Seth Takes a closer look at how powerful men in entertainment and politics - from Harvey Weinstein to Donald Trump - abuse their power to silence, bully or coerce.If you can’t watch the video, here are some highlights:
- “Of course, [Trump] built his political career almost entirely on bullying. His campaign and now his presidency have been, in many ways, a performance of dominance. A performance that has, in many cases, been explicitly misogynist. We saw that just recently when he viciously attacked the Mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz, for having the audacity to criticize him and speak up for her constituents… I’m sorry, she’s not a capable person? What did you do after the hurricane? You took a week to even send FEMA. You reminded them about their debts. And then you showed up two weeks after that and chucked paper towels like a teenager in the breakroom at Costsco.”
- “This is what male entitlement looks like. A woman of color, literally wading through floodwaters to help her constituents, being attacked by a powerful man so incompetent, he probably floods his own bathroom because he forgets to turn the faucet off.”
- “One advisor said aides were relieved when Trump declined to appear on 60 Minutes last month because ‘he’s lost a step.’ He’s lost a step? He didn’t have that many steps to begin with. If he had a Fitbit, it would die of boredom.”
- After showing a video of Trump promising to sue all of the women accusing him of sexual harassment, “And as we know, Donald Trump keeps all of his promises. So, those women were sued and found guilty at a trial held right next to the finished Mexican border wall on the same day that Obamacare was repealed.”
- Addresses the way Weinstein and those around him have defended his behavior, as an “old dinosaur learning new ways”—“Dinosaurs don’t learn new ways! They go existinct!”
- “This entire ordeal is yet another window into the entitled mind of powerful, predatory men who are used to operating without consequence… There is no doubt that this horrifying story reveals yet again a culture of systemic misogyny that exists at the highest level of society. In the last year and a half, the most powerful man in news, the most powerful man in politics, and the most powerful man in Hollywood have been accused of serial sexual predation.”
- “This should not be a partisan issue. It requires all of us to speak out and ask what we can do to address it. So, naturally, some Republicans and right-wing pundits rushed in to exploit the scandal for political gain.” [After showing a video of Kellyanne Conway] “Oh my God, you work for Donald Trump, remember? You know, big dumb guy about yea high, bragged about sexual assault on a bus, loves to throw paper towels at Hurricane victims?”
- “… the Weinstein bombshells have also spawned some of the most perverse takes on what to do about serial sexual harassment, like former Trump White House Adviser Sebastian Gorka, who cited Vice President Mike Pence’s personal prohibition against eating alone with anyone woman who is not his wife. Can’t believe I have to say this, but you should be able to be alone with a woman and not sexually assault her.”
- “Look, there are predators of all political persuasions and in both parties. This should not be a partisan issue. And moreover, women should not be held accountable for the predatory behavior of men. This a problem with systemic misogyny and male entitlement, and men need to speak up and address their complicity in the system that allows these things to happen.”
Bonus:
Video Sources:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oKzFGhlFqqEhttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j6cv-6WuDK0