Right Wing Sexual Predators in politics and media

[Tribble]

Exactly as it says on the tin, this is intended to be a dedicated thread for discussing Right-Wing sexual predators in politics and media. It should be forewarned that some of the people being discussed may not have been charged and/or convicted of sexual offences, whether civilly or criminally. Or given statements on this issue confirming any wrongdoing. Should the status of an individual change (being criminally charged, person admits to some wrongdoing, person found guilty in civil/criminal court etc), it is requested that the information be posted.

[Tribble]

I guess we might as well start with Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly, both having been recently fired from Fox. And to kick things off here's O'Reilly's "Falafel incident" from 2004, since that's the one we know the most about (as the plaintiff had filed a formal claim):

OCTOBER 13--Today marks the tenth anniversary of the filing of the greatest lawsuit ever.
On this date in 2004, Bill O’Reilly was accused of sexual harassment by Andrea Mackris, an associate producer who worked with the TV host at Fox News Channel. Mackris’s New York State Supreme Court complaint is bursting with examples of the 65-year-old O’Reilly’s alleged sleaziness (which apparently was surreptitiously memorialized via Mackris’s tape recorder).
The lawsuit was settled within two weeks and the parties agreed to confidentiality provisions intended to shroud O’Reilly’s purportedly pervy ways. The legal settlement reportedly included a fat check for the 43-year-old Mackris, who said that O’Reilly could be “paternal and engaging” and then “tyrannical and menacing.”
A decade later, Mackris’s complaint--filed by attorney Benedict Morelli--remains a better read than any of O’Reilly’s subsequent best sellers. Mainly because the lawsuit includes topics such as:
Vibrators
Masturbation lessons
Phone sex
A “short brown” Balinese woman who allegedly was “amazed” when she saw O’Reilly’s penis
Threesomes
The loss of O’Reilly’s virginity in a car at JFK airport
Sex with two Scandinavian stewardesses
A Thai sex show
Al Franken
O’Reilly’s masturbation
O’Reilly’s climaxing
Caribbean shower fantasies
“One of those mitts, those loofa mitts”
Falafel
O’Reilly’s “big cock”
More vibrator-aided ejaculation
So, put aside a few minutes and enjoy the lawsuit again for the first time (23 pages)

Article here: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/ ... ten-897562
Court filing (on same site) here: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/oreilly-suit-turns-10

Presumably O'Reilly's current harassment claims are of a similar venue.

I guess the first question is: why is the right wing prone to hiring sexual predators? Is it more of an "old-white male" masculine thing?

[Imperial528]

I guess the first question is: why is the right wing prone to hiring sexual predators? Is it more of an "old-white male" masculine thing?

I'd wager that it's due to the kind of personalities that sell to audiences like Fox's, Breitbart's, etc.

They attract people who are petulant, selfish or downright narcissistic (in the colloquial sense) bullies who have little respect for the agency and intention of those around them.

That in these cases they are white men is likely due to the other selection criteria involved; i.e. the attempt to replicate the southern strategy in media.

[The Romulan Republic]

I'm not convinced that they Right is more prone to hiring them, but I do think that their are aspects of Right wing political culture that are likely to lead people on the Right to disbelieve or defend against certain types of allegations, namely the undercurrent of misogyny and support for "traditional gender roles" (i.e. women "knowing their place"), and the hostility towards perceived "oppression" from "FemiNazis" and "SJWs", meaning that any accusation from a woman against a man (at least a white man), to these people, is more likely to be treated as a product of political correctness and/or women slandering men for money and attention.

That's the culture, and it can be traced all the way to the top, where the Orange Rapist sits in the White House, having suffered no lasting consequences despite having confessed on tape to groping women, and having been accused by multiple women, including accusations of sexually assaulting a minor.

[Ralin]

Okay, this is hearsay (and get used to that if you want to talk about a subject that by its nature involves a whole lot of allegations that are never definitively proven), but I know people who know people and from what I've heard quite a few of what you would call social justice communities have serious problems with abusers in their ranks. There is apparently, for example, a recurrent thing of recently transitioned older white lesbian trans women creeping on younger members of the community. It doesn't get talked about for all the reasons why sexual abuse by authority figures gets brushed under the rug in general, with an added element of victims being afraid to come forward for fear of shunning because of how damned cliquish and prone to demanding right-think such groups tend to be.

So no, if right-wing groups are more likely to attract personalities prone to being sexual predators (very possible, I don't deny) I doubt it's by that wide of a margin. Positions of power and influence are what attract predators. Everything else comes second.

[Flagg]

Okay, this is hearsay (and get used to that if you want to talk about a subject that by its nature involves a whole lot of allegations that are never definitively proven), but I know people who know people and from what I've heard quite a few of what you would call social justice communities have serious problems with abusers in their ranks. There is apparently, for example, a recurrent thing of recently transitioned older white lesbian trans women creeping on younger members of the community. It doesn't get talked about for all the reasons why sexual abuse by authority figures gets brushed under the rug in general, with an added element of victims being afraid to come forward for fear of shunning because of how damned cliquish and prone to demanding right-think such groups tend to be.

So no, if right-wing groups are more likely to attract personalities prone to being sexual predators (very possible, I don't deny) I doubt it's by that wide of a margin. Positions of power and influence are what attract predators. Everything else comes second.

What you describe should be stamped out in any group it happens in.

The problem with the RW perpetrators of sexual harassment and sexual predatory behavior is that they are portrayed by themselves and many in the media as the "pillars of all that is good, right, and family". So it's this extra layer of hypocrisy.

That said, again for emphasis: Sexual predation, harassment, and assault in all of its forms, no matter the community should be treated on the same level legally.

[Ralin]

The problem with the RW perpetrators of sexual harassment and sexual predatory behavior is that they are portrayed by themselves and many in the media as the "pillars of all that is good, right, and family". So it's this extra layer of hypocrisy.

I would not consider a serial sexual predator who has cultivated a reputation as a staunch feminist or advocate for the rights of transgender women or anti-racist while abusing members of those same demographics more or less hypocritical than an outspoken born-again Christian or family values advocate, personally.

[Tribble]

Could a chunk of it be related to their religion as well? Many of the RW commentators love pointing out how Christian they are, and, well, the Bible is not exactly known for its support of female equality.

[General Zod]

I think people are over thinking things. It's not that the RNC empowers sex offenders. It gives them a place to hide and blend in with its Family Values message. They can tell people that they couldn't possibly be a bad guy because they believe in xyz.

[Flagg]

I think people are over thinking things. It's not that the RNC empowers sex offenders. It gives them a place to hide and blend in with its Family Values message. They can tell people that they couldn't possibly be a bad guy because they believe in xyz.

Not just that, but many women harassed and stalked at work by the sexual predators are professionals who the "Family Values"* types think are promiscuous whores since a lot are unmarried, divorced, or have no children or are single mothers. So the type of mouth-breathing shitheads viewers who gravitate to shows with hosts like O'Reilly and Hannity will tend to not believe the claims made by victims or just figure they asked for it by daring to possess a vagina.

*"Values" that say women should be at home shitting out good little blonde haired blue eyed Christian Soldiers, not in the MANS WORLD of producing TV shows and being executives.

[Flagg]

The problem with the RW perpetrators of sexual harassment and sexual predatory behavior is that they are portrayed by themselves and many in the media as the "pillars of all that is good, right, and family". So it's this extra layer of hypocrisy.

I would not consider a serial sexual predator who has cultivated a reputation as a staunch feminist or advocate for the rights of transgender women or anti-racist while abusing members of those same demographics more or less hypocritical than an outspoken born-again Christian or family values advocate, personally.

Yeah, but society as a whole in the US (in my experience) and especially the space cadets that watch "people" like O'Reilly and Hannity on a regular basis tend to view the people you described as "tainted" in some way since they are the great "OTHER". So accusations made against them will be viewed as more valid than those made against the Family Values crusaders like HanReilly. So yeah, hypocrisy level is equal, but perceptions of hypocrisy differ, in some cases by a huge degree.