A close friend asked me recently when the allegations of sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and (yes) sexual assault by leaders in government and entertainment will stop.  My answer: “You better hope these types of allegations NEVER stop.”

Watchdogs can never sleep.  Whistle-blowers must act when conscience demands it.   The rest of us need them.

Control systems in the United States are far from perfect, and they’re always under attack.  People with power hate limits.  They carefully and quietly dismantle oversight, regulations, review boards, even laws that get in the way of what they desire.  They weaken social shame and lower expectations.  Powerful people chafe, and tear at the institutions built to restrain them.

Predators seek power over their prey: women, men, boys, girls.  The public does not need Harvey Weinstein or Roy Moore to prove that sociopaths flock to positions of power, like moths to porch lights.  Harvey and Roy just give excellent examples.  Plenty more sociopaths and predators hide in state and federal government seats.

Meet the current team of influential predators: Harvey Weinstein, Roger Ailes, Matt Lauer, Bill O’Reilly, Roy Moore, Al Franken, John Conyers, Trent Franks, and, of course the boss of bosses, Donald Trump.  Open and brazen predators in federal government, state government, news and entertainment demonstrate the complete absence of working check and balance systems.  These predators achieved power, used it to victimize, then leveraged their influence to hush it up.

Where were the Watchdogs in Hollywood?

Where were all the people who knew about these predators and their sexual habits?  Why didn’t they speak up?  Because powerful people protect each other, not because they like each other but to protect their lifestyle.  The “bro’ code” of the powerful and influential very effectively prevents potential whistle-blowers.

On Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., the bro’ code compels collective protection against allegations of sexual misconduct.  For an example look no further than the incredibly cringe-worthy public trial of Anita Hill. Congress protects its friends, and in cases of sexual abuse, even across the aisle (e.g., Joe Biden)

Today, a plethora of allegations have swamped the bro’ code. But how long?  Scandals come and go.  Wait long enough and the remaining (and incoming) predators can come back out of hiding.  Public memory fails just like other check and balance systems.  In as little as 6 months, the saga could end.

So, great, we swept out all the predators in Congress and Hollywood.  Right?  And we’re ready to move on. The public wants this news cycle to end even more than Congress does.  Hollywood moguls watched the media devour Harvey Weinstein and Matt Lauer.  Democratic leaders pressured Franken and Conyers to walk the plank.

The strategy of sacrifice a few and “wait it out” almost always works, for all but the worst scandals.  For example, in 1972 President Nixon fed his entire staff to the wolves, but failed to avoid the start of impeachment, so wisely chose to resign his Presidency.

Republican predators, apparently made of tougher stock, stay true to the bro’ code.  Trump supports Roy Moore and his Senate bid. Other GOP voices previously calling for Moore to bow out quickly fall silent.  The GOP restarts their campaign support for Moore.

Roy, welcome to the Senate.

I think we need more and bigger watchdogs, and with insomnia.  We also need to do a better job of looking out for and protecting victims.  Believe it or not, most people believe in the preponderance of evidence, unlike the predators, who like to single out their accusers/victims and Hulk-smash them in the press.  The shark-predators aren’t going away, and there are far more stories than we want to believe.  Expect MANY more stories of harassment to surface, along with many more victims willing to speak publicly.

Watchdogs, we’re gonna need a ”bigger boat” .  We won’t finish this any time soon.

At least, not with any luck.