The tsunami of accusations of harassment and assault, of careers blocked, of self-confidence shattered continues. Every day, another accusation. The latest of note was Louis CK. Confession: I liked his show. I’ve watched his stand up. He made me laugh.  But I honestly thought this schlub was a persona not a real person. It appears his on-stage avatar was the real Louis, a 13 year old in a man’s body who was obsessed with his own d***.

A couple of thoughts about his apology. Kudos for saying off the top that the women who accused him did not lie.  Then it goes down hill.  How many “I’s”, how many “admired me’s”? And we are supposed to believe that all of a sudden he realizes the error of his ways because of some revelation? No, he was exposed. Caught red handed. Up until a couple of months ago, he was denying the “rumours” thus branding his victims as liars.

And no Louis, these women did not “admire you”. That isn’t why they feel abused. They were abused by you. You were a power in a very small industry and they were women and everyone knows women aren’t funny so I can understand why they were afraid to shout and scream and create havoc. Because they would have suffered. Many probably did.  We won’t know how many women were subjected to this because most won’t come forward. You don’t just one day decide “Hey, I’m 40 and admired and I’m going to whip it out on people with less power and make them watch me whack off.” This was not a one-off or an aberration. Louis and the rest of them are like Trump. They do it because they can.  But it’s not because they “let you.”

Never that.

But I want to emphasize that not all men are bad or abusive or evil or just waiting for the chance to abuse or assault or harass.  Most men are good and honest and would never even think about such a thing.  It’s been my pleasure to have these men in my life.  So despite the headlines and the drip-drip-drip of perversity, I hold onto hope that we can stop enabling all abusers, stop ignoring all the victims’ whispers, and maybe, just maybe, treat each other with respect and kindness.