Be careful not to witch hunt
Matt Lauer this time.
He was fired from NBC over allegations of sexual harassment and joins a lengthy list of people in positions of power who’ve allegedly leveraged or tried to leverage that power for untoward purposes or made persistently harassing comments.
In announcing Lauer’s termination, Today Show co-host Savannah Guthrie said many organizations have been going through a long overdue “reckoning” where people who have quietly tolerated inappropriate behavior are no longer doing so.
Since the October exposé on Harvey Weinstein’s alleged conduct hit, it seems a new person daily — almost all men — find themselves on the receiving end of allegations.
It’s incredibly troubling for several reasons, and we believe that the reckoning is warranted. It’s opened eyes and minds. It’s removed the shadow that can hang over accusers and make them reluctant to bring legitimate complaints forward.
We should be careful, however, that this reckoning doesn’t become a witch hunt. It should not be open season to take shots at every questionable remark that’s ever been made without honestly considering its intent.
Certainly, that sexual harassment continues to persist in the workplace is awful. No one should walk into work feeling uncomfortable; worrying about what may be said to them or what indecent proposals may be made.
Overtly reducing your co-worker/subordinate/boss/client to an object through words or conduct is something we shouldn’t even need to address.
Knowing better should be a matter of common sense and basic human decency.
Yet, we are still left to figure out those gray areas. How do we draw the line for those things that are said where offensive and genuine discomfort may only lie in the ears of the person to whom it’s said? That’s the million dollar question — the answer to which could avoid a million dollar settlement and the potential ruin of the speaker’s life.
The answer isn’t simple, because people aren’t simple. What’s offensive to one person isn’t necessarily so to another.
We spend hours of our day with those with whom we work. Most of us can likely recall saying something we’d prefer we hadn’t or telling an off-color joke and watching someone cringe. We meant no genuine offense, and yet we caused it.
Maybe the answer in those situations should be a partnership of candor and respect.
We all have the responsibility to realize that not every word spoken is said with malicious intent.
Again, we are not talking about blatant cases of harassment. But if a joke or comment leads to discomfort, perhaps that most sensible way to address it is by clearly saying so.
Likewise, if asked to refrain, have the respect to do that, and consider yourself forewarned that your brand of humor is not funny to some.
The list grows daily of the well-known who are facing troubling allegations of assault or harassment. Its reverberations will undoubtedly embolden the less famous among us to begin speaking up.
As that begins, let us make sure we don’t create reckonings where none need exist, be self-aware and speak up, and, also, have the civility to refrain when comments are not appreciated.