COMMON SENSE FROM HARVARD – AT 12:50 P.M. ET:   We sometimes like to think of Harvard as a very liberal university, floating in the clouds.  In fact, there has been some remarkable common sense coming out of the Harvard Law School on the subject of sexual harassment, and much of it is coming from Harvard women.  From Daily Caller: 

Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Bartholet argues that the #MeToo movement, made popular on social media after numerous high-profile media men were exposed as sexual predators, ignores the “principles of basic fairness” because it presumes guilt.

The professor, who teaches civil liberties and family law, says that despite #MeToo’s ability to bring predators to light, due process may be in danger of being thrown out.

In the rush to discard the possibility of innocence, men accused of sexual misconduct now face an immediate guilty sentence in the court of public opinion.

Writing for the Harvard Crimson, Bartholet says that due to the current social climate, “men and women are put at risk for personal conduct that may be essential if they are to have the chance to develop future relationships.”

“In the recent rush to judgment, principles of basic fairness, differences between proven and merely alleged instances of misconduct, and important distinctions between different kinds of sexually charged conduct have too often been ignored,” Bartholet says, as first reported by Campus Reform.

“Some argue that women who speak out should simply always be believed,” says the professor. “Others argue that if some innocent men must be sacrificed to the cause of larger justice, so be it. I find this deeply troubling.”

Bartholet says that “efforts must be made to investigate what actually happened and how the different parties understood the events.”

COMMENT:  Good, wise words, far wiser than the 10-minute "feminists" who pop up whenever women's issues are in the news.  Fighting sexual violence against women, and battling true sexual harassment, can be done thoughtfully and effectively, without tearing the Constitution to shreds. 

Professor Bartholet does a service, as do other prominent women who've begun to caution against excess.  Only women can stop the new McCarthyism on the left, which can ultimately do enormous damage to the legitimate pursuit of women's rights.

January 23, 2018