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then admitted. In just the past week, more It’s a valid question. But it’s also a question 5
famous and admired men have lost their jobs for that makes me deeply suspicious of its timing.
such behaviors. Enter Charlie Rose and Matt Why do we need to talk about the redemption of
Lauer right behind him and then Garrison Keillor. men when we are right in the middle of the section one
The man on the couch next to me was salvation of women? Not even the middle, but
disconcerted, making an argument that while the very beginning? Why are we obligated to /
Louis C.K.’s actions certainly merited serious care about salvaging male careers when we have
consequences, what he did and what Harvey just begun to tell the stories that have plagued us
Weinstein did are two very different things. We for lifetimes? It seems some men like a Amber Tamblyn
shouldn’t lump them all together, he insisted. revolution only when it’s their kind of war.
The woman was firm with her response: “Yes, Throughout history, women haven’t been in 5
we can and we will. Choosing consequences a position to come forward with their stories and
doesn’t belong to you anymore.” be taken seriously as a rule. That’s the reason we
The man balked with frustration. “What sometimes wait 20 years to report something —
do you want,” he asked her. “What’s the ultimate harassment, assault — if we say anything at all.
thing you would want to happen to him, for We haven’t been silent because we forgot or
what he did? That he never works in this business made our stories up. We’ve been silent because
again?” The woman said, simply: “Yes. That’s the we’ve been silenced. But women now feel
price you pay.” The man was quiet for a moment, comfortable telling such stories. And maybe even
thinking, until he found the question he’d been more important, we are seeing consequences for
looking for the entire conversation. “Tell me those actions. This is more than a watershed
something: Do you believe in redemption?” moment — it’s a flash-flood point.

e xtending beyond the te xt
extending beyond the text

Read this excerpt written in response to news reports that New York Attorney General Eric
Schneiderman had sexually abused at least four women. Note the language and word choices
that Howe uses to describe this incident, as well as the #MeToo movement in general.

from After #MeToo, What’s Next?
Neil Howe
#MeToo has claimed its latest victim: New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, one of the
movement’s most prominent advocates, has resigned amid accusations of sexual abuse. This
comes on the heels of Bill Cosby’s conviction on three counts of sexual assault. The nationwide
reckoning on sexual harassment began late last year in the wake of accusations against
Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. Since then, a torrent of new allegations has surfaced,
toppling the careers of dozens of powerful men as millions of victims have come forward. Those
behind this #MeToo movement have launched a global conversation, one that Time magazine’s
editor-in-chief called "one of the highest velocity shifts in our culture since the 1960s."
Based on your examination of what Howe says and the words he uses to say it, how would you
describe his attitude toward #MeToo?

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