councilor.org
| Source | Eric A. Ebel |
| Date | 99/05/01/22:08 |
| /* Written 2:49 PM Aug 21, 1998 by jshell@netcom.com in igc:labr.all */ /* ---------- "dsanet: An intern is not fair game" ---------- */ From: ANDERSON DAVID ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Fri, 21 Aug 1998 02:29:42 -0400 From: "Eric A. Ebel" > We have to wash our hands of Clinton now. The media has not focused on the > intern issue, but the fact is Clinton was in the position of mentor to a > trainee, which is even more than just a supervisory relationship. She was > under his protection. Politicians are correctly beginning to focus on this > aspect. Actually, I doubt that the President would have the time to function as a "mentor" to a bunch of interns in any but the most abstract sense. But the main point is that disproportions in power or status between adults who engage in consensual sexual activity should generally not be the basis for legal consequences. Contrary to popular belief, it's not illegal for employers to sleep with employees or supervisors with subordinates-- until the power starts to be actually misused-- nor should it be. The problem is that a lot of employers have overreacted by trying to ban all workplace relationships, leaving people thinking that there is a legal requirement. There are a few relationships where we don't tolerate any kind of sexual activity-- doctor or therapist and patient, teacher and student-- but these are and should be exceptions. Generally, we should take the position that adults are responsible for their own decisions and mistakes. Monica was a 21-year-old college graduate; she had been "legal" for maybe five years (depending on the age of consent in California), able to vote and sign contracts for three, and even able to buy alcohol legally. And the category of "trainee" can include women in their thirties. Do we really want to say that they belong in the same category as children, subject to special protections because we don't think they can make intelligent decisions? Personally, I hope we come out of this with an understanding that it is possible to "disapprove" of people's sexual behavior while still regarding it as none of our affair and that we ought not try to stop or punish it. I don't "approve" of Bill cheating on Hillary. I don't "approve" of celebrities using their position as an opportunity to have their way with "groupies"-- a certain Mr. W. Chamberlain comes immediately to mind. There are a lot of sexual situations I consider "wrong," and even more I call "stupid." (Yesterday's media reports say that Monica thought she had a future with Bill.) But as long as the people are adults and the the sex is uncoerced, it's really nobody's business but the participants and their immediate circle. We have struggled long and hard to establish that principle, and with luck, this nasty little affair may help cement it. In Solidarity, Eric |
Copyright (c) 1998, Joongpil Cho