NEWS
Monday, November 17, 2014 15
Editorial
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to us. However, in doing so, we create a stimulus that engages us in these profound social issues
that might otherwise not receive the attention they
deserve. Without a genuine understanding of these
experiences, it becomes difficult to engage in a discourse on finding solutions to the problem of abuse
in our society. Using celebrities as a proxy in this
way helps us to feel more personally connected to
efforts in preventing the continuation of such intolerable behaviour.
In a sense, it also comes down to an issue of
power. Our willingness to be captured by these
stories is informed by the influence these celebrities have upon us. On each side of the table, both as
victim and abuser, celebrities hold a power that no
one else has to speak out on these issues. The mother
of three living next door may face abuse every single
day, but she has nothing like the voice Ghomeshi has
in a single Facebook post. This power imbalance can
be seen as both a blessing and a burden. Speaking
as a victim of abuse myself, I can honestly say that
my perspective on this situation is at odds within
me. On the one hand, I recognize and appreciate
that any form of attention that brings us together in
such a way as to encourage healthy and constructive
debate on the matter is to be welcomed. Though, I
also can’t help but feel infuriated by witnessing the
differential treatment between those victims who
live within the world of celebrity and the rest of us
who lie outside that privilege. Having experienced
first-hand both the social and systemic barriers that
victims face when bringing allegations of abuse to
light, I can say that it feels like an insurmountable
journey for those who do not have the support of an
entire army of Toronto Star staff writers or hundreds
of thousands of Twitter followers behind them. I’m
certainly not suggesting that these victims should
not be receiving the enormous amount of support
they do; rather, what I’m saying is that it shouldn’t
mean that anyone else deserves less. What results
from this inequality is that we are left with a system
that offers protection to some, but not others. Those
who are advantaged to have access to the power that
demands attention find recourse where others do
not and fall into the shadows of the forgotten. The
answer to the question of who receives our moral
indignation on this matter shouldn’t rest with the
social status of those involved. The issue of abuse is
a serious concern that deserves our attention without need for the added spectacle arising from these
celebrity scandals. If we intend to take an earnest
approach to resolving the problem of abuse, then
we ought to begin by recognizing it as it occurs at all
levels of our society. u
Sex Scandals
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per the Law Society’s Rules of Professional Conduct.
Ghomeshi is represented by a union an