Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Roy Moore's Interview

Each day, we're hearing of more men and women coming forward to talk about inappropriate behavior from some of the most powerful men in the country. And while in many cases, those accusations are being treated as serious, in one instance, the reaction is just getting more and more tone-deaf. (Or perhaps I should say "Moore and Moore tone-deaf.")

In a move that I was absolutely certain was satire when I first heard about it, Roy Moore sat down with 12-year-old Millie March for an interview. The interview was arranged by a Pro-Trump group created by former Breitbart staffers. The goal of the move is to show that Moore can be in the same room as a child and not be creepy or assault her, right?

Dear god, where to begin on this one? Sure, Moore is on his best behavior when the cameras are rolling. But the issue brought forward with all of these accusations is a penchant for these powerful men to treat women like objects, to use them as means to an end. Is that any different than what is happening in this interview? Millie isn't being treated as a person; she's a prop. A bargaining chip used to get what Moore and this Pro-Trump group want - for Moore to be elected. Sure, he didn't assault or harass her. But he and everyone else involved in setting up that interview still objectified her.

Thankfully, I'm not the only one who is disgusted by this stunt:
On Twitter and elsewhere, people were quick to point to the uncomfortable decision to use a 12-year-old girl for a campaign push.

Democratic strategist Paul Begala called it “appalling” and “shocking.”

“The fact that he’s accused of sexual assaulting a 14-year-old girl, would sit down and do an interview with a 12-year-old, when he’s not talking to any journalists—it’s like he’s rubbing Alabamians’ noses in it,” he said.
In summation, I leave you with this brilliant tweet by Franchesca Ramsey:

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