Do R. Kelly, Jeffrey Epstein arrests signal a turning point against 'rape culture'?
Citing what she called the documentary's "deeply, deeply disturbing" allegations, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx made an unusual public plea in January for any Kelly accusers to come forward. The next month she announced that a Cook County grand jury had indicted Kelly on multiple counts of sexual abuse, three of which involved allegedly underage victims.
What is most striking to me and others who have followed Kelly's amazing career, as well as the gossip that has been orbiting around him for years alleging his predatory pursuits of underage girls, is the new seriousness with which the allegations are being taken.
As Acosta said, "We live in a very different world" -- and that's a good thing. For decades, feminists have decried a "rape culture" that causes people to trivialize claims of sexual assault and harassment and refuse to acknowledge the harm caused by sexual violence.
The #MeToo era has brought an important change, turning the spotlight of attention and sometimes prosecution against powerful celebrities such as Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein, and sending important notice to the rest of us to avoid not only predatory behavior but also the passive support that comes from responding to apparent wrongdoing by looking the other way.
At the same time, of course, we must preserve the presumption of innocence as a matter of simple justice. Even though it didn't involve allegations of sexual violence, the apparently fake hate crime reported by "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett last winter should properly caution us against jumping to conclusions.
Time will tell how much of a different world our society has become. It is up to all of us to make the difference.
========
(E-mail Clarence Page at cpage@chicagotribune.com.)
(c) 2019 CLARENCE PAGE DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
