There may be no better term than “predation” for the daily allegations that are being levied against prominent American men in Hollywood, Television, and Congress. The first description of the noun “predation” is “the preying of one animal on others” and the second is “the action of attacking or plundering – “the old story of male predation and female vulnerability””.
Every story we have read on this topic is about a powerful, wealthy man allegedly subjecting younger, financially weaker, vulnerable women to unwanted experiences. So it fits the “predation” definition to our way of thinking.
1.An Interesting Response
The most interesting response from the men so accused came from Charlie Rose, until recently the anchor at CBS, PBS & Bloomberg. He simply & categorically said, in a video shared widely, that “It’s not wrongdoings.”
His CBS co-anchor, Norah O’Donnell, had a different message:
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SIp6xSP7ds[/embedyt]
“ … this is a moment that demands a frank & honest assessment of where we stand & more generally the safety of women; let me be very clear; there is no excuse for this alleged behavior; it is systematic & pervasive. …this will be investigated; this has to end; this behavior is wrong, period.”
But Ms. O’Donnell also added:
- “… I am really proud to work at CBS News; there are many incredible people here, especially on this show“.
Watching & listening to Norah O’Donnell, CBS co-anchor of Charlie Rose for years, brought back memories & made us think.
The first thought was whether it was possible for Ms. O’Donnell and the “many incredible people” at CBS to not even have heard a murmur about the alleged misbehavior of Charlie Rose towards the women who have come forward?
Think about it. Mr. Rose, despite his firing by CBS & PBS, and in the face of the media storm against him, simply faced cameras and said “It’s not wrongdoings“. If he has the courage to say that now, how open might he have been before, at the height of his power, reputation & while basking in the adulation of his co-anchor & the “many incredible people” at CBS?
Given his now proven candor & openness, is it possible his co-anchor Norah O’Donnell hadn’t even heard a whisper about his alleged misbehavior? We don’t know of course and to our knowledge, no one has asked Ms. O’Donnell or any of the “many incredible people” at CBS News what & how much they had heard in years of working with Charlie Rose.
2. Norah O’Donnell & others on India’s Rape Epidemic in 2013
Watching Ms. O’Donnell make her comments on CBS brought back memories of her engulfing comments a few years ago:
[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdoeoU48DIg[/embedyt]
Speaking about a film made by Leslee Udwin of BBC, Norah O’Donnell said in the above clip ” … I did think to myself I had no idea India is so unsafe for women“.
Why do we call this an “engulfing” comment? Because Norah O’Donnell engulfed the entire country of India in her disgust about a few incidents. We also seem to recall Norah O’Donnell saying she would not visit India again.
Of course, Ms. O’Donnell was not alone in her blanket engulfing condemnation:
- Minerva Kennedy in Washington Post – a retrograde culture that’s hostile to women
- Libby Purves in the Times of London – India’s patriarchal culture, where Indian men are characterized by a murderous, hyena-like male contempt towards women
And, as we recall, the New York Times allowed its writers & opinionators to question how much of this “contempt & hostility” towards women comes from Indian Dhaarmic epics.
Contrast that with today’s commentary by the same Norah O’Donnell, Washington Post, New York Times. Can you find even a trace of blame levied against America at large or at America’s culture? Of course not. The outrage in US Media is entirely directed towards the alleged culprits who are supposedly only a few bad apples in American society. Can you find any, literally any comment in US media, about such predation of women coming from the Bible or the Pope or teachings of Christian Saints? Absolutely not.
In contrast, the US media ferociously & wantonly inflicted on India a “Gang-Rape” of Indian Culture. Now you understand why we call this Religious & Cultural Apartheid by US Media?
3. Is Outrage of Norah O’Donnell & her ilk gender-specific?
Remember what Norah O’Donnell said in the YouTube video above – “I had no idea India is so unsafe for women“? At that time, we appreciated her candor about her ignorance and her resultant outrage.
So she was among the first we turned to for help for a 2-year old Indian boy who had been charged by the police for sexual molestation of a 35-year old woman. We also reached out to her because, based on her public profile, she is the mother of a boy. We tweeted to her and a couple of others on April 24, 2017:
- Editor Viewpoint @MacroViewpoints –
@NorahODonnell@SueHerera@SRuhle – r u sons at greater risk in India of gender-laws than yr daughters? reality – https://cinemarasik.com/2017/04/incredibly-horrible-gender-abuse-in-india-why-dont-indian-hindus-convert-to-islam/
We also tweeted to the office of the Prime Minister of India. To his great credit, the concerned minister, Ms. Maneka Gandhi, contacted the Chief of Police of that town the next day and got the case against the 2-year old boy dismissed.
In contrast, neither Ms. O’Donnell nor the other two American feminist TV anchors bothered to either reply or even care.
Two weeks ago on November 11, 2017, we featured two cases of horrific sexual abuse of minor boys in Delhi & Mumbai. So, given their previous concern about sexual violence in India, we alerted Ellen Barry of New York Times, Annie Gowen of Washington Post, Stephanie Ruhle of MSNBC, Sue Herera of CNBC, Alyssa Ayres, fellow for Indian Subcontinent at the elite Council of Foreign Relations, and of course Norah O’Donnell of CBS, the network with “many incredible people”:
- Editor Viewpoint @MacroViewpoints
@anniegowen@EllenBarryNYT@NorahODonnell@SRuhle@SueHerera focus on these rapes in India esp if u have sons/nephews@AyresAlyssa
How did this august, prominent & superstar group of US media women react? You guess it – with total & utterly uncaring silence.
Why? We wonder. Is it because these women professionals only care about issues that are beneficial to them in their TV careers Or because they just don’t even give the slightest hoot about the plight of poor brown sexually abused boys in far away India?
May be it is the first because look how they ignored even thinking about all the vulnerable women who suffered the alleged predation from extremely powerful & wealthy men in whose good graces these star “feminist” TV women wanted to remain. If they didn’t even raise a single question about vulnerable white women in their own profession, why would they bother to understand what is happening to young boys in faraway lands or in American High School Athletics?
Of course, you can still count on them to wax eloquent about their indignation about “safety of women” in faraway India when that will give them greater exposure, praise and more career success.
4. Women Stars of Indian Media
Take another look at the video above and this time focus on the Indian TV anchor dressed in green. She is Barkha Dutt, the doyen of women reporters & anchors in India. She is smart, determined, and a true veteran. Yet all that seems to be in India for Indian viewers. Notice how gentle she was with both the BBC woman and Norah O’Donnell in the above video. Her country & her culture was being trashed on western TV in her presence and all she could muster was a timid & gentle response?
And where has she been this week during the stunning allegations against Charlie Rose, the co-anchor for years of Norah O’Donnell? Did she draw the obvious contrast between how her “friend” Norah O’Donnell trashed all of India about lack of “safety” for women in India & O’Donnell’s very very limited disapproval of actions of a few American men?
Why didn’t Barkha Dutt write an opinion in the Washington Post about this US media apartheid? Doesn’t she care even in the least about how her new “friends” in US media abuse her country? Of course, Barkha Dutt is not alone in her servility. We have not seen anyone in Indian media ask the obvious questions we have asked above. Why is that?
Our guess is that every TV & Print reporter in India wants to join an American media company that pays more & delivers global reach. So annoying Western TV & Print reporters by asking difficult questions can translate into career jeopardy or at least career risk. That maybe why Indian media stars only play gentle defense against attacks on India by US media and never take the offensive when they can, as in this current sexual predation epidemic in America.
Is that also why Barkha Dutt and her “feminist” colleagues in Indian media do not show the slightest care about the increasing sexual abuse of young minor boys in India? Because none of their “benefactors” in Western media care about that? Remember no one in India media wrote or talked about rape or abuse of women in India before the Western media began attacking India for it. Then they jumped in and attacked their own country with even greater gusto.
So what would it take for Barkha Dutt & her Indian cohort to get active in helping to end the sexual abuse of young boys in India? For NY Times, Washington Post & others in the West to begin focusing on it!
The above are our reflections & opinions. We invite Barkha Dutt, Norah O’Donnell and all of the others referred to in the above reflections to tell us if & where we might be wrong or unfair. We will print their responses verbatim or discuss them in private if the responses are marked “private” or “not for publication”.
Send your feedback to [email protected] Or @MacroViewpoints on Twitter
