She Said, “Why Won't He Learn?”

I am a lover of movies and watch at least one a week. Recently, I stumbled across “She Said” a film based on journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor’s published report in “The New York Times” that exposed the sexual abuse allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

Their story served as a launching pad for the #MeToo movement.

I originally found these two significant reporters when I was researching my first book, “Scenes from Valley,” (the illustration is from Chapter 5) which covers sexual harassment in 1990’s Silicon Valley, among other topics.

What most affected me when watching the movie was Ashley Judd’s story of how Weinstein ruined her career after she refused his advances. I have explored the issue and effects of male domination since my college years, and while there’s been some improvement in the workplace, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t occur. Take, for example, the Hannover, Germany, ballet conductor who violently rubbed feces on the face of a female art critic after her negative review of his latest show. Nothing can justify his actions. In this country, the “MeToo” movement is colliding with Trump’s Maga party solidifying the white male belief in their superiority over everything.

I first came across this thinking as a young girl raised in a Southern Baptist home. I wasn’t surprised that the Christian conservatives joined with Trump. The Southern Baptist Convention still supports the idea that men oversee everything surrounding the house. Thus the battle to embrace equality in all things among all people must continue.

Movies like “She Said” provide an opportunity to educate the masses, assuming one can choose what she watches.

It’s an essential educational device for helping people to understand the need for the “MeToo” movement.

I can imagine how useful it would be in a 21st-century history class. This leads me to wonder if the women’s movement will suffer the same problems that Black AP History courses are enduring in DeSantos Florida. I am growing ever more concerned about education as I work on this issue in Arizona, which has the Trumpian belief that education for profit supersedes quality. We are lucky to have a female governor that has made education her foremost issue.

While parents should have a say in what their children learn, I know from personal experience that children often learn only what their prejudiced parents will allow. Curtailing knowledge will not enhance our lives. If a man isn’t taught at home that attacking women in the workplace is unacceptable behavior, we need to have the fallback of public education. It’s sad that in 2023 we continue to fight for fundamental human rights, but we won’t evolve without it.

Please take a moment to consider how you or your organization can improve access to knowledge in your community.