“How dare you do this?”
In an interview at the Sundance Film Festival Supreme Court Judge, Ruth Bader Ginsburg discussed her history of discrimination and what she took to be sexual harassment. Although a professor at Stanford did not specifically suggest that she grant sexual favors in exchange for giving her a practice exam, which turned out to be the actual exam, she did confront the professor with “How dare you do this.” That was the end of that. Later she would face discrimination on the basis that she was a parent and was asked to prove herself in a way males were not.
Justice Ginsburg is very supportive of the metoo movement, which is drawing together thousands or millions of women worldwide who are declaring that enough is enough. So far many men (and some women) have lost not only their hard won jobs but also their careers as women (and some men) publicly out those who used positions of power to satisfy the needs of their sadly deficient egos.
Obviously, we cannot change the power dynamics without identifying the current power dynamic and how it has been used to deal with the fear of sharing the power and the responsibility at home and in the workplace.
Any student of human dynamics who is involved with helping others heal from trauma or helping work or personal family members change the power dynamics knows that one has to apply what the 12-step program calls the HOW – honesty, open mindedness, and willingness. Human have never solved a problem without first correctly identifying the problem.
It would be easy for the metoo movement to attack sexual harassment and gender discrimination by using the tools of the male dominated society. These tools have often consisted primarily of projecting the blame on others and punishment. Seldom have leaders viewed issues from a systemic viewpoint.
Those who use the 12-step program for healing know that they have to practice the HOW, be accountable, quit blaming, make amends when possible and continue to practice all the principles of the program of healing/recovery. This program is not based on punishment or blame. It is based on accountability, empathy and change.
Punishing all those who used sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination to get and keep their power positions, which they believed they needed to prove their worth, will not change the systemic issues. If not careful we will exchange one set of leaders for others who follow the same basic rules.
This is not a male/female problem. Just like race, gender has been in large part an artificial construct, which has been used to deal with an incorrect diagnosis. If the metoo movement truly wants change than those involved must correctly diagnose the systemic issues and creates systemic cures.
For example if we want equality in the workplace lets have equality at home in terms of creating and maintaining a home as well as raising children. Let’s raise all our children to appreciate and respect these roles as well as learn how to do them. If we want equality in the workplace let’s value the job of every team member. If we want to teach accountability let’s make it safe to tell the truth and make changes. If we want sex to be more than a power tool let us teach males and females core values which feed their ego rather than teaching them that having a large penis or large female breasts creates a healthy relationship with ourselves or with each other.
In short let’s look at core values and what we value about sharing this human journey.
Written January 22, 2018
In an interview at the Sundance Film Festival Supreme Court Judge, Ruth Bader Ginsburg discussed her history of discrimination and what she took to be sexual harassment. Although a professor at Stanford did not specifically suggest that she grant sexual favors in exchange for giving her a practice exam, which turned out to be the actual exam, she did confront the professor with “How dare you do this.” That was the end of that. Later she would face discrimination on the basis that she was a parent and was asked to prove herself in a way males were not.
Justice Ginsburg is very supportive of the metoo movement, which is drawing together thousands or millions of women worldwide who are declaring that enough is enough. So far many men (and some women) have lost not only their hard won jobs but also their careers as women (and some men) publicly out those who used positions of power to satisfy the needs of their sadly deficient egos.
Obviously, we cannot change the power dynamics without identifying the current power dynamic and how it has been used to deal with the fear of sharing the power and the responsibility at home and in the workplace.
Any student of human dynamics who is involved with helping others heal from trauma or helping work or personal family members change the power dynamics knows that one has to apply what the 12-step program calls the HOW – honesty, open mindedness, and willingness. Human have never solved a problem without first correctly identifying the problem.
It would be easy for the metoo movement to attack sexual harassment and gender discrimination by using the tools of the male dominated society. These tools have often consisted primarily of projecting the blame on others and punishment. Seldom have leaders viewed issues from a systemic viewpoint.
Those who use the 12-step program for healing know that they have to practice the HOW, be accountable, quit blaming, make amends when possible and continue to practice all the principles of the program of healing/recovery. This program is not based on punishment or blame. It is based on accountability, empathy and change.
Punishing all those who used sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination to get and keep their power positions, which they believed they needed to prove their worth, will not change the systemic issues. If not careful we will exchange one set of leaders for others who follow the same basic rules.
This is not a male/female problem. Just like race, gender has been in large part an artificial construct, which has been used to deal with an incorrect diagnosis. If the metoo movement truly wants change than those involved must correctly diagnose the systemic issues and creates systemic cures.
For example if we want equality in the workplace lets have equality at home in terms of creating and maintaining a home as well as raising children. Let’s raise all our children to appreciate and respect these roles as well as learn how to do them. If we want equality in the workplace let’s value the job of every team member. If we want to teach accountability let’s make it safe to tell the truth and make changes. If we want sex to be more than a power tool let us teach males and females core values which feed their ego rather than teaching them that having a large penis or large female breasts creates a healthy relationship with ourselves or with each other.
In short let’s look at core values and what we value about sharing this human journey.
Written January 22, 2018
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