I have daughters, and I’m glad they may not have to put up with the same crap we’ve had to for all these years in the workplace and everywhere else. Women haven’t been able to trust many men for years. About time there was a culture change to allow them to be called out.
“(both people who feel so strongly their life has been destroyed that they want to destroy someone else’s life and vice versa)” Please, @momofthreeboys.
Seriously, this is why so many women don’t report assault, harassment, intimidation and discrimination. You ascribe malice to a woman for reporting it, i.e., “want(ing) to destroy someone else’s life”. Who says these women want to destroy anyone’s life? They have been the subject of inappropriate behavior at best. Why should these guys get away with that? Why should women continue to put up with it? If they don’t speak out, the behavior continues and more women are victims.
No, read what I said - for some it is malice and for others they have truly been wounded. Don’t ascribe beliefs to me in a vacuum please or parse a piece of a sentence and present it as the entire thought…I’m getting aittle tired of that happening on these types of threads.
Here is the entire sentence once again: I hope that doesn’t come to pass and I hope that we get our arms around what is harassment worthy of destroying lives (both people who feel so strongly their life has been destroyed that they want to destroy someone else’s life and vice versa) and what is not.
This story has been out there about Matt Lauer. Variety and the New York Times have been working on it and nbc was aware. And there there were multiple incidents and more than one woman involved.
What I saw was that the incident reported happened during the Olympics in Socchi and that there was a clear difference in position.
NBC is not going to fire Matt Lauer without a preponderance of evidence, he would be suing in a minute. Think, if these were false and someone was fired they would be filing a lawsuit.
I guess I’m only surprised that all the posters above are so shocked that this goes on in the workplace.
Who HASN’T been in a work place with people (men people?) drinking too much, telling inappropriate jokes. giving hugs that offend someone (I don’t really like them at all but have put up with them from men and women at work for years)? For many years I went along to get along. I
Matt Lauer took time off many years ago to work on his marriage. His wife was sick of him being gone so much, but I’m sure there were other things going on too. What were they? I wouldn’t have been surprised to hear he was having an affair, drinking too much, spending too much money, and basically acting like a jerk.
I often rewatch West Wing (it keeps me sane when politics are insane) and there is an episode when Sam is teasing Ainsley and an intern who overhears the exchange is insulted. Ainsley is all dressed up to go to a black tie dinner and Sam says something about keeping the ‘dogs on a leash.’ Sam thinks he’s paying a compliment. Ainsley takes it as one. The third party thinks the comment is demeaning. I think this happens at workplaces all the time, and it happens more often when there is a lot of socializing at the workplace (late nights, travel, dinners). Again the two people involved were fine with the talk, enjoyed it, thought it made life more pleasant to have teasing and banter at work, but another person in the workplace felt it inappropriate.
A woman accused George HW Bush of sexually inappropriate conduct when she posed for a picture with him. He was 90, in a wheelchair, with his wife beside him, dozens of other people on the stage. Did she say anything at the time? No. Could she have just stepped away? Yes. Take two steps over. Now she makes a big deal about it saying she felt uncomfortable with him. Please. Take some control of your own life and don’t stand near anyone, ever, if you don’t want to be touched.
All WE have is an anonymous accusation. But we didn’t fire Matt Lauer. NBC did, and they have an accusation by a named person, and (I’m guessing) supporting evidence.
I think that the network had lawyers research the claim and decided it has merit.
What’s the vice versa? People who feel so strongly that they’ve already destroyed someone else’s life that they want to destroy their own?
As @deb922 commented – it’s being reported (by Variety and the NYT) that there are “multiple women … with far-ranging accusations against Lauer.” Supposedly both publications were about to go public with the story when NBC decided to fire him.
Is this supposed to be a joke? I’m supposed to never stand near anyone if I don’t want my butt grabbed? Never go on a subway, bus or plane? Never go in a crowded store, restaurant or bar? Never be in a group photo? Men can’t be trusted to keep their damn hands to themselves so I should cloister myself?
On the other hand, if Grandpa has lost it and is grabbing behinds, keep him at home or warn people. I may give a 90-year-old some slack, but if it happens repeatedly, his family isn’t dealing with the problem.
By the way, when it comes to these really famous guys, whose life has been destroyed by allegations? Harvey Weinstein and Roman Polanski are relaxing in France, Bill Cosby isn’t in jail, and lots of these other guys maintain their riches.
Lets be real. There’s no way someone like Lauer got fired because of a single complaint.
Does anyone really believe this?
40 years later, the Steve Lopez column in today’s LA Times wakes up (finally) to what Polanski did, that is anally rape a 13 year old girl he’d drugged.
Yet not a word about the Academy that gave him a Best Director’s Award and the A-listers who stood and applauded him.
The speed and intensity with which this has happened concerning Matt Lauer reminds me very much of how it was with Kevin Spacey. We didn’t know many details for days, but they were certainly there.
My guess is Lauer admitted the accusation was true.
You left some choice conservative voices out of your list for beyond obnoxious behavior…must have been an oversight 
So, some nut on the radio now said, ‘serves women right.’ They like handsome guys like Lauer (and others) for being pretty faces, some brother image, and if you complain about offensive behavior, you lose. Lose what?? “The ability to look at his pretty face.” Huh? “Lose that trust they want.” 'Scuuse me? Dang skippy, you should be able to trust the men around you.
Further, “This is just something that’s been going on for generations.” As if that makes it ok?
This is how convoluted it gets. IF a man goes after a woman, people see it as her fault, her appearance, her being near him, going for an interview, being angry or malicious. Or a wimp. And she shouldn’t have gone to that party or taken that work assignment? We’re ‘this short’ of saying, “Boys will be boys” or leaving it to built-in urges. Why can’t we just say, coming on to a woman, outside a relationship, is inappropriate, period?
In the wake of the Weinstein story, women journalists privately circulated a [bad] Men in Media list. I wonder how many men on the list are out on their butts now.
During the 2016 election, feminists called out some men in the media for sexist election coverage. Among the prominent men most accused were Mark Halperin, Glenn Thrush and Matt Lauer. Hmmm.
This one doesn’t surprise me at all. That’s exactly the kind of man he comes off as to me.
There is a clip going around from Katie Couric on Watch What Happens Live (2012) where she is asked what is the worst thing about working with Matt Lauer, she responds “He pinches me on the a** a lot.”
Lots was apparently going on: