Bermuda Post

Sunday, Mar 26, 2023

Our focus on past bad behaviour is blinding us to the wrongs of today

Our focus on past bad behaviour is blinding us to the wrongs of today

Society’s compulsive need to rake over retrospective sins means that we fail to focus on wrongdoing in the here and now. We should not prioritise retrospective punishment over contemporary justice.
In recent years the decades-old inappropriate behaviour of people has become more newsworthy than how they conduct themselves today.

So, when Tory MP Caroline Nokes accused Boris Johnson’s father, Stanley, of smacking her on the bottom 18 years ago, it was immediately highlighted by the media as today’s news.

Just to ensure that Noakes’ accusation remained newsworthy, the Labour Party exhorted the Tories to launch an investigation into Stanley Johnson’s behaviour. Adopting the tone of a political therapist, shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas Symonds stated that a ‘serious allegation’ needs to be treated ‘extremely and sensitively’.

As is so often the case with retrospective allegations of misconduct, others soon pile on with their recollections of harassment. Ailbhe Rea, the New Statesman’s political correspondent, stated she was grateful to Nokes for calling out Johnson and stated that he had “groped me at a party at Conservative conference in 2019”.

In many cases retrospective accusations of sexual misconduct are motivated by the impulse of spoiling the reputation of a public figure. Take the case of Brett Kavanaugh. In 2018, Christine Blasey Ford went public with an allegation of sexual assault by Kavanaugh, the conservative judge who former President Donald Tump had chosen to replace the retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Ford claimed that back in the early 1980s, she was assaulted by Kavanaugh at a school party in Maryland. After Ford’s accusations made the headlines, two other women came forward to accuse Kavanaugh of sexual harassment at high school parties. These accusations made the headlines and Democratic Party politicians tried to use them to discredit Kavanaugh and block his nomination to the Supreme Court.

It is, of course, next to impossible to investigate an allegation of sexual harassment that occurred nearly four decades ago. Nor is it possible to investigate ‘sensitively’ the alleged vile behaviour of Stanley Johnson 18 years ago. Invariably such accusations are met with denial. In a situation where ‘she says’ is met by ‘he says’ people come to a conclusion on the basis of whether their sympathy lies with her or him.

However, something has radically changed! In the current era it is sufficient to make an allegation of sexual harassment for the accuser to gain the moral high ground. Since the emergence of the MeToo movement in 2017 there has been a veritable flood of retrospective allegations – often implicating prominent men. Whatever the outcome of these allegations they, at the very least, lead to spoiling the reputation of the accused.

A veritable army of offence archaeologists is constantly searching the past for examples of past behaviour with which to criminalise or at least embarrass their target.

Even before the rise of the MeToo movement, the mantra of ‘Believe The Victim’ enjoyed cultural authority. The duty to believe an allegation means that by virtue of making an accusation, the accuser gains access to the identity of being a victim. All that is needed is to mobilise one’s memory in order to achieve victim status.

No doubt individuals bear responsibility for the crimes that they have committed in the past. However, accusations of crimes perpetrated decades ago require the same standard of proof as those mounted today. Otherwise, injustice will prevail.

Let us focus on the boorish and inappropriate behaviour of public figures in the here and now rather than engaging in the dubious project of offence archaeology.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Bermuda Post
Close
0:00
0:00
In a dramatic U-turn against His Government: Judicial Overhaul Legislation Must Be Halted, Says Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
Powell: Silicon Valley Bank was an 'outlier'
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
NYPD is setting up barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of Trump arrest.
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman tours potential migrant housing in Rwanda as asylum deal remains mired in legal challenges
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
Jeremy Hunt insists his Budget will get young parents and over-50s back into work
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
Nashville police officer, and a female driver shooting one another
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
Mexican President Claims Mexico is Safer than the U.S.
A brief banking situation report
Lady bites police officer and gets instantly reaction
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
'No relation to the American SVB': India's SVC Bank acts to calm depositors amid brand name confusion.
Good news: The U.S. government is now guaranteeing all deposits, held by, Silicon Valley Bank, and the funds are available as of today
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
BBC Director General, Tim Davie, has apologized, but not resigned, yet, following the disruption of sports programmes over the weekend
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
Fitness scam
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
A primitive judge in Australia sparked outrage when he told a breastfeeding woman to leave his courtroom for being “a distraction"
Barcelona is feeling the heat as they face corruption charges over payments to former vice-president of Spain's referees' committee, Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira
Senator Tom Cotton: If the Mexican Government Won’t Stop Cartels from Killing Americans, Then U.S. Government Should
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
The unelected UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an immigrant himself, defends new controversial crackdown on illegal migration
Old clip of Bill Gates saying Ukraine is a big, fat, corrupt sinkhole is going viral
Man’s penis amputated by mistake after he’s wrongly diagnosed with a tumour
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
How do stolen goods end up on Amazon, eBay and Facebook Marketplace?
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Is Gold the Ultimate Safe Haven Asset in Times of Uncertainty?
Spain officials quit over trains that were too wide for tunnels...
Don Lemon, a CNN anchor, has provided a list of five areas that he believes the black community needs to address.
Hello. Here is our news digest from London.
Corruption and Influence Buying Uncovered in International Mainstream Media: Investigation Reveals Growing Disinformation Mercenaries
Givenchy Store in New York Robbed of $50,000 in Merchandise
European MP Clare Daly condemns US attack on Nord Stream
Former U.S. President Carter will spend his remaining time at home and receive hospice care instead of medication
Tucker Carlson called Trump a 'demonic force'
US Joins 15 NATO Nations in Largest Space Data Collection Initiative in History
White House: No ETs over the United States
×