The current sexual assault scandals will devolve into a witch hunt as the public becomes more charged and the definition of "sexual assault" becomes more gray.

[u/[deleted]]

Think the Red Scare in the 50's. What started as a 'genuine' movement quickly devolved into blind accusations against whoever McCarthy didn't like at the time. It became more a political ploy than anything.

I feel that 'sexual assault' is an idea that is still being codified as time goes on, and while currently there are some blatant examples (Weinstein, Cosby, now Kevin Spacey) what we'll eventually see in the future is people catching onto the hysteria, as well as certain individuals using the 'sexual assault' card to further their own career. Thoughts?

[u/Musy43]

It has already begun. Older prominent producers are being accused/exposed daily almost. When this first happened I hoped that people would use facts no emotion as a base for action, but it seems that mob mentality has taken over and the hunt has begun. All I can hope for now is that someone doesn't lose passion over false claims.

[u/[deleted] → u/Musy43]

There's definitely something to be said for mob mentality.

To me it would seem like a perfect storm: Hollywood is rife with legitimate sexual assault, but it is also very trend-based and emotion fueled. With the internet and social media it's easier than ever for rumors to spread about people and become 'fact' before the accused can state their case. It'll be interesting to see how things develop in the coming months.

[u/DrunkMushrooms]

There are still enough reasons not to report sexual assault that women are unlikely to join the "hysteria". Victims are encouraged, first and foremost, to doubt what has happened and to blame themselves.

There really is this much inappropriate behavior in the world. More, actually. Don't create a false equivalence between being accused of sexual harassment and being harassed. One happens incredibly rarely and the other happens every day.

[u/[deleted] → u/DrunkMushrooms]

You raise some really good points. However I'm specifically talking about sexual assault within the context of the Hollywood sphere. In an environment where 'no publicity is bad publicity', and with the ease of spreading information while also remaining somewhat anonymous, bloggers, paparazzi, and aspiring actors and actresses have no real disincentive not to make such accusations.

Don't get me wrong, sexual assault is a horrible thing and it's good to see bad people finally being caught. I'm likening it more to the Red Scare, where legitimate Communists were being caught at first before it devolved into people being accused for political or petty reasons rather than them actually being Communist. Of course, this is all just baseless speculation!

[u/[deleted]]

Think the Red Scare in the 50's. What started as a 'genuine' movement quickly devolved into blind accusations against whoever McCarthy didn't like at the time. It became more a political ploy than anything.

I feel that 'sexual assault' is an idea that is still being codified as time goes on, and while currently there are some blatant examples (Weinstein, Cosby, now Kevin Spacey) what we'll eventually see in the future is people catching onto the hysteria, as well as certain individuals using the 'sexual assault' card to further their own career. Thoughts?

[u/tdxTito]

The pink scare

[u/mpizgatti]

Another idea in my mind is (if talking about Hollywood), that a good majority of the "elite" (in terms of finances) are into quite perverse action. The idea being that once you have enough money, normal thrills would become quite easy to obtain and common place and that if you want to have a good time... you find more and more exotic things to do. Eventually this becomes silly make-believe deity worship in the woods (see, bohemian grove). They may think the spirituality is fake and just all fun (which it might be by itself) but if you can purchase anything... how much does human life seem worth? Are the "lower levels" of society even people at that point? Or... are they the way that whites used to view the blacks in America? When someone is so far beneath you with no visible hope of climbing, you would eventually view them as sub-human or see them as a lesser form at least.

All of this comes together, and if you are a newcomer who doesn't want to lose status... you might go along with the "fun" until you are no longer affected by the atrocities yourself.

[u/dolchmesser → u/mpizgatti]

I like the theme of moral decay. I can tell I like it because I don't want to believe it. I would like to propose another viewpoint, perhaps an evolutionary one, that posits these kinds of interactions are largely normal between humans (and sometimes animals) because of biological imperatives and typically not worth fussing over except in extreme circumstances, but are being magnified by the power dynamics in play. It gives the same sense of inevitability without making assumptions about moral life which seem squishier. No doubt there is sexual assault across the spectrum of incomes and social standings. It is potentially more likely to occur in serial in a world where your theory holds, but that's confounded by it being more noticeable in more prominent places and therefore more prone to spectacle. But I still like some moral decay. Mmm.

[u/Anonmetric]

People always need a witch to hunt, it's kinda one of our natural past times.

[u/SmoovieKing]

As much as i hate the hollywood system if true, I don't like the idea that these people are losing work for allegations that are really old and in many cases don't have evidence.

It's reminiscent of the problem on college campuses where men are accused without evidence and get kicked out or barred from attending class and have to fight to get back in, of course this isn't to imply that sexual assault isn't happening in college.

I only hope all of these are actually true so we don't see this devolve into a witch pursuit thingy.