The accusations are flying across the media as every woman and her brother think of someone who accosted them once a trillion years ago. What's sad is that the accused is automatically guilty in the public eye. Kevin Spacey is now a has-been. George Takei has reached the ripe old age of 80 without any scandal that I know of, but today a former model claims that Takei groped him in 1981 after they had had a few drinks. Why 36 years later this comes up can best be ascribed to the media and its constant thirst for gossip. So many just have to get in on the action.

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/george-takei-accused-groping-ex-model-1980s-article-1.3624884

Some people take advantage of a flood and use it to clean house.

If you've ever encountered a sexual grope from a famous person in your life, now seems the right time to go public with it. With the astounding deluge that's taking place immediately, how can we expect anyone to hold back? Why should we expect anyone to hold back?

There's an old saying, what goes around comes around. Another one is karma is a bitch.

If you once behaved like a predator and got away with it, now may be your day of reckoning. Deal with it.

On the other hand, in the calm of the hurricane's center, should we not consider the serious ramifications that a rush to judgment might cause? Is it really fair to bring down one person's career over a single indiscretion? Who among us is free of at least one indiscretion? Should an indiscretion be treated the same way as serial harassment or rape?

The problem with the media frenzy, with newspapers like the NYTimes posting "lists" of offenders, all the names get lumped into the "Harvey Weinstein" category. Is that really fair to all the folks who don't come anywhere close to his level of dysfunction?

Most gay men of a certain age know, a sexual grope from a gay man is definitely not the same as rape or forced sex in exchange for a job. In the 70's, a sexual grope from a gay man was considered an act of friendly flirtation among gays. Things have changed and some gay men have evolved. Should society punish George Takei, or gay men like him, simply because at one time he may have behaved normally, given how gay men behaved at that time?

That's kind of my point. Outright assault, such as rape, is a crime. Copping a feel, or groping, just doesn't ring with tragedy like rape does. And  events over 20 or 30 years old, especially if a one-off type of incident, are being given just as much sense of shame as the rapes and harassment that made women feel like third class citizens. Abuse of power in employment has always been with us.

Thinking back, I agree this accusation seems not that big a deal, given context and everything. Back in the '80s, most of us young things found it rather a compliment to get a friendly grope under the table from an older gentleman in Boston's alas long-gone Napoleon Club. (A place rather like The Townhouse, back in the day at least.)

To be sure, Takei's reported 'assault' went further than that, but still seems like not that uncommon an occurrence back then, from shenanigans I recall hearing about from friends.

Looks like, today, 2 gay men in a bar having several drinks, couldn’t possibly make a move towards each other, in fear that the first one to make a move will find the other one suing.  This is getting ridiculous. 

I guess any news sells. You go to a man's apartment, have a few drinks, and then are surprised when the person starts getting frisky? How ridiculous. Is it getting to the point where we're going to have to get signed releases every time we want to touch someone? Truly absurd what passes as news.

The direction of this thread is shameful...

 

"OH MY"   !!!!!

George Takei has denied that this incident ever happened.

5 hours ago, AdamSmith said:

To be sure, Takei's reported 'assault' went further than that, but still seems like not that uncommon an occurrence back then, from shenanigans I recall hearing about from friends.

Come to think, I was a little bit put out in my 20s at not myself having been the object of (much of) any such attempt.

This is interesting...

Takei said on Twitter that right now, it’s a “he said/he said situation” and that those who know him “understand that non-consensual acts are so antithetical to my values and my practices, the very idea that someone would accuse me of this is quite personally painful.”

Also Saturday, a clip of audio surfaced from Takei’s appearance on Howard Stern’s radio show last month. The interview was recorded less than two weeks after sexual assault accusations against fallen film mogul Harvey Weinstein were made public.

Stern and Takei were discussing the “irony” of the Weinstein case and the audiotape of President Donald Trump boasting about grabbing women’s genitals years ago, when Stern asked Takei whether he had ever grabbed a man’s genitals against their will.

Takei, a staunch Trump opponent, initially was silent, then said “uh oh” and laughed. Stern asks again and Takei said “Some people are kind of skittish, or maybe, um, uh, afraid, and you’re trying to persuade.”

Stern and his co-host, Robin Quivers, persisted, asking Takei whether he ever held a job over somebody for sex and he said no.

Quivers asked if he did “this grabbing at work.” Takei said “It was either in my home. They came to my home.”

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/george-takei-shocked-sexual-assault-allegation