#MeToo is a trending hashtag today, which is being shared on social media with the following post: If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote "Me too" as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem. Please copy/paste. #MeToo Thank you to all of the people who have shared this hashtag. Thank you for sharing your experiences and your stories. Your courage to speak up highlights the magnitude of the problem and I believe you. My first thought (after feeling sadness) was to wonder whether I should add my voice to this trending story. As a man, if I add my voice will it be distracting or supportive, patronizing or empowering, helpful or hurtful? Is the defining characteristic of my voice that it is male, or that it is white, or heterosexual, cisgendered, middle class, educated, liberal, or privileged? I decided to write this because the defining characteristic of my voice should be first and foremost that I am another
Does this type of post honor veterans or criticize "this country" for not honoring them enough? Is that the same thing? Today is Veteran's Day, so prepare yourself for a social media overload of flags, pictures of statues, and quotes intended to be inspiring about the sacrifice of veterans like the one on the right. We celebrate our Veterans for their courage, their bravery and for their sacrifice, as well we should. But is it enough? Some people will lament the fact that the celebration is only one day, or that it doesn't change the way we honor the veterans, or fail to, on other days. The government agency tasked with helping Veterans is plagued with scandals , and the NFL has to be paid to honor the veterans. So it's no wonder that we've gotten cynical about how much a few "thank you" messages matter. Is it enough to say "thank you" if we don't really try to understand what the sacrifice of a veteran is? You've prob