When Good Men Do Nothing

Tolerating evil leads only to more evil. And when good people stand by and do nothing while wickedness reigns, their communities will be consumed. -Bob Riley

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke

When I started this blog, I didn’t want to get too controversial or political. After all, I’m mainly a fiction writer. And I write humor. And no one cares what I think anyway. Now if I were Rowling, or King, or Patterson, someone might care, but not this lowly writer. Besides, people often think that artists of any kind shouldn’t make statements.

But what is happening in Hollywood is too big to ignore, and as an artist (okay, a writing artist) and an actor (unpaid community theatre), I have something to say, even if I’m the only one reading it.

What’s happening is good, but it’s also disheartening as we see the bodies piling up and our views and favorite shows destroyed.

I think we would all love to be in positions of loving your work and being able to support yourself doing it. Success is waking up in the morning and looking forward to your day, not hating it. A lot of people assume that artists are striving for fame and fortune. What artists are really striving for, is the ability to be paid to do what they love doing. Now in other businesses, fame and fortune are not necessary for this. A good reputation in your business, yes, but no one outside of your business needs to know you.

However whether you’re an actor, writer, director, or artist, fame and fortune are necessary to get the work that you want to do. The more money you bring in, the more famous you become, and the more you get to choose what work you do. It’s about power, personal power to guide your own life. Sometimes that personal power can lead to unrighteous power and it can hurt the very people you should be helping. Young men and women go to Hollywood to fulfill their dreams. Most won’t make it. A handful do, but you don’t know if you’re going to be one of those handful unless you try. What many of them find instead, is powerful people who take advantage of them. Now in other businesses, you can move from one company to another. If you don’t like a job, you can quit and move on. But in Hollywood, as I understand it, it’s all one big company. There are different labels, studios and agencies, but if you upset a director or casting agent, you can destroy your career. They talk to each other. Sure they want talent, but they also want someone who can take direction and not cause problems. Which is entirely fair. No one wants a diva on set, especially one who hasn’t proven themselves.

The problem comes in when someone in power takes advantage of the situation, and demands sexual favors. It becomes a dilemma for a person starting off in the business or even someone fairly successful but still not in a position of power. If you turn them down, then you could be facing career failure. If you report it, you will utterly destroy your career, because it becomes your word against Mr. Big’s. And Mr. Big always wins (we’ve seen this recently in politics). You gain the reputation of being difficult to work with. So let’s be clear. Those people who get taken advantage of, who give in, and don’t report it, are not at fault here. They are in self-protection mode and I won’t blame them for not falling on the sword and destroying their dreams.

It is the fault of those who prey on them and take advantage of them. And if it seems there’s a witch hunt going on – then bring on the witches that can point fingers and accuse, because it’s about time. No one should have to exchange sexual favors to achieve their dreams. That is rape. But there's another group that bears responsibility too. Those well established, successful actors who are coming out now in support of these women who are laying the accusations. Where were they? Often they talk as if this has been going on for years. If so, then why weren’t these men of power (and it is men of power) saying something long before this? Their jobs and careers were never in jeopardy. If so and so, and so and so, and so and so, or pick a famous actor, had stepped forward and said something, then he would have been a hero. Right now they all look like they’re jumping on the bandwagon after the fact. After someone without power was brave enough to start the ball rolling. After several more brave women joined in to push the cart. After they put themselves on the line to say “this is what happened to me” now all those other powerful people who knew about it all along, but aren’t guilty themselves, are singing their praises for saying something and trying to look like good guys.

But where were they before?

#opinion #media