Sexual Harrassment Seminar

Entry for May 31, 2007

Thoughts upon returning from the OSU sexual harassment workshop:

5/30/07 – 5/31/07 written over two days of reflection

My senses are dulled. Let me revive a little before remembering such monotony. Praise God for freedom and love. God set the masculine and feminine, He placed us in bonds. Praise His wisdom apart from our folly.

Okay…Secular morality based on opinions. Although the “Law” of the land is still based on “reasonability” it seems unreasonable. What matters in the case of sexual harassment is if your work suffers, not if you do. This would seem to penalize workers who plod through the pain and do a good job no matter what the circumstance (Christians, see Romans chapter 15). And, reasonability has no definition outside some judge’s opinion. There is no common way for the secular model to appeal to, so it gets lost in vague pleads toward a weakening “common sense” approach.

Further, common sense judgment by the defendant and plaintiff are taken before uncommon standard rulings by the court system. Years of common knowledge can be wiped away by one judge’s decision on what constitutes the word “hostile”. Intention does not matter, the defendant does not get to say “I didn’t mean it like that”. The only truth that matters is the interpretation of the individual. This is very vague and can not be pinned down anywhere. Also, the law is only concerned with Clark Kent. What superman does on his own time is his own concern. However, Clark Kent had better act like a journalist and not be too suave.

The outrageousness continued. If you see someone computing porn, be warned: porn is okay! Complaints are the only moral guide of this system! This is completely without compass, and void of any clear relevance to morality. Homophobia is undecided as a form of sexual harassment. Hahaha. The moral table is completely reversed here. Immorality is good and questioning it is seen as potentially harassing! Bigotry? Look to channel 10 as your pop god. Would you want the slick news crew talking about what you are doing? Please! Is this an appeal to morality or vanity? “Don’t lose face”, is more a threat of shamed ego then any real attempt of moral ethos. Would you do it if your spouse was there? Would you want your loved one to have this done to them?

These questions attempt to carve out a silver rule that states: don’t do what you don’t want done to you or yours. The problem is that the foundation that they are using is unreliable. Trying to carve a moral rule in secular reasoning (apart from true moral authority) is like carving a statue out of water. At best it is an ice sculpture that melts away under the heat of liberal “rights” and “freedoms”. These rights and freedoms are more protected then our kids are from evil.

At one point I believed the speaker to be attempting to rally our common understanding of a “way” to live. This didn’t happen very often, but was unavoidable as questions began to rise. As humbling as this must be, even the sculptor of water must admit to the mocking crowd that her intentions are founded in historical truths. So, this is to say, once there was marble. Statues looked good in marble, it was smooth and workable. We could all agree that porn was bad once, can’t we now? The answer is not lastingly, not strongly, not truly…No, the water does not hold what the marble did. In fact, the marble didn’t hold what God’s granite tablets did. But, aside nostalgic thoughts, I press on in this “liberated” world.

Confidentiality is not allowed. I do not have the luxury of being a trusted ear. I must only be a tool of reform. If I hear evil I must report it. This being in contrast to what I believe, it is hard for me to agree. Am I an accuser? Does this bureaucratic dragon expect my voice of it? Well I am unapologetic and strongly determined to take up any cause only on God’s terms. I am flexible. I am alive. If a situation occurs it will be resolved personally.

After a few contradictions of policy, and more redundancy then I was soberly able to bear, the workshop ended with an anticlimactic dud. It is hard to judge you know….blah. Freedom of speech and other rights must balance out. Personal selfishness and the selfishness of others must find a level plain. There must be some restraint but it is hard to say where. I am not going to tell you or any other person not to do something, just try to be selfish away from work. If you are selfish at work, try to offend only weak people who have no voice. If someone complains, just try to accommodate them.

Can I just shake this off? What a stupor. Can I be done trying to fit into this insanity? No, my work is not finished. Covert operations must resume in the fields of my Lord. Plod on. My yoke is light. What complaint do I have in this world? my home is not in this realm. I don’t cling, I just pass through. So another dead road sign hangs from its hinges behind me: Sexual harassment for next 200 miles. I travel on, I travel on. My destination is not from the signs I see made by men. I have seen true signs along the way that point to the new morning sun. His kingdom come, His will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.

My head is dizzy from too much use. My heart ached a while back, I thought I would drop dead. Too much study and not enough sleep. I need a deeper connection to my creator. Only He can restore my soul and passion. I took a walk to the river and turned around. I thought about jumping in and getting my clothes wet. That’s what I thought, my clothes will get wet. How should I live that my death will be okay? That question rang in my head as it swirled. The answer of course is well known to me, I just can’t walk it out. I can’t I can’t I can’t. I need your help Jesus. I give up trying on my own.