Sarah Vine: ‘If this hysterical Westminster witch hunt is what a world run by women looks like, count me out’

[gluteustothemaximus]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5037545/SARAH-VINE-hysterical-Westminster-witch-hunt.html#ixzz4xIfYLwOP

Sorry. I should know better than to get wound up by the daily mail, or Sarah Vine.

Lines like: What started as a WhatsApp group of parliamentary employees swapping notes on their bosses has turned into a mob of aggrieved ‘victims’ claiming a million sexual micro-aggressions against a number of unnamed individuals who, it seems, are not even allowed to know where they are supposed to have overstepped the mark.

Poor menz. Not knowing what constitutes sexual harassment.

Or perhaps that depends on your point of view. Because there is a strong cultural and generational element to this, too. Most of the accused are over 40; most of the accusers are in their 20s. In other words, it’s the revenge of the millennials, many of whom will have had their senses of humour surgically removed at university.

Riiight. So anyone who is harassed, doesn’t have a sense of humour if they don’t laugh it off?

Like that stupid ‘Metoo’ hashtag that started trending after the Harvey Weinstein scandal broke, these are not real expressions of emancipation: they are empty, attention-seeking gestures

I tweeted about my rape. I can assure you it wasn’t attention seeking.

AIBU to be sad that some women, like sarah, feel like this?

God, we have along way to go.

Was anyone else on here watching QT? A politician on there was talking about female constituents who are being sexually harassed by employers (in low paid jobs) including being slapped on the bum and are too scared of losing their jobs to report it.

And throw the possibility of a UC sanction into the mix and they are even less likely to report.

A lot of sympathy for genuine victims but the trial by media here is utterly reprehensible. Too many allegations are being confused with proven facts.

If you are a victim of serious crime, I fail to understand why you would go to the papers or twitter rather than the police.

Edwina Currie has just joined the Vine Club.

It's difficult though. I want crimes prosecuted and victims supported but ... "his hand brushed my knee 10 years ago..." that is not in any way in the same as for example the Harvey Weinstein assaults and shouldn't be categorised with them.

I find it all hilarious. The tide is turning at last. Yes fairly minor things will get whipped up in the frenzy but if it finally knocks the white male priveledge and everyday sexism thing on the head, so be it. I'm bringing up sons and i dont want them to grow up to be men that harass women, in any shape or form, and I think this all could be the final nail in the coffin and the start of a more equal society. Bring it all on I say.

I agree flomper. About bloody time.

I have a friend who works in Parliament and has seen the full list, with names. There’s absolutely a lot more to the Fallon story than a hand on the knee. Several other ‘household name’ MPs on there too. It’s horrifying. I think this will finally be the end for May (she’s not on the list! - but all this is a huge distraction. I think she’ll want someone else to clear it up).

I’d be surprised if someone enterprising doesn’t sell the full list to the foreign press, then it will come out online.

It’s great this is all coming out

What so many of us have had to deal with from the uncomfortable stares to the sexual assaults passed off as over friendly touching will just not be tolerated or accepted

we should not want anything less for future generations

And boohoo for men who took advantage of sexual harassment and assault being tolerated in our society they should be named and shamed as their actions should only cause them shame no one else

Meh, look at me - I manage to walk around all day without accidentally or inadvertently sexually harassing someone. It’s not that hard. Just don’t be a sleazy twat who thinks he is entitled to a woman simply because he has a certain amount of power, and stop confusing power for charm.

Not sure why we need to set standard so low as to meet Sarah Vine’s conception of them. Millions of men walk around every day without being abusive bastards or sexually harassing people around them.

Idiot.

Edwina Currie on This Week just made me simultaneously sick and want to cry in frustration. "This will ruin good men." "I've never noticed a culture of sexual harrassment." "Are women so weak that we can't just say no if one if these handsome men puts their hand on our knee."

She is yet again part of the problem, just like she was when she let Saville have access to Broadmoor.

There will always be a few of these idiots. What utter pathetic excuse of diff times, harassment is harassment period. I honestly don't give a shit about carrying out a witch hunt. I still can't get into a crowded bus thirty years on after daily physical harassment in public buses on my way to school, at 13 years of age. Random strange men of all ages felt it was absolutely fine to fell me up or brush against me, almost on every journey. This culture is not right, and anyways we can change it is worth a try.

Firstly disgusted at the victim blaming, shaming and ignorance both on this thread and in the media on this issue generally.

If a knee touch/hand on shoulder is so 'innocent' then why do these men NEVER do it to other men and would think twice about doing it to a woman senior to them? Bollocks is it innocent! It's testing/pushing boundaries and intended to subjugate.

How are they meant to know how to behave? How about 'if you wouldn't do it to another man' 'if you wouldn't do it to a 6'7" martial arts expert' how about just bloody don't?! There is absolutely NO reason in any job excepting medical emergency for ANY colleague to touch another without their express consent!

"Where will it all end?

When men stop doing this shit." EXACTLY

"Men who don't assault women have nothing to worry about" this with bells on!

To the pp assaulted on a bus I'm really sorry that happened to you, but do you not understand that your assailant more than likely STARTED by placing his hand on girls/women's knees and was emboldened by the fact he wasn't censured?

This whole issue was discussed on QT and This Week tonight and I liked what 2 of the panellists on QT said - that what NEEDS to happen is OTHER MEN shaming and reporting these pervs!

Helena - not surprised re Currie really - she was a great pal of Savile's, the way she behaved almost shouting down Harriet Harman on TW was bullying imo.

Harriet handled it well though while EC came across as ranting drivel.

I thought Harman was pretty ineffectual really. Thoug she was basically ganged up on by three misogynists. How the hell has Andrew Neill got that job. The man is as thick as mince. Portillo is a total irrelevance. I never thought that I would miss Diane Abbott. But tonight I did.

mrs muddlepluck you need to get your facts straight. The women who’s knee Fallon touched was Julia Hartley-brewer. She didn’t threaten to “knock his block off”, she said she would “punch him in the face.”
She also gave MANY quotes saying that even though the attention was unwarranted she found the incident nothing more than “mildly amusing”, and doesn’t believe he should be fired. She said she wholeheartedly disagrees with the witch hunt, especially in her case as it detracts from women who have been seriously sexually assaulted (in her opinion).
(This has been all over BBC every morning this week, not certain how you could get it wrong)
Fallon didn’t resign over touching someone's knee 20 years ago, I pretty sure he’s trying to do damage control and is hoping more won’t come out. And you seem to think Ms Hartley-Brewer should be dismissed for asking him to stop, or being intimidating?! Should she just have said nothing?
As for poor men not knowing how to appropriately touch a women they want to make a pass at.... honestly how ridiculous. Fallon should have known it was wrong as he was married at the time. That’s a pretty big clue.

It's Sarah Vine. She's always been consistent with being a twat.

Serious question.

What about the people named as victims who don't want the attention? Are they just collateral damage?

I've never heard of Sarah Vine.
My only health warning on this came just now on reading that Angela Loathsome has made an allegation.
Politicians are professional liars and that trait covers all their activities.
If alleging something has an advantage then they will use it. Whether there is any truth or not.

I've never heard of Sarah Vine

StrictlyPannnn Ignorance is bliss.

She's a poundland version of Katie Hopkins.

Yes, Pannn, because women are in the habit of making shit up about being sexually harassed and assaulted.

If alleging something has an advantage then they will use it. Whether there is any truth or not.

I don't see much advantage being bestowed upon any of the women who have spoken out so far, do you? I see them being torn to shreds in the media, being told they are ruining some poor man's life, and told they should get a grip as it's only a bit of touching.

Funny how some people seem to be focusing on how the individual victim must be lying, rather than looking at the overall picture that is now so clear it's metaphorically slapping you round the face.

But keep fighting the good fight, Pannn, if you successfully tear apart each individual woman who alleges something happened, the big picture will just fade away into the background, and you can all carry on as before.

Sonic you seem to have run off into the sunset with my post.
There can be advantage in such allegation. I merely said that coming to politicians who do each over daily and bear grudges it's a health warning that that is the custom and practice.

I hope economic inequality is next to be addressed

Look Sarah, I quite see that being married to Michael Gove is one of life’s more miserable experience, but stop pouring your bile and bitterness on other women, ok? It’s embarrassing.

And I maintain my point that it's interesting that that is the perspective that you choose to take on it.

If you are a victim of serious crime, I fail to understand why you would go to the papers or twitter rather than the police.

JanesMom somebody was asked this the other day, this particular person went to the police and was ignored. It's what happens when you're trying to be David fighting Goliath. They're seen as untouchable.