Parker: Latest sexual harassment case may be one that sticks

The skeptics would have a valid point were it not for at least one statistically significant factor and one whale of a difference from all previous uprisings.

If true, as Carlson says, that every woman has a story, then, statistically, sexual harassment in the workplace is a plague, a disaster and a psychological assault weapon. Given that women constitute half the world’s population — and that successful women mean successful families and societies — then any word or action that undermines their ability to conduct life without fear of sex-based exploitation or retribution should be considered an epidemic of opioid proportions.

The big-fish difference, meanwhile, is the president. The man who famously boasted of grabbing women by their nethers sparked the Women’s March last January with his many crude, misogynistic comments. Donald Trump’s lawyers have requested that they be allowed to postpone responding to the subpoena until his presidency ends, but feminist attorney Gloria Allred, who is representing some of the accusers, doesn’t appear to harbor patience in her armory of legal tactics. To be continued.

#MeToo gains traction

When I interviewed Carlson recently, I confessed that I had always been a “guy-girl,” raised by my father in a male-centric environment and, as a professional skeptic, had often assumed that most “victims” of sexual harassment were either not tough enough, lacked a sense of humor or were stupid about guy-tude.

It turns out I was also, according to Carlson, part of the problem. (You learn something new every day.) Next I told her that I had never been sexually harassed, then proceeded to relate at least two incidents in my adult working life that were textbook sexual harassment. I simply hadn’t recognized them as such.

I did what most women do. I shrugged them off and stashed the experiences so deeply in my psyche’s Junk folder that I forgot about them — until now. #MeToo.

Sexual harassment doesn’t always mean a sexual advance, as Carlson pointed out. It’s about power through sexual intimidation. Surely, women have a right to live and work without this predatory threat. If enough fathers care about their daughters’ future success; if enough brothers care about their sisters’ safety; if enough women care enough about each other, #MeToo — or #BeFierce — won’t be just another hashtag.

And as long as Trump is considered one of the greatest offenders by so many women, this moment won’t likely be just another bad day at the beach.