I don't know the details.
But certainly disappointed women also lie. The way US attorneys have set things up, there's a huge financial incentive to do so. And it is hard and expensive for a defendant to defend themselves.
Do women lie as often as men harass women? I don't know. I can certainly attest to people lying in the workplace to get the money they wanted but hadn't earned. I know one guy who ran a successful software company who just shrugs and calls lying to get a pay out a part of American commercial culture.
When women claim harassment, are there degrees, some of which are trivial and others serious? Yes, of course. All sensible people know it. Hitting on a woman is something men do, but there can be circumstances in which it is inadvisable. You are not going to remove the nature from a man. We are animals, not angels. But that too can make a somewhat toxic work environment and so it is generally discouraged. On the other hand, folks fall in love and we generally celebrate that. Hitting a woman is in the serious category.
So my question is as always, is there (a) evidence or (b) a pattern? I thought there was. But I am no longer sure with Porter because what I have read recently sounds like it may have been a single person pursuing the claims after all. Sometimes people are bitter or want money.
So it might be true and might not be. Just because I read a piece in a newspaper doesn't make me knowledgeable. It is far too easy to get swept up in the tide and to assume every accusation is true.
I also have the same uneasiness about the pursuit of Woody Allen. His misdeeds all seem to centre around his embittered ex-wife and her kids. Did he do anything nefarious? I don't know. If he was a bad guy, there would be many sources of evidence of his paedophilia. As with Harvey Weinstein with his practice of crossing the line.
For myself, I presume innocence unless there's evidence or a pattern emerges. A person has a right to their good reputation unless there is strong evidence of wrongdoing of a non-trivial sort.
By the way, re Porter, I simply don't have the time or interest to pursue the details of his case. Maybe there are multiple accusers and I have lost track. But the general point stands.
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