{"id":178794,"date":"2018-08-17T18:49:00","date_gmt":"2018-08-17T23:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/2018\/08\/17\/more-metoo\/"},"modified":"2018-08-17T18:49:00","modified_gmt":"2018-08-17T23:49:00","slug":"more-metoo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/2018\/08\/17\/more-metoo\/","title":{"rendered":"More #MeToo"},"content":{"rendered":"
Only this time, the accused is a female feminist academic who is widely acclaimed in her community<\/a>, and people who have previously espoused zero tolerance are calling for restraint and further investigation.<\/div>\n

As the saying goes, where you stand depends upon where you sit:<\/p>\n

The case seems like a familiar story turned on its head: Avital Ronell<\/a>, a world-renowned female professor of German and Comparative Literature at New York University, was found responsible for sexually harassing a male former graduate student, Nimrod Reitman.<\/span>

<\/span>An 11-month Title IX investigation found Professor Ronell, described by a colleague as \u201cone of the very few philosopher-stars of this world,\u201d responsible for sexual harassment, both physical and verbal, to the extent that her behavior was \u201csufficiently pervasive to alter the terms and conditions of Mr. Reitman\u2019s learning environment.\u201d The university has suspended Professor Ronell for the coming academic year.<\/span>

<\/span>In the Title IX final report, excerpts of which were obtained by The New York Times, Mr. Reitman said that she had sexually harassed him for three years, and shared dozens of emails in which she referred to him as \u201cmy most adored one,\u201d \u201cSweet cuddly Baby,\u201d \u201ccock-er spaniel,\u201d and \u201cmy astounding and beautiful Nimrod.\u201d<\/span>

<\/span>Coming in the middle of the #MeToo movement\u2019s reckoning over sexual misconduct, it raised a challenge for feminists \u2014 how to respond when one of their own behaved badly. And the response has roiled a corner of academia.<\/span>

<\/span>Soon after the university made its final, confidential determination this spring, a group of scholars from around the world, including prominent feminists, sent a letter to N.Y.U. in defense of Professor Ronell. Judith Butler, the author of the book \u201cGender Trouble\u201d and one of the most influential feminist scholars today, was first on the list.<\/span>

<\/span>\u201cAlthough we have no access to the confidential dossier, we have all worked for many years in close proximity to Professor Ronell,\u201d the professors wrote in a draft letter<\/a> posted on a philosophy blog in June. \u201cWe have all seen her relationship with students, and some of us know the individual who has waged this malicious campaign against her.\u201d<\/span>

<\/span>Critics saw the letter<\/a>, with its focus on the potential damage to Professor Ronell\u2019s reputation and the force of her personality, as echoing past defenses of powerful men.<\/span>

<\/span>\u201cWe testify to the grace, the keen wit, and the intellectual commitment of Professor Ronell and ask that she be accorded the dignity rightly deserved by someone of her international standing and reputation,\u201d the professors wrote.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And Harvey Weinstein produced some critically acclaimed movies.<\/p>\n

Skepticism by friends and colleagues upon hearing the news is to be expected, but this response is literally the response to every episode of harassment from a top performer basically ever.<\/p>\n

It’s the same thing.<\/p>\n

Let me repeat that, It’s \u2026\u2026\u2026 the \u2026\u2026\u2026 Same \u2026\u2026\u2026 Thing.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Also the response from her peers, who dismiss the alleged victim as, “The individual who has waged this malicious campaign against her,” is a classic circling of the wagons.<\/p>\n

They are basically saying, “Bitches be crazy.”<\/p>\n

It’s not acceptable.<\/p>\n

It is never acceptable.<\/p>\n

Shame on them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Only this time, the accused is a female feminist academic who is widely acclaimed in her community, and people who have previously espoused zero tolerance are calling for restraint and further investigation. As the saying goes, where you stand depends upon where you sit: The case seems like a familiar story turned on its head: …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[544,368,448,569],"class_list":["post-178794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-academe","tag-corruption","tag-sex","tag-sexism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178794"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178794\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.panix.com\/~msaroff\/40years\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}