By Nathan Barton

The lists get longer and longer – the predators – sexual predators – are being outed and (for the most part) condemned, even expelled from various and sundry events and organizations.

On the political side (just in the Fifty States), both admitted (or convicted) and accused include:

William Jefferson Clinton (Dem)

George Herbert Walker Bush (former GOP)

Judge Roy Moore (GOP)

Don Shooter (Arizona state legislator, GOP)

Dan Schoen (Minnesota state legislator, DFL)

Donald Trump (GOP)

Barney Frank (Dem)

Tim Murphy (GOP)

Members of Congress (unnamed as yet, one GOP, one DEM)

On the media/entertainment side, we find:

Harvey Weinstein

Kevin Spacey

James Toback

Ben Affleck

Roy Price

Mark Halperin

Woody Allen

Roman Polanski

Cory Feldman’s List – total unknown 

Note that I am not even touching the sports part of media and entertainment – either professional or collegiate.

We can also look at predators in the past: (In this sampling I include people sexually involved with subordinates and those under their power/command, and those who have betrayed their wives by sleeping around.)

John F. Kennedy

Edward (Teddy) Kennedy

Dwight D (“Ike”) Eisenhower

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Errol Flynn

Pee-Wee Herman 

In fact, there is a page of Wikipedia which lists the FedGov political sex scandals for centuries. We find convictions of statutory rape, sexual harassment, extramarital affairs, and other bizarre behavior.

These are, of course, just partial lists. We could go on to list hundreds if not thousands.

Now, besides the accusations, convictions, and admissions, what do these men have in common?  They have power – political power and influence, influence in Hollywood and the rest of media.  Power given to them by people – either at the ballot box or at the box office.

They also have (as a prerequisite for their careers, I think) out-sized egos and even megalomania.  Many of these predators, indeed, may have chosen their professions because of the opportunities for predation.  And because with power also comes the ability to hide their behavior, their crimes.

So we have a predilection (motive) AND opportunity AND concealment. I am sure there are (I mean, there MUST be) politicians and those in media who are NOT predators!  With hundreds of thousands of members of these professions, are we blackening the entire industry because of the behavior of the few? (But then, is that any different than other professions known for their abusive behavior, like law enforcement and lawyers?)

What can be done?

The US Congress is implementing “training” to encourage its members to stop their predatory behavior, as reported by the BBC. The entire thing smells of kabuki theatre.  By the time most politicians reach the rarified heights of Congress, they are settled in their ways and unlikely to change their behavior.  To put it another way, they are seeped in evil.  Their corruption grows with their power, as Acton reminds us.

“Training” and “awareness” are not enough.  Not just too little, too late, but perhaps counter-productive: those being trained are even being told how they can better conceal their behavior.

In a similar way, we need to consider letters of support for politicians from religious leaders (like this one at Freedom Outpost) with serious skepticism.  These so-called “pastors” and “priests” and “rabbis” and the like, as a profession, show the same signs of moral corruption as do political and media figures.  A few simple on-line searches for “pastor sex offenders” and such reveal hundreds of accusations, convictions, and confessions. 

 These clergy even more demonstrate their hypocrisy, since they claim to be following Christ and His teachings. (Not that the mainstream media is not massively hypocritical, as I read a sampling of their stories in recent weeks about Weinstein, Moore, and Bush, to name a few.)

Similarly, we find a very similar pattern in the teaching profession, especially in government-run, tax-funded high schools and junior high schools (middle schools).  (But it does happen in private, elementary, and even at university level.)  And here, we find not just men, but many women as well – an interesting difference that makes me wonder if there is still more hidden in the depraved depths of politics and media that has yet to be revealed.

Both of these professions share many features with media and politics: power, egotism, opportunity, and a very undeserved reputation for being trusted (or admired) by the common folk.  Again, it is not EVERY teacher, EVERY preacher, EVERY producer or celebrity actor, or even EVERY politician. But enough to taint entire professions.

Again, what is the solution?  It has to do with power – getting rid of it.  We will always have the predators with us.  We will always have the perverts and sickos with us.  But if they are not able to work their way into positions of power and influence, they are less of a threat, and more easily dealt with.  If they do not have the opportunities which government, academia, organized religion, and media provide so abundantly, their victims are both fewer AND more likely to be aware of the danger and able to defend themselves against it.

If I haven’t made it clear, predation on other humans (including sexual predation and other forms of abuse) is (or should be) anathema both to lovers of liberty (and even libertarians) and to those who claim to be godly disciples of Christ.

Closely tied to the need to take away the power of some people over others is the need to stop paying them for their professions at insane levels (and at least in the case of government, by theft) to reduce their opportunities of evil.

Power and money mean influence and opportunity – and corruption that grows until someone stops it.  Simply publicizing their predatory actions is good, but not enough.  Their would-be victims need the means and encouragement to defend themselves against it.  And the rest of us need to take away their power and the means by which the predators gain their wealth and prestige.

Mama’s Note: Innocent until proven guilty, by a jury of one’s peers. Too much of this sexual “scandal” is built on unproven accusations, especially those being made after decades. Unprovable, and easily used for manipulation and control of others with no responsibility for the consequences. That women (and men) can be liars, spiteful, manipulative and evil falls on both sides of this problem. The feeding frenzy of media attention just brings out the sharks and attention whores.

The “casting couch” approach to career advancement is hardly new… but these people are not actually victims of anything but their own ambition and greed. Are there any who were forced, who could not have walked away? I doubt it. Being influenced or even duped by rank and power is not the same as being forced. The “victims” do have a choice. Children are different, of course, but their own parents have full responsibility to guard them from predators. Who sends these children to schools, churches and so forth anyway?

Given the current level of political correctness, and the insane claims of “harm” from people who don’t like what others say, wear or bow down to… the addition of decades old accusations and hysteria from the feminazis is only another ploy to gain control over more people and their property.

And each person is responsible themselves for defending against such sexual abuse, as with any other threat. Trust me… the rapist or murderer shot dead by his intended victim will not be harming anyone else, ever. That, and the good old word “NO” and walking away would solve a great many of these problems.

There also have to be objective limits to what is called “abuse.” A few mere words or looks, an awkward touch, might be uncomfortable to an unwilling person, but they hardly constitute abuse, let alone actual harm.

The desire/compulsion to control the lives and property of other people is the ROOT of all evil. When people accept that fact, they will likely stop giving power over themselves to others as well.