Blogger's amen. Yes! Finally we hear the Truth about the whole sickening, sordid Ghomeshi disaster, and one would think there would be relief all around. But some of the commentary on this superb act of truth-telling is distinctly "off". Some journalists are writing about Kathryn Borel's statement as if it's a sadistic, deliberately ball-crushing act of malice, bitter vengeance for Ghomeshi's near-total escape from legal consequences after his shit-eating, lawyer-ghosted "apology".
I say "ghosted" because even after his 61 (count 'em! 61) therapy sessions, I have no illusions that this guy is doing anything but cover his own ass. This is a man who is just now, duhh, figuring out that, um, uh, er, groping and grabbing and choking women MIGHT just be a little bit disrespectful, particularly if it is done on the job. Might. Just. And this from a man nearing 50! He is 48 years old, and while waiting for trial, he was sent to live with his Mommy. There was nowhere else for him to go. No doubt she believes the sun rises and sets on him.
Ghomeshi has no friends, never has had any friends (this came out when the scandal first erupted and it was revealed that not one single person at the CBC liked him), and does not even have relationships with women in the usual, adult sense. And yet, and yet, look how much damage one slimy, narcissistic/opportunistic asshole can do. So desperate was the CBC for some sexing up that they took on this unshaven goat with the mind of a 14-year-old, then told women who worked under him (pun intended) that they had to put up with his humiliating grabs and gropes because "that's just the way he is". The whole place tiptoed around him, and it went on for years.
No, nay, never-no-more! I don't know HOW he is now, nor do I care. His life is over, as far as I am concerned - that is, if it ever began.
There's a piece about all this that I find particularly obnoxious because it uses boxing metaphors. I find it insulting because Kathryn Borel was not boxing. She was setting the record straight. She is not Muhammed Ali doing that, whatever, rope-a-dope thing (who cares what it is anyway?). She's a person, a woman grievously wronged who, while not having her day in court, found another way to win. This, in my opinion, was heroism, so far beyond a mere boxing match that there is no comparison. She got up there, she told the truth, she was passionate and self-possessed. We all saw. We all heard. So perhaps truth does come out, perhaps shallow narcissists do eventually fall. Stick a fork in him, people are saying. He's done.
But. We'll see.
P. S. When I first saw this photo, my scalp prickled. The stance of the hero is clear. Head up, back straight, her body posture dignified and confident. But there is also an indomitable spirit. She looks like a racehorse about to leap out of the gate. The archway over her head gives the whole scene the look of a classic battle. Victory sometimes comes in unexpected ways.
