I know Mark Halperin. I’ve interviewed him a number of times. He’s always been helpful, courteous and respectful of the work I do at CBN. To say that I was shocked about these sexual misconduct allegations would be an understatement. He’s not the, “Type A Bully Sort of Guy.” I never saw him that way because he isn’t the loud macho man. That’s why this was a bit alarming to say the least. I never saw it coming.
Lawyers and courts will eventually determine the outcome of all this so it’s not my place to cast judgment before judgment and a final factual conclusion has been determined. But let me just say this and make a broader point: c’mon men!
Harvey Weinstein, Bill O’Reilly, Roger Ailes, the list goes on…and on…and on. And don’t think this is just about a powerful celebrity harassing young females. Men all over the world do this: in the workplace, in relationships, anywhere. I’m not saying all men are bad apples but let’s make a few things perfectly clear. Men, listen up!
Women are NOT objects for your personal satisfaction and gratification. This just in: they have a brain and it’s probably better than yours. Looking pretty doesn’t give you license to do ANYTHING. It’s called respect. Google it. Men have this major desire to be respected but fellas it’s a two-way street. You have to earn it and any man who is inappropriate with a female co-worker is not showing her respect at all. Sorry boys (that’s right, boys, not men). That’s not how it works. Women should be cherished as a gift from God, not a gift for your pleasure.
From a biblical perspective, Ed Stetzer, the Executive Director of the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism has this to say:
Men, acting like men, know that women are made in the image of God and deserving of dignity and respect—they are image bearers. This is how God desires our world to operate; as the Bible relates at the very beginning in the book of Genesis, “So God created man in His own image; He created him in the image of God; He created them male and female” (Genesis 1:27).
Amen.
Hey men, “man up.”