Jane, I in no way want to minimize the fact that there is legitimate harrassment, both sexual and otherwise, out there, but we really have to use common sense when it comes to just bad, stupid, rude behaviour and true harrassment that is actually jeopardizing someone's physical or psychological well-being. I think lot of groups now foster a cult of victimhood. We've become a nation of cry-babies and finger-pointers.
If you're lynched or beat up, you're a victim. If you're whistled and cat-called at by a construction worker has your psyche really been damaged? If you're just called an epithet by some Neanderthal cretin, have you really been harmed? Doesn't he have the right to be a stupid yob and call you a name if he wants? Shouldn't we just ostracize him and condemn him in a societal fashion as opposed to calling in the law.
Now if he's in your office and he's coming up every day and whispering vulgar suggestions in your ear like Edward G. Robinson to Lauren Bacall in KEY LARGO or he's threatening to fire you, if you don't have sex with him, or pinching your behind or breast, that's entirely another thing.
I personally don't believe in hate speech or hate crimes. As I said, I think words only have the power one choses to give them. And every crime is a hate crime...I don't care if someone killed you because you were gay, black, they wanted your money, you were screwing their wife, or your dog barked at night. It's murder, plain and simple. We have a law for it. We have a punishment for it. Who cares what the motive was?
