It is about the abuse of power... WJC seems to have used the aura of his governmental offices to try to reap other benefits, something that the CEOs of corporations have been flayed for doing.
This is true, and I wouldn't try to excuse it. But I'm not entirely comfortable with the common notion that any sexual encounter between an older male in a position of authority and a younger female subordinate constitutes harassment. If it really is a case of the boss pursuing the subordinate, especially if reward or punishment is even implicitly offered, then that's harassment, fine, flay the guy. But that is not always the way it happens. There are women who are flat-out scalp hunters, who will resort to any form of manipulation to accumulate the sperm of the rich and powerful. I've seen it happen many times, and I'm sure you have too. It's the other side of the trophy wife syndrome: youth is an ego boost for older men, power is an ego boost for younger women. I've often noticed that powerful men and beautiful women tend to treat members of the opposite sex like idiots. I think one reason is that men tend to act like idiots when around beautiful women, and women tend to act like idiots around powerful men.
In cases where the subordinate was the initiator, or the act was purely consensual, who is being abused, and who is abusing power? Is anybody being abused at all? Should it be considered harassment?
Steve |
