"The Tipping Point"

I believe everything has a tipping point. Entertainer and TV star Bill Cosby drugged and sexually abused women for decades and got away with it by paying off his victims. But word got out. A black comedian named Hannibal Buress called him a rapist in a comedy set in a Philadelphia club where he joked about Cosbys infamous acts and that served as a tipping point to bring renewed attention to his despicable behavior. That and the testimonies of the many women he molested.

The same thing happened at Fox News which ended with the firing of founder Roger Ailes and their highest ranking cable show star, Bill OReilly for sexual harassment. One could say Gretchen Carlson and her courage to take on her boss by suing him and sharing her story was the tipping point in those cases.

And now we have learned that disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has apparently harassed or molested close to 80 women during his tenure at his movie studio, Miramax. Was actress Rose McGowen the tipping point for Weinstein to be exposed for his years of horrible treatment of starlets that sacrificed themselves for their careers?

Now, finally men are being held accountable and getting in trouble for abusing women. Powerful men are losing their jobs, their wives, their friends, and their reputations. They are being taken to court. Famous actors are scrambling to apologize for past behaviors. Male politicians have been put on notice and many already have paid a price for their dalliances.

The common denominator in all of these tipping points is the emergence of the victims from the shadows. For centuries there has been an unspoken feeling of shame placed on women for being assaulted. Often, they were told they brought it on with what they wore or how they acted. There is also guilt and fear involved with the sexual act that often paralyzes one, especially if the perpetrator is a boss or in a position of power over the victim.

The opening of the floodgates of all these victims of harassment coming forward is just the tipping point of the iceberg. I believe this behavior is a power play for the perpetrator and it is much more pervasive in our society than a lot people realize. And its not just men that practice it.

However, the overwhelming number were women that participated in the Me Too campaign where they confessed on their Facebook page and other Internet outlets they too had been victims of sexual abuse (myself included). This sharing of experiences was very telling and also very inspiring. There is strength in numbers. On a recent Meet the Press segment, four women from Congress shared their harassment stories. This would have been inconceivable a few years ago.

I am now having thoughts that if there has been a turning point on sexual harassment in this country, when will we reach a tipping point on gun deaths?

Maybe what has to happen is that all of the surviving victims of gun violence and the families and friends of those killed by guns (which with 30,000 fatalities each year must be quite high now after decades of this American carnage continuing) must speak out and demand that congress and our leaders must DO SOMETHING, anything to curb these massacres. Maybe we need a ME TOO campaign for those touched by gun violence of any kind. That would include me who lost a close friend who committed suicide by shooting herself.

We need action, not just talk. When will we shame the NRA for profiting from these disasters and always blocking any gun safety measures?

How many more citizens have to die in places of worship, schools, malls, move theaters, political rallies or outdoor concerts before we as a nation reach our tipping point regarding gun reform? We are supposed to be the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave. How free are we when we have to worry about getting shot in public places by insane people who are allowed to buy assault weapons? How brave are we if we dont hold our leaders accountable for keeping us safe and allowing the gun lobby to have a stranglehold over us? Maybe the tipping point will be voting out any legislators that refuse to do anything about common sense gun safety reform.

We have learned from courageous women that we are stronger together and speaking up when victimized has turned the tide on sexual harassment. Can we use this same method to reach the tipping point on gun violence? I say yes, we can. Our very lives and way of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness depend on it.