I was hoping I'd be able to work Charlie Sheen into a post, here's my chance.
Anne Holmes wonders if the comparatively light treatment Sheen is, and has been, getting over his abusive towards women is indicative of a general contempt that exists in the broader society. Perhaps this adds to this week's civil rights discussion of civil rights. Perhaps we condone certain behaviors or treatments because they fit certain assumptions we have about groups:
These assumptions — about women, about powerful men, about bad behavior — have roots that go way back but find endorsement in today’s unscripted TV culture. Indeed, it’s difficult for many to discern any difference between Mr. Sheen’s real-life, round-the-clock, recorded outbursts and the sexist narratives devised by reality television producers, in which women are routinely portrayed as backstabbing floozies, and dreadful behavior by males is explained away as a side effect of unbridled passion or too much pilsner.
