I originally drafted a post in May as response to the Washington Capitals
move to terminate Brendan Leipsic’s contract after he disparaged women and
teammates on social media. Then the world hit the fan over racism. I
realized much of what I had intended to say about misogyny is very similar to
what I would say about racism. So, I guess it’s just as well I have been very
bad about following through on intentions these past few months. It is more economical
to speak on two atrocities at once.
Like Leipsic’s misogyny, I'm very saddened by what I am now seeing is
widespread racism. I can speak on misogyny more honestly than racism, because
only the former has been directed at me. But I truly thought we were teaching
our young men better about women and that we as a people were better about race.
I was wrong.
The advent of social media hasn’t brought about misogyny or racism. It
just began recording it for widespread distribution and posterity. Shining a
light on these injustices could have been a good first step in eradicating them. Instead, we as a society have taught these people that it doesn’t matter. They
can get away with whatever horse-crap they spew, as long as they use the right buzzwords
in
a phony apology carefully drafted by a PR firm.
At
least you can get away with it if you’re literally and figuratively at the top
of your game.
Imagine
if what Leipsic had said was said by Crosby or Ovechkin or McDavid or
Matthews? (I'd like to hold onto my hope none of them would ever!🤞) I’m willing to bet that an insincere
apology would have been enough. Maybe they would have been fined. But they
would never have been let go. (I think the only real offense this kid made in
the eyes of the League was to diss his teammates. If Bill Peters had attacked
women in his past, he'd probably still be coach of the Flames. But he attacked
his players. That seems to be where the League draws the line.)
It is most important to note, though, that these words only came after she was caught publicly. When she was privately chastised for her racist attempts to destroy the life of a woman of colour, she threatened to sue that woman for TELLING THE TRUTH. Now Mulroney is SHOCKED she lost her job at CTV. She believed the PR claptrap she spewed would give her a free pass. And it may have, but for her gravest miscalculation: she believed she was a bigger celebrity than she was. Her inflated sense of self made her think she was untouchable. This begs the question: which haunts her more about this episode: that the world knows she’s racist? Or that she’s not the A-List celebrity she had assumed she was?
Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy to see that some people aren't getting away with being misogynist or racist by posting a phony buzzword request for forgiveness. And punishing them in the only place they care about - their wallets and their screen time – is a good start. But only when all can expect consequences will we see any real change.
We also have to be honest about our role as a society in these atrocities. These disgusting people were only playing by the rules we as a society had given them. We told them that they can hate women or hate POC, and be vocal about the exact nature of that hate, and nothing will happen to them as long as they say the PR buzzwords. Say the PR buzzwords, and their life will go on as before. They are shocked and dismayed that the world is reneging on our part of the bargain.
Because we are. And about it’s about time we did!
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