A reader synthesizes a little, and I tend to agree with her:
I find the Arnold debate very interesting. In response to today’s letter of the day, I have to say that my reaction to the flap is more like yours than like that letter-writer, and I’m a woman, so I have to disagree with the letter-writer’s implication that if you only checked with a few women you would find out how wrong you are.
I do agree that unwelcome sexual advances, especially if they include touching, are not to be discounted or dismissed. It is a serious thing. Unfortunately, it is not rare. That’s one of the things that was so mind-bending about the Anita Hill testimony – to hear Orrin Hatch ranting and raving as if it were really unusual for women to be subjected to humiliating conversation was just maddening given the reality that women are sexually attacked all day long in this country. Unfortunate as it may be, that is the context here: our culture is still very full of actions and values that are demeaning and damaging to women. It seems to me that we have to summarize it something like this: Arnold is as much of a pig as is average in our society. It would be nice if he were less of a pig, but it’s also nice that isn’t more of one. I agree with your assessment that Clinton was much worse, and look at how little it seems to have gotten in his way. Arnold seems to have a lot more integrity than most politicians and most movie stars. Maybe that’s a sad commentary, but if we’re looking for the truth I think we need to acknowledge that these things are relative.
Go Cubs. Go Arnold.
The Dish 