The Oscars this year was certainly a history making one, there were a lot of positives to look back on. Awarding Casey Affleck wasn't one of them.
As some may or may not know, in 2010 Casey Affleck was accused of sexually assaulting/harassing two women, cinematographer Magdalena Gorka and producer Amanda White. This of course was dropped quickly and Affleck has gone on to continue working and on Sunday was awarded an Oscar. Brie Larson, a survivor of sexual abuse, was the woman who presented the award to him.
Often enough we see that women are sexually harassed, abused and assaulted and nothing is done about it. In Affleck's case, nothing was done about it and he was awarded. Of course, many would like to argue that his personal life and his career should stay separate, but that's just the thing. If you had a fantastic, world renowned pediatrician who in his private life was a pedophile and child abuser you would never say, "What happens in his private life is his business and has nothing to do with how amazing he is at his profession."
Young women and men all over the world were watching a sexual abuser get awarded on Sunday night. Other sexual abusers were watching and feeling justified. Survivors of sexual assault were watching and feeling sick to their stomachs. How is any of this okay?
If you're arguing that it might not have happened, or that it wasn't that big of a deal, you need to take a step back. Someone is sexually assaulted every ninety-eight seconds in America alone. How many of those do you think go unreported? How many of those do you think are brushed away by family or friends or even court systems? How many men and women who do these things get away with it? How many victims are blamed, how many lives are ruined? Yes of course there are instances where people are falsely accused, but there are more instances where it actually does happen and nothing is done about it. The most recent big assault case had the man going to prison for three months. Three months. He gets to live his life and she will never be the same.
These things are never a mistake, people do them deliberately. If a person is going to sexually harass, abuse or assault someone they are not making a mistake, they are actively deciding to do it. Affleck actively decided to sexually harass those women. He was still awarded. And thousands of other sexual abusers watched a man get away with what he did and win an award.
Casey Affleck will never feel the consequences of his actions, he will continue working and making movies and people will continue to praise him for his work. It's not okay, it's not normal. It is not normal. We are normalizing sexual assault, we are adding to rape culture. If you can't realize or accept that's what's happening then you are part of the problem.
When you give an abuser an award, women like Brie Larson, women like Amanda White and Magdelana Gorka, women (and men) like me...watch people clap with joy. Watch him smile, thank the audience. Watch his actions never receive consequences. Realize that it doesn't matter because as long as he carries privilege he will continued to be loved and adored. Abusers such as Johnny Depp, Michael Fassbender, Chris Brown, Sean Connery. Sexual abusers such as Ben Roethlisberger, Woody Allen, Sean Penn, Bill Cosby, CeeLo Green, Rob Lowe, Casey Affleck.
This needs to be fixed.
