Unless something changes quickly, the #MeToo movement will die down and never accomplish what it could for women.  This movement, which aims to eradicate discrimination against women and encourage their being treated with respect and equality in all aspects of life, is itself riddled with discrimination, inconsistencies, and unequal standards.  Such innate hypocrisy, as manifested by the #MeToo movement through its political leanings, is a recipe for failure. I am both saddened and maddened that a cause with such potential will fall prey to the political quagmire that continues to dominate the United States these last few years.

If the #MeToo movement wants to gain strength, it needs to transcend party politics and become a universal cause, embraced among both men and women from either side of the political spectrum.  This mission should bridge gaps that other, more political issues, cannot. The #MeToo movement has nothing to do with Donald Trump, gay marriage, abortion, the environment, the military, social security, cyber security, transgender issues, national health plans or any other issues about which liberals and conservatives may differ; it simply applies to the proper treatment that women, as equals to men, deserve. The movement is about a woman being able to apply for a job and carry out its requirements without having to worry about the mental or physical abuse which may be imposed on her simply because of her gender.

Unfortunately the #MeToo movement has fallen prey to politics, as evidenced by the many examples of hypocrisy, double standard, and blatant dishonesty that mar the movement.  Such inconsistency must end for #MeToo to succeed.

From Matt Damon to Ben Affleck, Meryl Streep to Oprah Winfrey, so many A-listers have feigned ignorance over Harvey Weinstein’s mistreatment of women. These actors- all politically liberal, all close with Harvey- have spoken adamantly against the Republican party and have fervently espoused #MeToo, but none have spoken out against their good friend Harvey Weinstein.  Shockingly, they were all oblivious to his pervasive mistreatment of women. Meryl Streep, for example, simply stated, “I did not know about his having meetings in his hotel room, his bathroom, or other inappropriate coercive acts.” The use of the term “Inappropriate coercive acts” does not justly describe the heinous behavior that #Me Too should be fervently denouncing.  She further described Harvey’s conduct as an, “example of disrespect.” Meryl Streep defends her apparent naivety to these actions by stating, “If everybody knew I don’t believe that all the investigative reporters … would have neglected for decades to write about it.” Similarly, Oprah Winfrey, one of Harvey Weinstein’s closest friends, gave a rousing speech last year at the Golden Globes in favor of #MeToo. She said, “For too long, women have not been heard or believed if they dare speak the truth to the power of those men. But their time is up. Their time is up…So I want all the girls watching here, now, to know that a new day is on the horizon! And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say ‘Me too’ again.” These words are the backbone of the party line, and yet Oprah has never denounced her friend Harvey Weinstein.

For the #MeToo movement to succeed, and for Hollywood not to appear out of touch with everyday Americans, Hollywood needs to weed out anyone, even the darlings of the silver screen, who were complicit in the process of female degradation.  Anyone who knew and stood by while profiting from the way things were conducted should be blackballed. The same zeal that Hollywood uses to come after right leaning politicians needs to be used to attack their own, if they truly believe in righting this wrong.

But the problems of the #MeToo movement go well beyond Hollywood. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Senator, was very vocal in his attacks on then Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh, stating that his high school conduct made him unfit to lead our nation’s court system.  I am confused about how Booker had the audacity to try to be the leader in this battle. After all, Booker himself admitted that while in college (not in high school) he groped a peer of his against her will. In his column from college he explains that the girl later told him she was drunk and she didn’t know what she was doing either.  Why is that okay?  This sends a confusing message to a young voter, or even a future one like me.  If someone acts inappropriately toward women and then apologizes, does it make the behavior acceptable to the point where that person can then blame someone else for possible inappropriate behavior?  Is the act inappropriate for a Supreme Court Judge but acceptable for a Senator? If the girl was drunk and does not remember, then is it excusable? If the unacceptable act was discovered after the Harvey Weinstein revelation, as it was with Kavanaugh, then is it wrong, but if the discovery was prior, as it was for Booker, then is it ok?

A very similar hypocrisy was recently displayed by Hillary Clinton.  When asked recently whether President Clinton should have stepped down after the Lewinsky scandal Hillary vehemently said he should not have, explaining that there was no abuse of power as Monica Lewinsky was an adult.   The president was 27 years older, the leader of the free world, a veritable rock star, while Monica was a 22 year old intern in her first job; they were not adults of equal standing. I see myself as a woman in the worse in a few years and hope I am never put in the position Monica was.  If #MeToo hopes to succeed, Clinton should be ostracized. Oprah Winfrey should be standing up against Hillary’s words with the same zeal that she had at the Golden Globes. Hillary should be attacked for her defense of Bill in the same way that Trump would be for mistreatment of women. #MeToo must supersede political lines in order to succeed. Even Tarana Burke, the true trailblazer in the #MeToo movement, falls short of holding Clinton to task.  When interviewed recently she said that Ms. Clinton’s comment “is just tragic and it’s wrong.” Tarana explains the situation very matter-of-factly, saying that Bill Clinton’s actions were an abuse of power as, “Two people made a choice and one of those people was the most powerful man in the world.” These words are weak. I cannot help but wonder if Tarana’s measured response would be duplicated if the speaker was Melania rather than Hillary. Clinton’s comments are not just tragic, they are out of touch with reality and counter #MeToo.  The implication that two people made a choice counters the accusations against Weinstein, as his actions were also consensual with those of the actresses. One could even say that what Weinstein did was less bad, according to Burke’s logic, as Clinton was more powerful than Weinstein and the women abused by Weinstein did get something in return for the sexual mistreatment.

US Representative Keith Ellison (D-MN), running for Minnesota Attorney General, has been accused by a former girlfriend of both physical and psychological abuse.  While many Democrats were quick to support the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford, they requested patience to assess the validity of Karan Monahan, Ellison’s former girlfriend. For the #MeToo movement to succeed the cause must be relentless and consistent regardless of party.

Arguably the worst offender of all was Senator Dianne Feinstein. Feinstein, an elected official, use a purportedly abused woman as a pawn purely for political purposes. She received Ford’s letter dated July 30th, 2018, and sat on it for 6 weeks instead of stimulating an immediate investigation.  These actions forced Ford into the spotlight despite her request for confidentiality, yet no one has accused Feinstein of misconduct.  She has no right to represent her constituents if she cannot protect their basic rights to confidentiality and does not respect the emotional fragility of a possible abuse victim.

Even when the #MeToo movement has accused someone of wrongdoing, the consequences of bad behavior are inconsistent and biased. For example, take the punishments of Les Moonves and Jameis Winston. With regard to Les Moonves, the former Chairman and CEO of CBS,  it confuses me why it required two exposes of sexual misconduct to finally lead to his firing; despite Ronan Farrow’s article from July 27th of this year, it took a follow up article, released about 6 weeks later, to finally end his career at CBS.  Jameis Winston, the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was suspended for only three games after apologizing for grabbing the crotch of his female Uber driver in March of 2016, even though he already had a record of abuse of women— he had already settled a lawsuit for his actions while in college, in December of 2012, when he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman.  This punishment certainly minimizes the significance of sexual misconduct, after all Tom Brady allegedly deflated a football and was suspended four games.

Whether it is Trump or Clinton, Kavanaugh or Feinstein, Booker or Ben Affleck, if one has abused women or has been complicit with such abuse, one should to be held accountable.  Anyone who has contributed to the abuse of women should be unfailingly ostracized and vilified. For a movement to succeed there can be no pardons and no inconsistencies; all who are wrong should be held accountable, universally. A movement that is marred by discrepancy and partiality has no hope for success.  Until #MeToo genuinely manifests steadfast equality, the movement it will be a historical footnote no different than fidget spinners and Fortnite.