Let us climb into the Political DeLorean and travel back to a time I like to call “The Year 2017." Former President Donald Trump had just taken office, and the left had devolved into a gaggle of TDS sufferers.
2017 also saw the advent of the #MeToo movement, which started as a way of drawing awareness to sexual abuse and violence against women. It saw the downfall of many prominent figures in entertainment, politics, and other institutions. It also spawned the phrase “believe women” which was also de facto translated into “believe all women.”
Yet, the phrase seems to have gotten lost by the wayside with the recent allegations against Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris. It is not hard to figure out why, is it?
The Daily Mail recently published a bombshell report featuring allegations that Emhoff “forcefully slapped” his ex-girlfriend for supposedly flirting with another man. The May 2012 incident allegedly occurred after Emhoff and the woman, referred to as “Jane,” attended a star-studded amfAR Gala at the Cannes Film Festival.
Jane’s friends said Emhoff became angry when he believed Jane was flirting with a valet. In response, he allegedly struck her so hard that she “spun around,” according to Jane. Her friends provided corroborating evidence, including pictures and communications from the time to substantiate the incident.
The Daily Mail piece further highlights how the allegations contrast with Emhoff’s public image as an advocate for women’s rights. He has also admitted to paying an $80,000 settlement to his children’s nanny, whom he impregnated.
So far, there has not been much commentary from the left-wing peanut gallery about these allegations. So, what happened to believing women?
The phrase “believe all women” gained widespread popularity during the height of the #MeToo movement’s popularity. It was bandied about during the revelations about film producer Harvey Weinstein. It actually played a prominent role in the false accusations of sexual assault against now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The phrase sparked a level of controversy as many took issue with the notion that society should automatically believe rape and sexual assault allegations against men who are accused of such. Elle published an article defending the phrase, pushing back at the notion that it calls on people to unquestioningly believe accusers without scrutiny of the allegations. The author claimed the phrase simply means “don’t assume women as a gender are especially deceptive or vindictive,” and pointed out that false rape allegations are “rare” and “shockingly obvious.”
The author insisted that the slogan is not about ignoring facts but ensuring that victims’ voices are heard in a system that historically silences them. However, not everyone was buying this argument.
Reason’s Robby Soave penned an op-ed in 2020 accusing proponents of the phrase of “gaslighting” the public. He pointed out the hypocrisy being shown by those on the left related to Tara Reade’s rape allegations against President Joe Biden.
Soave pointed to the left’s rhetoric surrounding Kavanaugh when they tried to shame the public into automatically believing Christine Blasey Ford and his other accusers – despite the gaping holes in their stories. In the piece, he called out those claiming that the “believe women” phrase never promoted the blind belief of accusers even though “the command to believe group X is straightforwardly and obviously a plea to have faith in the entire collective.”
Of course, there is nuance to this.
Several proponents of the #MeToo movement were not necessarily claiming that society should blindly believe accusers. There were many reasonable folks who only wished to shine a light on abuse against women in various industries:
Progressive politicians are suddenly silent about "believing women" after bombshell allegations against Kamala Harris' husband, Doug Emhoff.
— Brad Polumbo 🇺🇸⚽️🏳️🌈 (@brad_polumbo) October 3, 2024
It's definitely a double standard. But if these people didn't have them, I guess they wouldn't have any standards at all. pic.twitter.com/3fPKOYkJ7e
However, others viewed the movement and slogan as a weapon against certain individuals. It was nothing more than a political cudgel for these folks, and the recent hubbub over Emhoff proves it.
If these people actually believed what they said, they would be speaking out forcefully against Emhoff and demanding answers and accountability. Yet, there is nary a peep coming from these folks, which shows just how badly the #MeToo movement was used for political purposes despite its original intentions.
