Why would I be offended? I feel sorrow for what I experienced too; any reasonable person would. Children should be allowed to be children. Full stop. So Thank you, truly; trust that the sentiment is well received. 

#NotAllMen, of course. It goes without saying. But, I won’t let male fragile feelings and female desire to cover and protect male fragility derail or hijack much needed discussions on women moving forward from #MeToo. As far as I’m concerned as long as men choose silence or empty sympathy in addressing rape culture and the accompanying chronic harassment and exploitation then women shouldn’t waste any more energy (not a single ounce!) on sympathy and consideration for male feelings and puffed up egos. 

There’s simply too much to do to continue carrying the dead weight of it all. We either move forward or we continue letting them hold us back from our best selves. That shouldn’t be a hard choice to make. 

As far as them knowing it was wrong … social programming and conditioning is very strong. It was 1982. Is it so hard to believe the majority of them were unaware of the harm they were causing when the majority of women were too? As much or more of the gaslighting regarding sexual harassment during that time frame came from our mothers. Being able to talk about sex was in it’s infancy in the early 80s. Let’s not forget the pearl clutching over “sexually explicit lyrics" in songs like Salt ' Peppa’s “Let’s Talk About Sex" led by Tipper Gore, a woman working to uphold the patriarchy. You can’t know what’s hidden. Silence hides truth and women have been complicit in hiding the truth by their silence and their silencing of their own daughters.

It’s never been just men. #NotAllMen is an unworthy distraction. Nothing more.