The Strauss-Kahn debacle

[DanieMarie]

What do you think about it?

(If you've been living under a rock, the head of the IMF and possible future candidate for the French presidency is being accused of rape).

[Dumuzi]

Re: The Strauss-Kahn debacle

Innocent until proven guilty.

[thalassa]

Re: The Strauss-Kahn debacle

Well...I think it seems likely, given other allegations about him, at least that have played out in our media (this is pretty much par for the course) that it is entirely possible those accusations are true. In which case, I think that he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. What France chooses to do with him politically afterwards is up to them--politically I could care less, but if he *is* elected (whether he is found guilty or not--because we all know money talks more than it should in court, and there is a tendency to harass the victim in these cases), it does not bode well for the French public image here in the US.

Honestly I don't have all that high of an opinion of French men in the first place, in my experience I have never personally witnessed or experienced such disgustingly blatant sexual harassment and in several cases assault in my entire life as when we had members of the French military on board...female personnel on the ship had to be escorted to their workplaces and duty stations after hours to ensure their safety...by the time the ship made an emergency port call to kick the French division off the ship, there had been several instances of assault and one attempted rape...and I don't think a single female on board hadn't been harassed at least once...and this wasn't a case of one or two guys causing a problem (which occasionally happens on board and is taken care of very quickly)--this was a rampant thing in that they thought this was an acceptable way to either a) treat women in the military or b) treat American women or c) treat women abroad or some combination of all three.

[DanieMarie]

Re: The Strauss-Kahn debacle

I agree that he's innocent until proven guilty but I'm with thal....it seems pretty likely it's true.

I do doubt he will be elected in France (if he still manages to run). I guess I haven't read their media, but from ours it seems like they're none too happy with him either (no one is). Which is funny because if this wouldn't have happened, he probably would have one. I'm a bit worried though, because of Sarkozy's general unpopularity at the moment. The only alternative now seems to be that far-right woman. Which wouldn't just be ugly for France but would be horrible for Euro-zone relations. Sarkozy needs to step up.

[Dumuzi]

Re: The Strauss-Kahn debacle

Honestly I don't have all that high of an opinion of French men in the first place

Isn't that a bit of a generalization, thal? I don't want to generalize, as well, but something tells me this has more to do with them being in the military than them being French. Know what I mean?

[DanieMarie]

Re: The Strauss-Kahn debacle

Yeah i think that in continental Europe, some roles seem to attract jerks. Not to say that all guys in those roles will be jerks, but the proportion of jerks will be higher than the non-jerks. I see it in Germany as well....I think it's a combination of feminism being a bit more behind, and the kinds of guys who are attracted to certain roles in the first place.

[thalassa]

Re: The Strauss-Kahn debacle

Isn't that a bit of a generalization, thal? I don't want to generalize, as well, but something tells me this has more to do with them being in the military than them being French. Know what I mean?

Actually, that has been my experience with (not all, but enough) French men outside of the military (and outside of France) as well. I'm not saying it is a fair assessment, I'm just saying it was my experience, and has shaped my opinion that I think something like this is totally plausible just from (what seems to be) a cultural thing (and maybe its just a matter of there being a cultural expectation that some women are "fair game" due to their jobs or something). Also, while that is an attitude that occurs in the military and (really) in any job field where women are an overwhelming minority...I have never seen such a pervasive attitude with any of the other countries military (as well as our own) members that we had onboard--including those from nations that do tend to treat women as unequal. Like I said, I would have expected the occasional event...but such an all-consuming attitude? I've never encountered it from any other nationality.