Reader: Times are changing. Women are fed up.

Letter to the editor: 

I read Paste BN’s story chronicling the cumulative reports of sexual misconduct in the wake of Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby and others. This phenomenon is due to enough women being fed up with the perverted actions of men who are committing criminal lewdness and sexual assaults. 

The world is changing among men, too. No longer are some men willing to turn a blind eye while an innocent woman is groped, fondled or even raped. Too many powerful men, for far too long, have thought that they would be inoculated due to their stature. Gone are the days of Jimmy Swaggart with his sobbing “I have sinned” speech or Bill Clinton’s wagging finger and Oxford University-style words, “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” Had the Monica Lewinsky scandal happened in today’s cultural climate, I firmly believe Clinton would be convicted in the Senate and removed from office. Men such as Sen. Al Franken should do the honorable thing and resign now. 

More: The sexual harassment reckoning

I applaud the women who muster the courage to spurn a perpetrator. The days of a “casting couch” or a “tryst” for advancement in a career must stop. Powerful men can no longer use fear, intimidation and threats to gag or blackmail their victims into silence. Tougher criminal penalties and punishment must become the new normal.

James A. Marples; Longview, Texas

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