Back-touching leads to Garrison Keillor's dismissal

Story here. Excerpt:

'MPR said Wednesday it was cutting ties with Keillor, creator and former host of the popular public radio show "A Prairie Home Companion," over an allegation of workplace misconduct. The network did not give details, but Keillor told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that he had put his hand on a woman's bare back while trying to console her.

On Thursday, MPR repeated that it had received just one formal complaint against Keillor, a day after a statement by him raised questions about the extent of the allegations.

Keillor told MPR's news department in an email that two employees had made allegations. MPR spokeswoman Angie Andresen, asked to clear up the discrepancy, said the network has "a formal complaint from an individual that includes multiple allegations related to Garrison's behavior."

Keillor told The Associated Press in an email Thursday evening that one person had brought a claim against MPR and one person had brought a claim against him. He says he hasn't seen the allegations against him and that his account to the Star Tribune was the only incident he could remember.'

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Near as I can tell, he accidentally touched a co-worker's bare skin, on her back, no less.  That's about it.  For that, he has been made an un-person.  The name of the accuser or accusers and their allegations remain undisclosed.  But it should come as no surprise. If a man can be accused of rape while the name of the accuser is not disclosed nor the specifics of the allegation, why should what we are now seeing be any surprise?

An accusation is sufficient.  Accusation = guilt.  No man in any position of significance politically or culturally should imagine that innocence is a defense.  Once accused, there is no defense.  The crime is that you are a man at a time when enough feminist fifth columnists are in place to execute at least part of the greater plan.  That greater plan does not entail anything that results in an improvement in the lives and well-beings of men, that I can assure you.

The feminist fifth columnists of today sort of remind me of the weeping angels from Doctor Who.  Take your eyes off them for a fraction of a second, even just to blink, and they're suddenly much closer.  Once close enough, they make you disappear.

They've already made a fair number of men disappear.  Most never made it to the headlines, esp. those that were/are in fact innocent of any kind of sexual misconduct.  The double-disappeared.

"Whatever you do... don't blink."

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... the angels turn into daleks. "Exterminate!" They point their feminist anti-high-profile-man nose-cannons at the unluckily successful fellow and blast away.

It's enough to make a man aspire much less to success and much more to anonymous mediocrity. Just what a society needs: men cowed into mediocre aspirations and women who attain to power via anti-male bigotry and anonymous accusations.

Susan B Anthony would be proud. Not.

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When this recent spate of accusations began, many people were circling the wagons around the "accuses" on their side of the aisle (whether Roy Moore, Al Franken, Weinstein or whoever), and booing those on the other side. But this orgy of accusation has reached the point now that I think a lot of men are beginning to feel nervous about all this. Garrison Keillor, for crying out loud! And for what seems to be such an innocuous gesture! It seems that any woman who happens to feel slighted, scorned, resentful over some petty thing ... or who just thinks maybe she can cash in on it ... can with her word alone have a man put in a cage, or have him lose his job, and become a public pariah. Of course, in the long run the only things Keillor's accuser will accomplish is diminished credibility for those women who have genuine grievances.

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Successful men aren't successful bc they're men. It's bc of their abilities. If manhood entailed success, no men would be living in poverty.

By getting men toppled as leaders, entertainers, etc., these fifth columnists think that it'll be easy enough to just replace them w/ any given woman. This is like employers thinking they can replace any given high-performing employee with any other given employee. No, you can't do that. Different ppl of any sex have different abilities. Ignoring this fact is a formula for fecklessness and failure.

But jealousy sees no reason. Feminists are simply jealous of men's abilities to do things, collectively speaking, and think we can be replaced wholesale by just anyone else.

This is how civilizations collapse. When a situation calls for superior abilities and is addressed with inferior ones, failure is the result.

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I recently had the misfortune of being sexually harassed at work. Let me elaborate.

I worked as a casino dealer. Whenever it was time for my break, another dealer would come to the table I was at, and switch places with me so I could go on break. Now, there is absolutely no need for a dealer who is replacing another dealer to touch them. They simply have to walk up to them, and say "I'm here." Sometimes a dealer will tap another dealer on the shoulder to take them off. Which is fine; I do not take issue with this.

What I did take issue with is the fact that several female co-workers of mine would touch the small of my back when relieving me for my break. Thankfully, most would stop doing this when asked. However, during a recent shift, the woman who relieved me each break kept patting and rubbing my back. I asked her politely and quietly to stop twice. The next time she came to take me off the table, she still patted and rubbed my back. At this point, I sternly said to her "Do not touch me when you relieve me!" Then she finally stopped.

Guess what happened? A week later, two female supervisors brought ME into the office to reprimand ME for the tone of voice I used to tell the co-worker to stop sexually harassing me. Even after I explained what she had done, they still insisted on reprimanding me. At this point, I made it clear to them that I have no interest in working for a company that would treat me so unjustly and I quit in the middle of my shift.

I have to say it REALLY PISSES ME OFF that a man can lose his job for accidentally touching a woman's back, when women who deliberately touch a man's back, and continue to do so even when being asked to stop, get to keep theirs. In fact, in the second scenario the man gets into trouble for having the nerve to speak to the female harasser in an unflattering tone.

It's utterly laughable that women complain about men supposedly acting entitled to women's bodies, when in fact my lived experience is the opposite. The whole time I worked for this employer, many women I worked with seemed to feel like it was completely okay to touch my back or shoulders. If I had done the same to them I would likely be fired, or disciplined at the very least. And rest assured, if one of them ever sternly reminded me not to touch them, they would not be reprimanded for it.

I hate my life. This incident has nearly destroyed me financially, and I am now seriously contemplating suicide.

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Hi Xtrnl,   Your last sentence concerns me.  Please seek out some help, don't let the woman or the situation get the best of you.  Life is unfair sometimes.

Hopefully you have some support through family and friends.  You probably need to see a professional.  Maybe set that as your goal for today - to get professional help.

When it comes to mental health, we will never know how much is genetic (nature) and how much is environment (nurture) but I am sure it is some of both.  We can't help our genetic dispositions, but we can do things to help our environment through the choices we make.   

I had all kinds of mental and behavioral diagnosis when I was young (I was adopted out of a neglectful situation).  Luckily, my parents could afford the best care.  They went through several specialists before they found ones that worked well with us (me and my brother).   I'm not perfect, but I am able to recognize when bad thoughts or behaviors are creeping up again and I know what I can do to inhibit them.

Try setting short term goals for your mental health (like making a phone call for help, or substitute a negative behavior for a positive behavior.  Example: if you are sitting and hyper focusing on a negative situation, then make a goal substituting sitting inside for going for a 15 minute walk.).  If you are unable to achieve daily goals, then set hourly goals. 

I hope you don't mind this post, I am only trying to help.  I really wish you the best.   

-Kris

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I am touched by your post. Your concern is appreciated.

I do have another job, but it only pays once a month, with the cutoff for payday being one week earlier than usual in December. When I wrote my post yesterday, I was feeling extremely anxious because there is no guarantee of work at this job, and I have to survive until the end of January on whatever I earned from Nov. 22 to Dec. 13 (only three weeks). Thankfully, today I was able to line up enough days of work to improve my financial situation dramatically. My suicidal thoughts have ceased.

Yesterday was just a tough day for me. I was in a dark place, but I feel a lot better now.

Thanks again, Kris. We don't always agree, but I truly respect you. You are a kind and intelligent soul for whom I am very grateful.

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The thing about depression, is you need help  when you are experiencing the depression, but the depression can be crippling that you cant make a good decision.  It is when you are feeling well and thinking straight that you have take the necessary steps.  So while I am glad you are feeling better about things, I still urge you to seek professional help, in case those negative feelings come back even stronger.

The holidays can also be an extremely triggering time.  Don't over-spend, over-plan or over-drink; keep your holiday plans simple and with people who are positive and supportive.  

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