Change sometimes comes slowly, but when it finally arrives the transformation can be sudden and dramatic.
Such is the recent transformations of American culture powered by the #MeToo movement and the outing of sexual harassers, or worse. These are people, mostly men, who have been protected for decades. Hopefully, society will dismantle the unseemly protections that long shielded these abusers from accountability, forever.
What does this have to do with Montana hunters and anglers? Only this: one of the latest abusers forced out into the market square of accountability is Wayne Pacelle, the now former CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. The Humane Society of the United States, by the way, isn’t that local organization with a similar name that helps deal with the problem of homeless pets. The Humane Society of the United States is a different organization, and it is one of the most strident and well organized anti-hunting organizations in the country. Pacelle, who was CEO for more than a decade, made it so.
Needless to say, I won’t shed a tear about Pacelle’s passing from the Humane Society. But I am still seeking the appropriate approach for dealing with other shamed public figures — and their work — that I have admired. I learned the fundamentals of preparing Italian food watching Mario Batali’s “Molto Mario” cooking show. Kevin Spacey has long been one of my favorite actors, and “American Beauty,” in which Spacey ironically plays a middle-age man with an inappropriate attraction for a girl still in high school, is an amazing film that ultimately reaffirms the unshakable power of love and family.
Do I get to continue watching on reruns, if they ever reappear? Should I stop making Batali’s Southern Italian recipes that became a family staple when my daughters turned vegetarian and I needed non-meat culinary inspiration?
While were on the subject, I still own a Jeff Smith cookbook. I watched Smith’s “Frugal Gourmet” religiously back in the pre-Food Network days. However, he was rightly driven from his PBS television show after reports of his history sexual assaults became public.
Do I keep the book? Will I ever again watch “American Beauty?” Do I make lentil pasta when my daughters visit on college break?
The lentil pasta is a yes. On the others, it’s probably a “yes,” but I’m still working it out.
Editor's Note: (1-27-18) If you're not ready to abandon Batali's work, here's the lentil pasta recipe.
Good article. Life sure presents dilemmas. What do we do now? “Believe her,” no matter what? Fire, ostracize, boycott, banish him immediately upon being accused? That seems what #metoo is about. I’m glad I’m married and my wife knows me. It seems to me you won’t know if you’re a sexual predator when you ask for sex until you get the answer. It is simply the answer that defines you. “No” and you’re a predator. “Yes” and you’re OK…until years later, maybe. It seems as though the only safe option is to never have sex. And what do I think about otherwise good men facing unproven allegations? The number of accusers is not always a reliable indicator. When you figure it out, let me know. Pass the lentils…