We can all cheer when the other side gets accused. Yay, Glenn Thrush goes down for being a cad when drunk. But I am amused at the creeping definitions of miscreant behavior and the standards of proof. Now, a failed pass is an attempted rape and an alleged timely comment to a boyfriend or close relative is conclusive evidence.

Who knew how easy it would be to convict someone? I ended my policing career too early. Now, just investigate accusations that were never made in my day and would not have been considered crimes, release the raw files to the press, and skip all that statutory and due process stuff.

What’s more, many of these recent accusers continued long term relationships with their attackers. It was cool when that association was beneficial, but it is cooler now to disclose its unseemly aspects in the press.

A guy showered in a visible manner. He masturbated while someone watched. He made a pass grabbing a thigh or butt. Unseemly, gross, and pathetic come to mind. Maybe even misdemeanors. But if those were so bad, why not say something then? Why watch?

Imagine being a victim of a real sexual assault. One you reported to police and testified to at trial that ended in an acquittal because the burden of proof was too high. I have known such victims and had to explain why we lost.

Men are louts, especially when drunk and even moreso when in powerful positions. Those who abuse that power in transactional manners sexually are reprobates, but not usually felons. The wave of public accusations years after the fact by accusers who enjoyed the benefits of their relationships with their assaulters conflates what was once incredibly boorish conduct with criminal predatory deviance.

If this becomes ubiquitous, perhaps it already is, real sexual assault victims may be perceived as crying wolf.