False idols: Claims against prominent figures show cracks in pedestals

Apologies offer too little, too late.

Such can certainly be said for the victims of the increasing number of alleged sexual predators being named publicly.

The latest in the cavalcade of falling stars might be the hardest for those of us in the media to stomach. Charlie Rose, a pillar in the journalistic community and once ranked among this state's most notable "hometown-boy-makes-good" stories, is but the latest in a string of cascading dominoes to fall in succession.

We suppose, statistically speaking, it is no surprise that X-amount of the rich and famous, the Hollywood elite, the media darlings and the veritable who's-who in Washington are proving to be at best serial sexual batterers and at worst out-and-out pedophiles. The same might be true for any subset or demographic of people, per capita.

But Rose hits home for those of us who looked up to him as an icon in our chosen industry. He would ask any question, regardless of how controversial the topic, of any of his guests, regardless of how powerful they might have been. Few have his knack for conducting an interview or guiding a wandering speaker back to the substantive matter of a subject they'd strayed from, seemingly unintentionally, to find the answer he was seeking. He could accomplish the feat just by leaning toward or away from his subject at a key moment.

None of that matters now. Nor should it.

Bill Cosby, Roger Ailes, Bill O'Reilly, Harvey Weinstein, Roy Moore, Kevin Spacey, Louis C.K., Russell Simmons, Sen. Al Franken, NBC reporter Mark Halperin, NPR executive Michael Oreskes ... and the list goes on, all taken down by a woman's well-timed accusation when others before them had either mistimed their allegation or been too scared to come forward.

Think back a tick and you might realize this is not a new phenomenon. Clarence Thomas and Bill Clinton, Woody Allen and Roman Polanski.

Men of wealth or in positions of power have, forever it seems, been seemingly above the law when it comes to exerting their influence over women and men in lower positions to pressure them for sex or a fondle here and there. There was no recourse for the victims for fear of reprisal. Many were forced to settle, if they did speak out, for financial settlements in lieu of any justice or the chance to prevent another from falling victim to their aggressor.

We are warned however -- if religious, through scripture, if agnostic via those who've lived long enough to have become wise -- there is nothing gained through the worship of false idols.

Rose's apology and claim that he has "learned a great deal" from these allegations being made public is worthless to the women he victimized and to the aspiring journalists who emulated his professional contributions. But he and the other powerful people recently named have this in common -- they were not endowed with the power they exalted over their victims. That was granted to them by we who revered them perhaps a little too much.

If we have learned anything as a society after seeing star and politician and industry titan alike fall in disgrace, it is this -- the famous are mere mortals, as are we, and their wealth and notoriety make them no more infallible than you or I.

Published in Editorials on November 20, 2017 10:18 PM