All In The Family

"My heart breaks for all the women who have suffered tremendous pain because of these unforgivable actions."
"I have chosen to leave my husband. Caring for my young children is my first priority and I ask the media for privacy at this time."
Georgina Chapman, New York

"[I] had no idea he [Weinstein] was capable of these horrible actions [as an 'entitled' sexual predator].
"Fired [the] Weinsteins [from Miramax] because they were irresponsible, and Harvey was an incorrigible bully."
Michael Eisner, (former) Disney chief executive

"A culture of complicity [has prevailed at both The Weinstein Co. and his previous film company, the Walt Disney-owned Miramax]."
"Numerous people throughout the companies [were] fully aware of his [Harvey Weinstein's] behaviour but either abetting it or looking the other way."
New Yorker magazine

NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 28: Harvey Weinstein and Meryl Streep on stage at the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation's A Magical Evening Gala at Cipriani, Wall Street on November 28, 2012 in New York City.  (Mike Coppola / Getty Images)

No one knew that among the celebrated producers in Hollywood one in particular was loyal to the old urban legends of the industry's fabled giants' propensity to prey on women anxious and eager to make a name for themselves, who saw no option for themselves but to betray their dignity and sighing, faced the inevitable; sleeping their way to fame and fortune. Evidently this man, skilled in the trade that made his name, was an inveterate womanizer, a man who compulsively threw his considerable clout in favour of any actor who submitted to his unwanted blandishments for sex.

And in that fine old tradition he was proud to make his own, any comely actress who failed to respond positively, in the manner he felt entitled to expect, simply wouldn't make the grade; his mentorship withdrawn, they'd have to promote themselves as best they could. And knowing the unlikelihood of that succeeding, Harvey Weinstein had a certain arrogant confidence that his offer was a not-unreasonable expectation.

His reputation was the talk of the town -- both towns, Hollywood and New York. Well known, remarked upon and either shrugged off or silently deplored, depending on your gender, it would seem. In the world of 'making it' by 'making out', women stood to gain if they rendered unto this Caesar what he felt was  his. He was not, it appears, particularly discreet. But then, there's a certain pattern that emerges among entitled men; they simply feel they are owed homage reflecting their exceptionality.

Which certainly helps to explain why former U.S. President Bill Clinton may have felt so at ease with this Hollywood production mogul. Among the many who now see fit to declare they had no idea that their former colleague was behaving in such an unacceptable, immoral manner, pressing himself on vulnerable women, Bill Clinton prefers to stand aside and let others condemn his old friend.

Mind, even those with no axe to grind either way, like Lindsay Lohan who had declared her empathy for Weinstein in an Instagram video -- explaining she had never been sexually harassed by him through their professional relationship -- felt obliged to delete it, lest she be seen to be on his 'side', a very lonely place to be.

A sexual predator is one with an absent conscience. The violence used in this instance against women was to deny them their aspirations. Such predation takes many forms, this among them; it is, in essence, an assault against their right of sovereignty over their bodies. Of course it is a matter of free choice whether or not to submit, unless physical force is used and then the deplorable becomes a crime of rape.

Many men who have captured the popular imagination and who have had great popular acclaim for their personal and professional attributes have failed the test as decent human beings, Weinstein is just another of them. Like Jian Ghomeshi formerly with the CBC, like the British television and radio personality Jimmy Savile whose crime was against children, like the popular Fox News men and certainly like former Black comedian Bill Cosby, everyone's favourite jokester. And who can forget the two Kennedy brothers, Ted and his brother John?

This too shall pass. As it has done involving the clergy, business leaders, boy scout leaders, sport figures, the military, where corrupt and influential people betrayed the trust that society lent them, some of them sociopaths, psychopaths, and just plain predators. This is life. This is the perpetual story of human fallibility. It is the story of people who believe themselves exceptional, entitled, free to act on their own agency in ways that harm others, to satisfy their urges.

But there are also the enablers, those who know and don't really care as long as it doesn't impact them personally. "When I founded Talk magazine in 1996 with Miramax, the movie company Harvey founded with his brother Bob, I also took over the running of their fledgling book company. Strange contracts pre-dating us would suddenly surface, book deals with no deadline attached authored by attractive or nearly famous women, one I recall was by the stewardess on a private plane. It was startling -- and professionally mortifying -- to discover how many hacks writing gossip columns or entertainment coverage were on the Miramax payroll with a 'consultancy' or a 'development deal'," wrote Tina Brown, celebrity journalist, scathingly.

Evidently the mortification she felt never compelled her to leave her editor's position with the magazine, enabling her to continue picking up her big, fat salary cheques from Miramax, and amusing herself attending the parties her employer put on with his impressive guest list of celebrities.... Including of course, Meryl Streep, who referred to Weinstein as "God" at the 2012 Golden Globe awards, but who found Donald Trump's sexual transgressions disgustingly odious.

This, the man whom countless Hollywood aspirants and those who succeeding beyond their wildest dreams of success, are grateful to for his helping, groping hand. Oh, and Harvey Weinstein's wife, Ms. Chapman, whose fashion line he so generously promoted, 'recommending' that 'his' stars appear at soirees wearing Marchesa apparel....