Issue 2, april 2019
MIDDLESEX UNIVERSITY'S STUDENT NEWSPAPER
COMMENTARY | pg7
COMMENTARY SMOKE WITHOUT FIRE COMMENTARY | OPINION | Student: MA Writing for Creative & Professional Practice AARON FENTON-HEWITT
Now, Google a guy called Liam as a result of this? Can saying sorry Allan. His life was turned upside resurrect his career prospects? Can an down when he was accused of sexual official statement from the Met help harassment and rape. His accuser –
to fully integrate Liam back into his
who has still not been named at the social circle? Will he ever be able to
There are sixty minutes in an hour. scrutiny or investigation.
time of writing this – accused him of
be fully trusted by a woman or her
The truth has now been hijacked, this, sparking a two-year investigation parents? These are the things that days in a week. Four weeks in a month. and it can be moulded into anything by the police. falsely accused men have to deal with. Twelve months in a year. Liverpool the person wants. It turned out the police had not fully Unfortunately, the #MeToo Twenty-four hours in a day. Seven
It angers me because it cheapens recovered and investigated all digital movement has a very nasty side effect; home games. Barack Obama became the actual truth and makes it harder evidence. The case was dropped it has created a hostile environment in the first African-American President for people to try and pick sense from after a computer disk was found, which women are to be believed, until of the United States of America and nonsense, i.e. investigate objectively, which contained tens of thousands of proven that they’re lying, and men are F.C. wear red jerseys during their
served two terms. Theresa May is and therefore affects those who are messages which revealed the alleged to be disbelieved, until proven they’re the current Prime Minister of the actually telling the truth. It scares me victim had been pestering Liam for telling the truth. Men are now guilty United Kingdom (as of 25th March because it has the potential to be a ‘casual sex’, describing Liam as a kind until proven innocent. If a man is 2019). There are four seasons: spring, direct threat to legitimate justice.
person and references to rape fantasies
accused, the onus is no longer on the
summer, autumn and winter. France
and role-playing.
woman to prove he’s lying, it is now
are the most recent winners of the FIFA World Cup. You may be wondering to yourself why I’m saying all these random sentences. I answer you by saying
“
a
As a man in contemporary society, on the man to prove he isn’t. we seem to be faced
cure
that
with is
so
on them does not matter at all. These are facts. Unbiased, objective facts. With this being said, there is
Has the #MeToo movement gone too
of this calibre, your life is irreparably far? Has it stuck to its original purpose,
uch worse than the
damaged. It affects all aspects of it: which is to bring sexual predators to
disease.
professional, social and of course, justice? Do we really want to live in
this: all of these statements are true. They are not subjective. My opinion
once you have been accused of a crime
sexual. Ever since disgraced American film
an environment that is so sterile that
During this investigation, there was men no longer want to associate with
producer Harvey Weinstein was outed crucial evidence being withheld and women unless absolutely necessary as a sexual deviant and predator, the the Met Police offered an apology. But purely out of paranoia that they too
#MeToo movement has taken the that’s not really enough, is it? Even will be wrongfully accused of sexual an attitude that is widespread in world by storm, as we have seen other with the lack of evidence to exonerate assault? contemporary society that both The purpose of the #MeToo powerful men publicly accused and Liam, they still had no hard evidence angers me and scares me, particularly movement was to cleanse the world of later convicted. It is an idea that I fully to prove that he was guilty. held and promoted by filthy-rich Now, as a society, we believe in the disease of sexual predators, but we support: anybody who sexually abuses celebrities and those in the public eye. a person should suffer the appropriate due process and the presumption of seem to be faced with a cure that is so There seems to be an attitude which consequences and victims should innocence until proven guilty and much worse than the disease, which is makes the truth subjective instead receive justice. I don’t think there’s conviction. At least, that’s what we’re quite worrying. of objective, especially concerning I certainly don’t want to live in that a single person alive who would be supposed to believe in. Is an apology sexual assault against women. People enough for the undeserved shame world, but cases like Liam’s prove against this idea. are to be believed without question, and social exile that Liam received sometimes there is smoke without fire.
