However, let's take a step back and ask ourselves: what environment have we created as a society where Ms. Griffin thought that posting a photo like that MIGHT possibly be OK? What's the track record here?
We have a local government candidate in Montana who body-slammed a reporter - committing ACTUAL violence that absolutely impedes the principles of free speech and is a prosecutable offense - and his constituents still elected him. His punishment? He'll likely pay a fine that will in the long run mean nothing to him because he's already wealthy enough to just let that one go. He'll continue on in his job and he'll actually be powerful enough to create POLICY that affects the very things we are taking issue with.
Kathy Griffin is a comedian who posted a picture. Who is more dangerous to the public? A comedian who posts a picture, or a governmental representative who actually physically attacks people and gets to continue to make public policy for the rest of us?
We have a President who was caught on tape talking about how he can sexually assault women and get away with it because of who he is. A President who can claim to shoot someone in public and get away with it. And he was right. He did. All he had to say was that it was "locker room talk" and the public accepted it and fell into line. He was still elected President, and now he whines about how "unfairly" he gets treated. I'm not even going to run through the list of offenses against societal decorum this man has breached because this blog post would go on for far too long so I'll leave it at that.
Kathy Griffin stated she wanted to show girls that they can do whatever men can do.
Only she just proved - no we can't. If you're not a white male running for political office, you can't get away with that. The repercussions are NOT the same. Not at all.
Let's take Bill O'Reilly - a man who for years paid people off not to expose him sexually harassing the women he worked with and creating a hostile work environment, and a news agency willing to look the other way until advertisers started pulling their money. Is his career ruined because Fox eventually fired him? (weeks after the controversy first became public as opposed to the next day like what happened with Griffin) Not likely. He's already got a podcast that his faithful will continue to listen to. In fact, just doing a google search shows that Bill O'Reilly still has a voice because there are still articles being written about him as he goes off on how he's going to write an "exposition" on his firing. And he will make money and he will be fine.
So it's really no wonder Kathy Griffin thought she could do what she did and not suffer the consequences. None of the men she has been covering on CNN have suffered the sting of accountability for their actions. Why should she?
She forgot her "place" in society. She is not a white male in a position of power.
While in no way do I defend what Ms. Griffin did - I understand why she may have thought it was appropriate. Our President says and does outlandish things all the time. As a Huffington Post OpEd article recently pointed out - his actions and words actually have the potential to lead to REAL beheadings. Griffin's likely won't.
So while I cannot defend what Griffin did, I think we need to recognize the shameful double-standard we have adopted regarding who does and does not suffer the consequences of their despicable actions. Our "moral outrage" only goes so far as a society. Who we elected as President to represent our nation to the world is living proof.
