Thirty-six women who previously worked with Al Franken during his run on Saturday Night Live have issued a statement of support for the Minnesota senator, following accusations by two women that he kissed or groped them without their consent.
The letter, which was released on Twitter and published in the Boston Globe, summons all the worst ever cliches used to absolve men of despicable behavior and sequences them to horrendous effect. "What Al did was stupid and foolish," the women contend—a characterization that suggests that Franken, a grown man, didn't know better than to assault a woman while she slept. They approve of his decision to apologize for his conduct toward Leeann Tweeden, who has irrefutable photo evidence of his harassment. But! "In our experience, we know Al as a devoted and dedicated family man, a wonderful comedic performer, and an honorable public servant."
It's a word salad of deflections and excuses, but the upshot is obvious: These women, all former SNL performers or staffers, believe it essential not to listen to victims of harassment, but to drown out their stories, 36-2. It seems for some reason critical and urgent! to defend Franken, even though the deck has always been stacked in favor of the accused, even though women have been shamed into silence for centuries, even though one or three dozen women's impressions of a man have zero relevance on other women's experiences of him.
And yet these 36 women have been "moved to quickly and directly affirm that after years of working with him," they have never felt harmed by him. And they go on to "mention [their] sincere appreciation that he treated each of [them] with the utmost respect and regard," since "sincere appreciation" is apparently what we owe the men who don't abuse us. Really, men, don't mention it. No, really. Don't.
This letter isn't just bad because it's ridiculous and insane to suggest that we should express our "gratitude," as the writers do, to men who refrain from sexual harassment. It's bad because it harmfully suggests, as my colleague Estelle Tang pointed out on Twitter, that dads, comedians, and "honorable public servants" don't harass women, even though it's precisely these kinds of "allies" who've been found out over the past two months; "Progressive men can mistreat women too," she writes.
It's bad because their words aren't straightforward testimonies. The letter is a tool to undercut women who come forward, to turn the issue of harassment into a "difference of opinion." It's not. It's a crime.
Al Franken and the men who've been accused of sexual misconduct aren't the ones who need our "support and gratitude" this weekend. Send it all the brave women who've risked their relationships, careers, and lives to speak up, instead.
