Short Shorts ~~ Harvey, and Heineken

1. The other day -- Thursday, to be exact -- I thought of someone I hadn't thought of in many years: famous Formula One race car driver Sir Jackie Stewart.

I never actually followed racing, but sometime in the mid-1970s, I was visiting my friend Wayne, who was watching some sports program on TV (probably ABC's Wide World of Sports) where Jackie Stewart was a "color commentator." Something about this cocky little Scotsman appealed to me, and I saw him a few more times at Wayne's.

So, as I said, I hadn't thought of him for years, but his name just popped into my head on Thursday.

At this point, you may very well be thinking, Uh-oh, every time David thinks about someone whom he hasn't thought about in ages, that person dies! (At least, I'm assuming you thought that, as well as assuming that you correctly used "whom" rather than "who.")

Well, I wasn't too worried that I would jinx this poor guy as I searched for his Wikipedia entry, because I was pretty darned sure that I'd heard he'd already died a few years back...

And I was wrong! I was quite pleased to learn that he was still alive at the ripe old age of seventy-eight.

That was Thursday.

On Friday, I was doing something I rarely do, namely, sitting in a bar having a couple of beers. Less than five minutes after I arrived there, one of the bar's half-a-dozen televisions began playing a Heineken commercial, and said commercial actually showed some VFX-enhanced archival footage of... none other than Jackie Stewart. At the very end of the commercial, it showed him as he looks nowadays.

I followed up by doing a little research on the commercial itself, only to discover that it's over a year old.

Over a year old. But I never saw it until one day after I thought of someone whom I otherwise haven't thought of for several years.

What are the odds?

*  *  *  *  *

2. Ever since the "fall" of Harvey Weinstein and the increasing activity of the #MeToo movement, I've been seeing more and more exposé-type articles bemoaning the fact that multiple instances of sexual harassment and/or sexual assault have suddenly been "discovered" in one industry, or occupation, or whatever. And people are shocked to discover that such things have been taking place in this "new" walk of life.

Oh, really?

Why the hell is anyone surprised?

Anything involving more than one person, whether they're male and female mixed, all male, or all female, is a potential situation for sexual harassment/assault. And this behavior is carried on by cosmeticians, sanitation workers, Uber drivers, juice bar employees, butchers, bakers, candle-stick makers...

People just suck, okay?

You want to be outraged by sexual harassment or assault? Good. You should be. You want to speak out against it? More power to you! You want to try to actually do something about it? My proverbial hat is off to you!

But if you're actually surprised that such behavior exists in any occupation?

Don't be.

Thanks for your time.

Horrible Harvey

You no doubt recognize the gentleman man pictured above, although I'm betting that most of you wouldn't have known him scant weeks ago. That's famous (infamous?) Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein, and I'm going to assume you've encountered the multiple news items quoting numerous actresses and others with various film-making credits, accusing him of being a sexual harasser, sexual assaulter, and rapist over the span of thirty-plus years. Roughly four dozen women -- a rather "Cosbyesque" amount, y'might say  -- have so far pointed fingers at Harvey.

I'm already sick of anyone -- primarily Harvey -- claiming or at least insinuating that Harvey is just a sex addict who needs rehab. Nope. The man's a power junkie who was surrounded by glamorous women at varying stages of their careers and seemingly wanted them all, or at least as many as his chubby little fingers could grab, sometimes literally. He was so powerful in the industry that he got away with these reprehensible acts for various reasons. Some actively enabled him, many just didn't know, others knew only rumors, many were afraid that their careers would be damaged or stalled if they told what had happened to themselves or others... The list goes on.

Now, if I were to come on to someone, only going as far as to ask her on a date (and nothing intimidating, physical, or coercive), her reaction would be primarily based on whether or not she found me attractive. It'd be fairly easy for her to say "no" if she wasn't inclined to accept. On the other hand, Harvey's targets had to deal with their worries where their careers were concerned. They didn't have the same freedom as would a woman I'd approached.

Basically, Harvey is one of those who did what he did because he could, not that that in any way excuses his actions. Even some of those who engaged in what Harvey's spokespeople call "consensual sex" did so out of fear or misplaced ambition.

You wanna know what all this hoopla reminds me of? More than twenty years ago, I heard a few details about then-Senator "Bob" Packwood, who was also accused of sexual harassment. Those "few details" led me to the opinion that Packwood was less of a sexual abuser/assaulter than just a guy trying all-too-clumsily to get dates with women who interested him.

A purposely-unflattering photo of Senator Packwood which I found online.

It wasn't until years later that I read up on his circumstances and changed my opinion of him. Here's something from his own journal:

Grabbed Tracy Gorman behind the Xerox machine today and she got a little pissed. What's the big deal? I was smiling while I did it. She made this big stink about it and it took me about two hours and a couple of thousand dollars to calm her down. I have one question — if she didn't want me to feather her nest, why did she come into the Xerox room? Sure, she used that old excuse that she had to make copies of the Brady Bill, but if you believe that, I have a room full of radical feminists you can boff. She knew I was copying stuff in there. I had my jacket off and my sleeves rolled up, revealing the well-defined musculature of my sinewy arms which are always bulging with desire. I know what she wanted. This didn't require a lot of thought.

I guess "the well-defined musculature of [his] sinewy arms which [were] always bulging with desire" just wasn't enough for some women, huh? (Note to ex-Senator Packwood: It's not your freakin' arms which are supposed to bulge with desire, okay? And I'm not even going to point out the double-entendre nature of "pack wood." Oops. I just did...)

But I oh-so-characteristically digress.

I think too many people out there, in and out of the film industry, assumed the old, cliched "casting couch" was a thing of the past. But it's not. And whether they operate in the entertainment field or not, there are far too many people who still abuse their power to coerce people into giving them their way. I suppose that will never change, as it's regrettably a natural instinct for far too many.

On the surface, things finally seem to be improving, with "big names" such as Bill Cosby, Roger Ailes, and Bill O'Reilly being taken to task for alleged offenses against women. But then again, I thought that Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election showed that Americans were largely divorcing themselves from their racist ways, and the years since have proven me wrong, big-time. So what the hell do I know, hmm?

And if you're wondering why I bothered to write a column about him at all, I suppose I just figured I should add my two cents, seeing how everyone else on the planet seems to have done so already.

Oh, and one more thing, as petty as it is: Can't somebody give this guy a razor?

Hey, if we're lucky, maybe the s.o.b. will use it to cut his own throat.

Just kidding.

Sorta.

(And feel free to re-read this post and pencil in the word "allegedly" whenever I refer to something this scumbag is only "accused" of doing, willya?)

In closing, let me point you toward a great -- and relatively short -- article called "All the Other Harvey Weinsteins," written by actress Molly Ringwald and published in The New Yorker, which you can read here. She talks about her own experiences with sexual harassment, and at one point says "Stories like these have never been taken seriously. Women are shamed, told they are uptight, nasty, bitter, can’t take a joke, are too sensitive. And the men? Well, if they’re lucky, they might get elected President."

Couldn't help smiling at that.

Thanks for your time.