To the Editor:
Re “Have These People Learned Nothing?,” by Michelle Cottle (Opinion, April 15):
Ms. Cottle’s essay shows why so many people wrongly think #MeToo is over. Too often, the movement is portrayed as a cultural moment that’s faded rather than what it actually is: a long, difficult fight that has changed laws, workplaces and lives.
As two women who were instrumental in this iteration of #MeToo and kept working long after the spotlight moved on, we can say plainly that the movement is very much alive and thriving.
Before this movement, the accounts of Eric Swalwell’s accusers would have been framed as he-said-she-said stories. Today, we listen to women who come forward because the paradigm of how we treat their stories has changed. Mr. Swalwell resigned as a U.S. representative from California on April 14.
The #MeToo movement also led to two federal laws that gave millions of survivors a better chance to seek justice and speak freely. Several states have moved to eliminate nondisclosure agreements for toxic workplace issues. Yet, many still view the movement through a lens of backlash, fatigue or failure.
The truth is simpler: #MeToo did not disappear. It grew up, went to work and started winning.
Gretchen Carlson Julie Roginsky The writers, a journalist and a political consultant, respectively, are the co-founders of the nonprofit organization Lift Our Voices.
To the Editor:
Re “Sex Misconduct Claims Reveal Culture of Silence” (news article, April 16):
After the allegations of sexual misconduct against Eric Swalwell became public, several members of Congress stated that they and others knew that Mr. Swalwell could not be trusted around young female staff members.
They knew and did nothing?
Mr. Swalwell certainly would not be the first politician to exercise his power to terrorize and ruin the lives of young women. Tony Gonzales, a former representative from Texas, resigned on the same day after allegations of his having affairs with staff members. And if nothing changes, these two men will not be the last.
Perhaps there needs to be an oversight committee where senators, members of the House and others who work in Congress can make confidential reports of known or suspected sexual predators among them, which the committee can then investigate.
Such a committee would not only give people a safe place to make their concerns known, it might also act as a deterrent to those thinking that predation is a perk of their powerful jobs.
Karin Kramer Baldwin Petaluma, Calif.
Waning MAGA Pride?
To the Editor:
Re “Trump Will Do the Jitterbug on Your Grave,” by Frank Bruni (Opinion, March 31):
I have noticed subtle indications that things have begun to change.
A neighbor’s window no longer displays a Trump-Vance sign. A car mechanic’s MAGA cap has been replaced by that of a local major league baseball team. At a recent business gathering, not a single conservative Republican gloats or insists that we all are better off under Donald Trump. A former college roommate who had cut off communication with me since a falling-out during President Trump’s first term reaches out to talk about college days, sports and family.
Perhaps, it’s what Mr. Bruni describes in this piece — the incredibly mean and insensitive way President Trump responds to the deaths of those who have dared crossed him. Or perhaps it is, as Mr. Bruni wrote about recently, the president’s corrupt and inept presidential appointees; or the killing of American citizens exercising their First Amendment rights; or the unprovoked war in Iran and the resulting deaths of U.S. service members; or rising prices of everything from gas to food and housing; or, of course, the Jeffrey Epstein files. Maybe it’s just general weariness.
Whatever the reason, there seems to be a recognition that the promise to Make American Great Again hasn’t been fulfilled. America has paid an incredible price during these dark days, but there may just be light at the end of this tunnel. Hopefully it will be Abraham Lincoln’s vision of “the better angels of our nature” bringing that light.
Stephen F. Gladstone Shaker Heights, Ohio
Ice Cream and a Lap Cat
To the Editor:
“Ways to Flourish (in Good Times and Bad)” (Here to Help, April 5) could hardly be more in accord with conventional wisdom in saying that earnest exercises like “practicing mindful attention can increase feelings of contentment.”
But have you considered distracting yourself with ice cream, music, an exciting murder mystery and a lap cat as an alternative to undergoing a mental makeover? It works for me!
Felicia Nimue Ackerman Providence, R.I.
The post #MeToo and the Fight to End Sex Abuse in Congress appeared first on New York Times.
