{"id":39670,"date":"2017-12-01T09:57:25","date_gmt":"2017-12-01T15:57:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=39670"},"modified":"2018-04-06T10:00:59","modified_gmt":"2018-04-06T16:00:59","slug":"op-ed-saying-goodbye-to-heroes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/op-ed-saying-goodbye-to-heroes\/","title":{"rendered":"OP-ED: Saying goodbye to heroes"},"content":{"rendered":"

By ALAN SMASON<\/p>\n

Over the course of the last several days, several more of American society’s heroes have fallen. Matt Lauer, a morning staple for the past two decades from whom I received most of my news with my first cup of coffee, was jettisoned by NBC News on Wednesday morning over sexual improprieties that he largely admitted to and acknowledged on Thursday morning. <\/p>\n

Lauer was a skilled interviewer and a dedicated journalist who, at least publicly, practiced his craft in the most professional manner. At the time of his firing by NBC News chairman Andy Lack, no similar complaint had ever been lodged against Lauer in his more than 20 years of work as an NBC anchor on “The Today Show.”<\/p>\n

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons was named in a blog on Wednesday by screenwriter Jenny Lumet as having sexually assaulted her in 1991 when she was 24. Lumet, the daughter of famous director Sidney Lumet and the granddaughter of actress and singer Lena Horne, was credited as an actress and screenwriter of several films, most notably “Rachel Getting Married.” This being the second of such serious allegations leveled at Simmons, he stepped down from his position as head of the multi-million dollar corporations Def Jam Records and Rush Communications on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Garrison Keillor, a man whose judicious use of words, phrasing and unusual delivery had him likened to a modern-day Mark Twain and who helped transform Minnesota Public Radio and American Public Radio into powerful modern public radio powerhouses, was summarily dismissed by his parent companies on Tuesday over allegations he had improperly touched women over the course of his career. As a result, his trademarked “Prairie Home Companion” brand is being discontinued and his popular “Writer’s Almanac” series has been suspended. While Keillor did not admit to wrongdoing as Lauer and Simmons have, he seems to have resigned himself to the reality that his career is in shambles.<\/p>\n

Although I never met Lauer or Simmons, I did have the opportunity of meeting and spending a very short time with Keillor, following an appearance at the JCC in support of his release of a volume of poetry three years ago. He asked me many more questions that I was able to put to him in the all-too-short drive from the St. Charles Avenue auditorium to his Canal Street hotel. At the time, my impression was that he was a bit of an intellectual oddball. <\/p>\n

Lauer, the epitome of the well-dressed and dapper man, was the sartorial opposite of Keillor, who at best looked out of place in a suit and tie, as well as Simmons, who wore casual items from his own fashion line and whose head was almost always crowned by a New York Yankees ball cap. But in many ways they were all very similar. They were all at the top of their game and practiced work ethics that kept them there for many years. Although Keillor had retired from his trademarked radio show two years ago,  his “Writer’s Almanac” program was heard over the nation’s airwaves every day until Wednesday. <\/p>\n

I admit it. These were men I admired for what they represented. Lauer and his counterpart at CBS News, Charlie Rose,  both appeared on face value to be highly ethical and morally straight. While their careers have been sullied by their actions, I cannot in good conscience throw away all of the good reportage and excellent insights they offered over decades of service as journalists. But I don’t have to like them as much. That is certain.<\/p>\n

In Congress, both Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called on Georgia Representative John Conyers, the oldest sitting Congressman and a veteran of the Civil Rights era, to step down after yet another woman emerged to describe inappropriate advances made by him.  Conyers, who marched side by side with Martin Luther King, had used public funds to pay off one of his accusers. At last report, he was confined to a Washington, D.C. hospital for stress brought on by the crisis. <\/p>\n

In the Senate,  Al Franken (D-MI.) has admitted wrongdoing in groping several women prior to his election to Congress, but he steadfastly has refused to resign his position. Given his stature as one of the most vocal opponents to the Republican majority and the fact he has apologized and acknowledged his improper actions, it is unlikely he will be forced to step down by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell or Minority Leader Harry Reid.<\/p>\n

Add these men’s names to the runaway list of those who have admitted improprieties or have been named as perpetrators. We are witnessing a social media firestorm that has been converted into the “#metoo” revolution.<\/p>\n

This cultural pressure cooker has found its moment of clarification and the previous misdeeds of men towards women and other men are now being taken into account. In this watershed moment of emboldened former victims, no bad deed will go unpunished.<\/p>\n

This all seemingly started with the documented inappropriate and, perhaps criminal, assaults of Harvey Weinstein, a film mogul who was forced out from the companies he created and who has now been permanently booted from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Producers Guild of America.<\/p>\n

Those revelations were first revealed by former MSNBC investigative reporter Ronan Farrow, whose work was initially turned down by NBC before being published first in New Yorker<\/em> magazine. The numbers of named celebrities who have been accused in the resulting backlash are far too numerous to list here, but those that have fallen include far too many from the ranks of identified Jewish men. <\/p>\n

Weinstein was the tip of the Jewish iceberg before Richard Dreyfuss, Brent Ratner, Andrew Kreisberg, Dustin Hoffman, Jeremy Pivin, Jeffery Tambor, Matthew Weiner, Mark Halperin and Leo Wieseltier were added to the headlines of those who had been accused. With the exception of Weinstein and Wieseltier, all of the others have denied wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

But the damage has been done and, sadly, it feeds into the rhetoric of anti-Semites ready to pounce on this news and use it for their own nefarious ends. <\/p>\n

What seems clear is that this revolution will take down those heroes whose past indiscrete actions have given them feet of clay. While the latest three to fall have no overtly Jewish identities (Lauer’s father was descended from Romanian Jews), this is no reason to celebrate. Only those who admit to their previous wrongdoing and accept their punishment will find eventual vindication. Those who continue to prey on others will be revealed and justice will be meted out by the mob mentality of social media justice seekers and, possibly, through the courts. For good or bad, as Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown was quoted, revolutions are particularly bloody when they start. Those who get caught up in the whirlwind of change at the beginning usually take the hardest hits. <\/p>\n

All of this will take time as a new mindset is put into place in the workplace over what is permissible and what should be considered improper. So, yes, I can easily say goodbye to my heroes of the past if they are replaced by responsible men and women who don’t view sex as a means to achieve power over one another. This is a huge task, but one that must be done if we are to move forward.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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