I felt compelled to write this today as I think I have some wisdom to contribute to national discussion. This is probably complete hubris on my part, but that doesn't stop the rest of the bloggers out there, so why should I let it get in my way.
The impetus for this particular blog post is my recent viewing of "Confirmation" on HBO. I thought it was so well done that praise should be given for all participants. Kerry Washington did a superb job as Anita Hill and brought that moment before the Senate back to me almost completely intact. It seemed so real for me that I was brought back to the very day we who were alive witnessed it on the television. Wendell Pierce was also excellent as Clarence Thomas. I had a little problem with this particular actor as Justice Thomas because I have always loved Wendell Pierce since my first encounter with his work in "The Wire". I thought he was excellent in "Treme" and he is currently very enjoyable in "The Odd Couple". Because of these other associations, there were moments when I could only see the actor and not the character he portrayed.
Even given the above, I was transported back into time to the actual hearings themselves and the disgust I felt as the committee completely manhandled Professor Hill. It caused really deep feelings in me and I was amused by the endnotes that HBO tacked on showing the change in numbers of women in politics after these hearings. Actually my life, at the time of these hearings, was pretty full of responsibilities. I was a full time city mail carrier in Chicago at the time and I was completing my undergraduate degree in mathematics part time. I would attend classes in my mail carrier's uniform most of the time. Give that I was more than twice the age of the other students, I suppose I did stand out. Just a clarification, but I was in my late 40's and did not attempt to complete my degree until my children had mostly reached adulthood.
I remember sitting in a calculus class and I couldn't resist commenting to the student to my right who happened to be a little closer to my age than most of the others in the class. I mentioned that the hearings had brought back to me memories of the harassment I had suffered from male bosses and coworkers over the years. To my amazement this woman said she had never experienced any harassment. It was so rampant that I was stunned to know that this person had not experienced any. Was i just the victim of a lot of bad luck? Even as a letter carrier I had experienced harassment from school boys on the street who would yell out of their classrooms demeaning comments focused on my sexuality. What would their parents think? I wondered.
Another point made by Professor Hill was that she kept quiet about it because retaliation could ruin her career and her reputation. She also had difficulty explaining why she followed him from one job to another. Well ask any woman in a similar situation and the answer she gave was quite clear and it was clear by the way the committee treated her. She was making this up to get back at him because he didn't want to go out with her, she suffered from erotomania, and I become almost apoplectic as I revisit these accusations in my mind. When I have had to respond to comments in a similar vein I just become mute because the comments seem completely inane to me and the commenters cannot really believe those things. Especially if they know me at all.
Just personally I am not good at answering charges made completely on fictional grounds. I think I learned in grade school that to entertain answering these criticisms just offers them substance.
Yes, we have come far, I guess. I have had to go through so much sensitivity training that I could give the whole course myself. Of course, it was somewhat wasted on me as I would be the least likeliest person to harass a coworker. I guess I am slow to trust also, as all of the guarantees against retaliation never gave me enough confidence to report harassment in the workplace.
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