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Write On: Progressive
News for Northern Michigan October 2003 |
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Grandma Says: A new column by Jane Westfall
We’ve come a long way baby!...or have we? For me the answer will be who is voted in as governor of California. Why should that affect us here in the UP, especially women, you may ask. Well, let me tell you. It came to light this week, that Arnold Schwarzenegger ”groped” women and is now running for governor on the Republican ticket. Women have been coming forth and describing sexual incidents which occurred 25-30 years ago. Of course his handlers immediately said that it was blown out of proportion and denied most of it. My Mother always said, “where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” and she was right. Arnold apologized almost immediately for his past behavior, stating that at times, he had been playful….PLAYFUL; don’t you just love that word to describe sexual harassment? He said he was on some “rowdy” movie sets. Sounds to me like he was the rowdy one. The press and the opposition are asking, why now? Well, for one thing, why not now? Schwarzenegger is running for public office and they may feel a sense of obligation to inform the public, which, in itself is a brave thing to do. For another thing, who were they supposed to tell back then…there was no law against it, the fear of losing their jobs was probably real, and feelings of shame would have been a big factor. I figure, if he was doing it then, he’s still doing it now, a leopard doesn’t change its spots…you kind of saw that when you watched his debate with Arianna Huffington. He told her he had just the role for her in his next Terminator movie…in the last one he holds a woman (really a dummy) by her feet and dumps her head in a toilet… what was he trying to say to Arianna? Isn’t it laughable, the party who thinks it has a monopoly on family values is ignoring this, calling it a smear campaign because power means more to them than the family values they supposedly hold so dear. One female Republican supporter yelled at him, as his truck went by, Arnold, you can grope me!” All I can say is she has never been sexually harassed. It is a humiliating experience that you can never forget…not in 20 years, not in 30 years, not in a lifetime. I look at my granddaughter and think, did my generation help change things, so it will be easier for you than it was for me… well, I guess I’ll find out on Tuesday night when the vote is in. That’s it from Grandma’s House |
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