cannot be toppled from some lofty position ‘cause I’m already standing on the ground.
I am surrounded by others who pay no attention to it, some who as far as I know are not even aware of it. It has no effect on my day to day life.
The Inquisition has provided me with some amusing melodrama and I occasionally enjoy participating through a comment or two on the internet.
I have been called up for jury duty on several occasions in my life, including currently. On the day I was to report, I was told that it was cancelled. The next day there was a small article in the news stating that a man had pled guilty to a fraud charge in the court to which I was to have reported. That was probably the case for which I was called. I’m still on the list for one more month if a case should arise.
Years ago I was called for a sex offense trial. I was not selected for that jury.
I did actually serve on a jury once, many years ago. The defendant was charged with possession and sale of cocaine. We found him not guilty. There were enough holes in the prosecution’s case to create a reasonable doubt. I was comforted by the fact that there are eleven others on the jury and they all must agree on the verdict. The burden is shared.
Many people seem compelled to vocally and publicly express their moral outrage when confronted with a morally outrageous event. It’s as if they are afraid that others will assume that they approve if they fail to express sufficient outrage. Ironically, if the defendant turns out to be innocent, then there were never any grounds for outrage against him in the first place. In that case, the outrage would be more appropriately expressed towards the incompetent prosecutor who is pursuing an innocent citizen.
The male population is unlikely to undergo the kind of collective radical transformation in behavior for which participants in The Me Too Inquisition are hoping. As long as men continue to experience sexual scarcity, that experience is likely to have more influence on their behavior than The Inquisition has. Men will continue to pursue women aggressively:
“I have a streak of contrarianism myself and an annoying tendency to see more than one side of arguments…
I can always appreciate an independent thinker who speaks with blunt honesty.
