How in the world is it the only natural reaction? What is the logic leap in going from
A. Some people being accused of sexual harassment
to
B. We should segregate all women and minorities
What sort of reaction is that and how is it normal to think that? Normal reaction would be "why are all these women coming out with stories of being sexually harassed" and "how can we make our work places better" so these accusations won't be coming out. That should be a normal reaction, not going lets go back to the days in American history when women and minorities were treated poorly. Yes that was what segregation was.
Bingo! A lack of empathy or understanding, also known as ignorance is at fault. If you don't know how to communicate with others without offending them, then you're immature. If you offend someone, or see someone offended, your first reaction shouldn't be to get defensive (although that's a natural reaction). You try to understand the situation, and reach an understanding with the person you've offended. These aren't natural leaders. That's why when one of these types gets a leadership role, you end up with accusations of mistreatment and misbehavior.
I wasn't a natural leader, but I got thrust into a leadership role. As a minority, I knew how to avoid those racial pitfalls, but I stepped into a religious one by accident, due to some employees missing work due to an Islamic holiday. I messaged the team to let them know that they need to inform us of holiday and pending leave, not being aware that I was sending that on the very day my employees were out. It came off as me singling those employees out for their religious preference, eventhough my goal was to just establish a future-forward policy that would prevent any unnecessary disruptions in team. I didn't get defensive. I owned it. I apologized to the employees individually, explaining my actions, and during our next team meeting provided a public apology. I didn't burst into flames, and my balls didn't fall off. What it did was bring our team closer together, and made me more aware of how I handled seemingly innocent matters that affect large and diverse groups of people.
I don't want to immediately jump to the conclusion that anyone making claims of impropriety are attention seeking, or liars. I also don't want to assume that anyone being accused is automatically guilty. These workplace issues don't involve me, so I see them, empathize with the alleged victim, and move on. Let the parties involved handle this themselves. If there is verifiable evidence provided, and continued inaction by the employer, then there's a reason for the public to get outraged, but I don't see any value in dogpiling on either party in this matter, as we don't have any context or first-hand knowledge of what happened. I can only assume there's a reason someone would want to make such accusations publicly, and I don't think it's to gain fame. Most victims that come forward publicly only get more harm, and no one remembers "that famous abuse victim." That's not how fame works.
I'm starting to realize that this forum is full of pretty scummy people.
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