Allegations against Epstein Have Put #metoo in Context

By Christine Flowers
Columbus Dispatch
July 17, 2019

https://www.dispatch.com/opinion/20190717/column-allegations-against-epstein-have-put-metoo-in-context

A few years ago, I wrote a column about Malala Yousafzi around the time that the young Pakistani activist was shot in the head by the Taliban. She was targeted for death simply because she wanted to help give girls the same educational opportunities as boys.

Instead, Malala survived. She became a symbol of fierce and principled defiance in the face of an oppressive regime, a true patriarchy.

That column garnered a lot of criticism because my central point was that women in our country did not understand what true persecution looked like.

Seven years later, and our gauge of what counts as true abuse against women hasn’t gotten any better. I blame #MeToo, which has robbed us of the ability to see things in context. The fratboy antics of Al Franken, Joe Biden and by then wheelchair-bound George H.W. Bush were condemned as if these men committed aggravated felonies. The mere accusation of date rape is enough to deprive young male college students of due process. Unearthed stories from three decades ago almost scuttled the judicial nomination of a man whose only proven bad behavior is — horror of horrors — liking beer.

This is why the indictment of Jeffrey Epstein for sex trafficking is so important.