Men are not the victims of the #MeToo movement

It is not unusual for perpetrators to turn the world upside-down and claim that they are the real victims. So there is nothing unusual in a leading opinion maker (a man) claiming in a formerly respectable newspaper that the essence of the #MeToo movement is harassment of all decent men. But we must speak up every time comfortable men try to beat back into the corner the women fighting for a safer world for all women. Now too.

I want to mention for a moment that the heydays of the US #MeToo movement were preceded by the fight (and success) for marriage equality and followed by the strongest awakening ever of Black Lives Matter.

These things don’t happen in a vacuum. I find the sequence interesting.

I’m not going to discuss the opinion maker or even the person he’s defending against what he deems weak accusations. Rather, I’m going to hold to the light and dissect what I consider his abject arguments.

He writes about “the ordeal endured by US Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh when the #MeToo movement attempted to smear him over alleged sexual assault charges.”

This Kavanaugh was not accused by any movement. I’ve heard the testimony of the only witness allowed to speak. For me as a therapist, it was clear as crystal that she was telling the truth and the accused not–with his fake anger, no different from the outburst of our former president who eventually was convicted of sexual assault. Many viewers seemed to have had the same impression.

But to portray her story as an “#MeToo movement attempted to smear” is no different from a convicted anti-Semite saying that “World Jewry” has done him in. Accusations of anti-Semitism are often framed by anti-Semites as an attack by the Jews.

The “Senate hearing, which made McCarthyism pale in comparison.”

The scale of the false accusations and the penalties in the hunt for communists in the US were horrendous and people were even executed. How many men did get the death penalty from (false or true) accusations by the #MeToo movement? NB: The very Harvey Weinstein around whom the #MeToo movement exploded is still not locked up for life.

In “today’s insane climate, it would only take one woman to go to the media and accuse me of sexual misconduct. She would soon be joined by others and #MeToo supporters baying for my blood.”

First of all, it is a known form of sexism to accuse women of hysteria, insanity. No different from accusing Jews of being liars and thieves.

Then, not every man is now in danger of being falsely accused. Maybe in a divorce procedure. But I don’t know ONE man accuse or brought to trial for sexual assault who didn’t harm a fly while I know so many women who were sexually assaulted and did not tell anyone, did not go to the police, or if they did, saw their cases closed, or, if it came to trial, saw, if it came to a conviction at all, ridiculous punishments. Victims traumatized for years, often decades, perpetrators getting two months in jail. Totally absurd.

Women’s blood is spilled by the truckloads but the author wants sympathy for the blood spilled of men falsely accused. Clearly, men are not falsely convicted in any proportion to the unpunished assault on women.

And if you keep Jewish Law, and never seclude yourself with a woman, you have nothing to fear even from vindictive women. Often sex abusers claim that all men are on trial now. May I point out that that is simply untrue.

“Unfortunately, there are, of course, sexual predators who should have been dealt with long ago, and for that reason, initially I considered the #MeToo movement a highly overdue effort to stamp out these abominations.”

Women are victimized in every country at every minute of the day. To claim that this is something of the past should be a crime in itself. (Just think how many women are cruelly reminded of their victimization by the alleged Eilat gang rape. Women to whom it happened a decade ago, a year ago, a month ago, a week ago, yesterday.) It’s like saying, the Holocaust is over and when do Jews finally stop whining about their victimhood?!

For me it’s obvious (I could be mistaken) that Dershowitz is falsely accused of sexual assault of a minor. But look at how this opinion leader builds his case. Dershowitz is very respectable, did great things, but defended Trump and Epstein so now the media convict him Just like Kavanaugh.

Not at all. Dershowitz was not made to face the accuser on TV. Where is the comparison?

More importantly, how estimable Dershowitz was or is, is totally irrelevant. Bill Crosby was very meritorious. That does not imply his innocence in accusations of being a serial rapist. Jerry Sandusky was practically a saint. He founded a non-profit charity serving underprivileged and at-risk youth and arranged foster care. But some became his victims. Hundreds can vouch for being saved by him but dozens that he raped them, typically boys without a father at home, when they were 8–12 years old. He was found guilty of 45 counts of sexual abuse. All the good he did, did not erase the monster he was to dozens. Same in the case of Michael Jackson, who died before most of his victims finally dared to speak up.

But the worst point of this whole opinion piece is the following, I believe. I also think that the case against Dershowitz is weak if at all existing. But this opinion leader is using that innocence to discredit the whole #MeToo movement. If one Jew is a thief, all Jews are thieves. If one woman falsely accuses, all men are in danger of having their innocent blood spilled.

***

Again, my whole aim here was to show the sexism and suggest arguments against this kind of hatred for women. Because there is no middle ground. Either you are an ally to women or you are part of the problem.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1