Platner's "Frat Boy" Crap Is Why We Should Elect More Women

[MineralMan]

Based on the most recent accusation of sexual assault by Platner, years ago, i'm sure there are other stories out there that haven't yet been told. All of which makes me wary of a lot of men who run for office. Generally, candidates have a history that goes back to their college days and their early 20s. All too often, that history has incidents in it that are damning. In most cases, the stories of sexual activities, including assaults and behavior that could be considered to be rape never are revealed. But, when they are, we're shocked.

Why are we shocked? Do we not remember the frat boys from our college days who kept a record of all of the women they had sex with. Notches on the gunstock, more or less? Why do we think that we'd know about such things unless a victim came forward? In most cases nobody tells such stories about their youthful mistakes and errors.

I was a college guy. I saw that stuff happen in real life. I wasn't part of it, but most of the guys I knew would take advantage of any situation that would lead to yet another sexual escapade. Is she drunk? Does she have a crush on me? Can I get into her pants? For many guys, those are the questions they ask. I was never that guy.

I remember a party my two housemates and I had one time. There must have been two dozen people there and many of them overindulged in drinking. At that party, there was one woman, about 20 years hold, who somehow got left behind by her ride. We were cleaning up the place and calling it a night when she appeared out of nowhere. Way too much to drink and barely able to stay upright. I knew her, though.

She was going to have to spend the night at our house and get a ride home in the morning. She was draping her arms over the guys, including me. Anywhere else, she'd have been a target of some guy looking for a quickie. I gently led her over to a couch in the living room, got her sat down and brought over a spare pillow. She laid down on the couch. So, I pulled a blanket out of the closet and covered her up. The next morning, I drove her back to her apartment, and that was that.

That's what you do. You don't have sex with the drunk party-goer. For many men, though, that's not the case. And far too many of them continue to take advantage of people's weaknesses in every possible area. All too often, those are the same people who get themselves into positions of trust or power. Same guys. The rest aren't seeking such positions. It's not in their nature. And the opportunists get away with it, because most victims don't come forward.

Someone said to me at some point, "People who seek power should never be allowed to have power." That's true in politics as well. So, I'm never really surprised when someone calls a candidate out for some behavior from the past. I'm surprised when that doesn't happen, really. It's not a good situation at all, and we find ourselves in that situation way more often than we should.