I'm really confused as to whether I want to support the #MeToo movement anymore or not because it's created a society where witch-hunts spring up at the first spark of an accusation. The movement used to represent courage and rising above pain, but it certainly doesn't represent that anymore. Some people see the legitimate stories and they want a piece of the action, so they make up a story and publicize it without evidence of any kind. Society reacts by immediately going after the accused without looking for evidence that might support the accusation. Even if there isn't physical evidence, there has to be some sort of evidence out there. Evidence can be found if one looks hard enough, but who actually does it?
The #MeToo movement has created chaos in society. Granted, there are those women who have legitimate accounts of being assaulted by men and who will be forever affected by that and the men in those cases should be held accountable. On the other hand, there are also women who are making a game out of the movement by false accusations against men of all ages simply because they want attention or they don't like a person enough to want to damage their reputation. Those who fabricate such stories out of spite are despicable people and should also be made to take responsibility for the damage their lies do and the hurt they caused.
Recently, a nine year old boy was accused of groping a woman in public and the woman clearly knew he hadn't done it, but she simply wanted the attention that came with pretending to be part of the movement. I don't appreciate women who lie about something like that just to get attention, especially when they are perfectly aware that their behavior is inappropriate and can emotionally damage those they accuse. The accused child has still not forgiven his accuser and I don't blame him if he hates her for the rest of his life because it could have turned out to be a very serious thing. Accusations can create fear and hysteria within communities simply because it's the common belief that everyone who makes an accusation like that is telling the truth. Once an accusation is made against someone, it is very difficult to stop the reactions and it is very hard to take back a lie.
Even more recently, the mayor of Grovetown, Georgia announced that he and law enforcement officials are planning to round up all of their community's sex offenders on Halloween and unlawfully detain them in the local fire hall under supervision during the hours of trick or treating. This is another seed of the #MeToo movement that was created by fear and a desire to destroy anyone on 'the list' regardless of why they are there and what they have done rehabilitation-wise after paying their debts. While some do terrible things and deserve to be on 'the list', others are on that list over perfectly innocent things that were blown out of proportion.
There are already perfectly sensible restrictions in place for people like that and this rounding them up is something I don't agree with. The mayor claims that this action is perfectly legal, but how is it perfectly legal to round people up and unlawfully detain them in an enclosed space while surrounded by police? That reminds me of some very dark days in history that have already been repeated by recent policies. What the Grovetown mayor seems to be doing is creating a portable internment camp for undesirables and also feeding into the witch-hunt spectacle and internment camps of any kind are disgusting! I thought society was beyond things like that.
I give kudos to those who have come forward with legitimate stories about how they were sexually victimized because it's not an easy thing to talk about. However, to those who are making things up to get attention or to spite those you don't like, please stop it because your words can create a lot of damage. If it didn't happen to you, don't say it did because then you will ignite a firestorm that will end up creating chaos and destroying innocent reputations. Think about what you say and do before you act simply because your words and actions can and will produce very real consequences.
