The rapid growth of the sexual harassment industry is nothing less than liberalism’s tax on the business world. The culture of victimization is becoming so embedded in the courts and, increasingly, the state legislatures, that a handful of sexual harassment lawsuits are now seen as representative of the average working woman’s lot—and both working women and their employers are paying the very high cost. The continual rise in sexual harassment claims, even as women are poised to take over the reins at 50 percent of the small and mid-sized businesses in one recent survey (to use just one example), suggests that the sexual harassment industry itself is in large part to blame for this phantom epidemic that has employers so scared.

Rather than limiting themselves to explanations of the law, the experts are teaching women to spot lechery and lasciviousness behind every friendly smile. In such a world, where every man is considered a potential rapist (subtle though he may be), sexual harassment lawsuits easily become a tool for revenge. Of course, there is certainly boorish behavior going on in workplaces all across America, but for much of that, too, we can thank liberalism. The degradation of manners and proper social behavior that is the legacy of the anything-goes Sixties merely compounds workplace situations in which women are encouraged to go to the courts for every little slight. 

The women who have come forward showed tremendous courage, and it’s not enough to provide support after they speak out about being subjected to sexual misconduct. Rather, we must start making real, meaningful changes today to reduce and eliminate this disgraceful behavior in the future.

Changing the culture that has allowed sexual harassment and assault to become so widespread won’t be easy — especially when sexism is so ingrained in our society — but that hard work is necessary to finally move to a place where women have equality.

Right now, women are too often evaluated based on different criteria than men, and they are subjected to different treatment in our unequal society as a result. Simply acknowledging this reality is one of the first steps in the process of changing our cultural norms.

We need to ensure that we have more women in leadership positions. I’m proud that women hold the majority of senior staff positions on my campaign, including as my campaign manager and field director, and I’m committed to always making sure women have a seat at the table in senior decision-making roles.

We can also take some immediate steps to reduce harassment. In the workplace, we all have a responsibility to create a harassment-free environment. Companies must take this responsibility seriously and have a zero-tolerance policy for any type of harassment, including verbal, physical and sexual harassment.

Unfortunately, almost every woman has experienced an unwanted sexual advance, and millions of women have been sexually assaulted. It’s not enough to condemn this pervasive problem after the fact. Instead, we must take concrete steps to show that we are truly committed to a society where women and men are equal and treated with the respect and dignity they deserve. If your company does not fire these people, you probably should leave. It won't get better. People will continue to do what they do, what they get away with. The behaviors will accelerate to become even more sexually pervasive in nature when not condemned by corporations. 

The more inroads women make into the workplace the more they will have to deal with office curmudgeons and critics, louts and loudmouths, backstabbers, brutes, and, yes, boors—as working men have always had to do. This is clear. The men who are guilty of these actions will do everything in their power to demean, destroy and demoralize the women who speak up. When a woman is cast in with a colleague from the last of these categories, the best advice for handling him comes not from any high-priced sexual harassment expert but from the pages of literature. As Cervantes once said, “The woman who is resolved to be respected can make herself so even amidst an army of soldiers.”

Broadway Blockbuster ‘West Side Story’ Comes to MCCC’s Kelsey Theatre for Three Weekends, Jan. 5 to 21

The Sharks and the Jets are preparing to do battle over their small piece of New York’s Upper West Side, while star-crossed lovers Tony and Maria are on a collision course towards tragedy. PinnWorth Productions proudly presents “West Side Story,” considered one of the all-time greats of Broadway theater.  The show comes to Mercer County Community College’s (MCCC’s) Kelsey Theatre for three weekends: Fridays, Jan. 5, 12 and 19 at 8 p.m.; Saturdays, Jan. 6, 13 and 20 at 8 pm.; and Sundays, Jan. 7, 14 and 21 at 2 p.m.

Kelsey Theatre is located on the college’s West Windsor Campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road. A reception with the cast and crew follows the opening night performance on Jan. 5.

With its dark themes, stunning musical score, complex dance numbers, and a focus on social issues, the show broke new ground when it premiered on Broadway in 1957. The famed Leonard Bernstein score, with lyrics by a young Stephen Sondheim, includes such unforgettable numbers as “Something's Coming,” “Maria,” “America,” “Somewhere,” “Tonight,” “I Feel Pretty,” “One Hand, One Heart,” “Officer Krupke,” and “Cool.” The production was nominated for six Tony Awards including Best Musical. A film version followed in 1961 and was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won ten, including Best Picture.

The PinnWorth cast includes Mason Kugelman of Rumson as Tony; Tara Keelen of Bloomfield as Maria; Lorraine C. Perri of Florence as Anita; Evan Krug of Edison as Riff; Kevin Albanese of Woodbridge as Bernardo; Erica Boyea of South Plainfield as Anybodys; Peter Sauer of Yardley, Pa., as Doc; Joseph A. Zedeny of East Windsor as Lt. Schrank; David Walter of Lawrenceville as Krupke; and Diana Puertas of Somerville as Gladhand.

Featured as members of the Jets are: Nicholas Buonvicino of Green Brook as Action; Sean Dickinson of Jackson as Big Deal; Nicholas Kianka of Hamilton as Snowboy; Matthew Robertson of Yardley, Pa., as Diesel; Liam Smith of Yardley, Pa., as Baby John; Matthew Snyder of Levittown, Pa., as A-Rab; and David Williamson of Flemington as Gee-Tar. Members of the rival gang, the Sharks, are Charlie Gormley of Morrisville, Pa., as Chino; Connor P. McDowell of Levittown, Pa., as Pepe; Nicolas Fallacaro of Yardley, Pa.; James LeGette of Levittown, Pa., Michael Mottram of Cream Ridge; Jeff Rosenthal of Dayton; and Hunter Stahley of Millstone Township.

Featured as the Jets Girls are Cait Crowley of Bloomfield as Velma; Emily O'Sullivan of Hamilton as Graziella; Deanna Flanagan of Rahway as Minnie; Madison Kotnarowski of Mercerville; Lauren Suchenski of Yardley, Pa., Rachel Tovar of West Orange; Nicole Farina-Machin of Columbus; and Kelly Vallery of Hamilton. The Sharks Girls include Jenna Zielinski of Scotch Plains as Rosalia; Haley Schmalbach of Palmyra as Consuela; Kate Bilenko of Philadelphia, Pa., as Francisca; Lindsey Jordon of Edison; Reva Sangal of West Windsor; and Zoey Aliah Woody of New Brunswick.

The production team is led by Co-producers LouJ Stalsworth and Kate Pinner, Director LouJ Stalsworth, Choreographer Koren Zander, Music Director François Suhr, Costume and Set Designer Kate Pinner, Lighting Designer Robert Terrano, Sound Designer Evan Paine and Stage Manager Dennis Tolentino.

Tickets are $20 for all and may be purchased by calling the Kelsey Box Office at 609-570-3333 or online at www.kelseytheatre.net.  Kelsey Theatre is wheelchair accessible, with free parking next to the theater.  For a complete listing of adult and children's events, visit the Kelsey website or call the box office for a brochure.

W

In the early 1980s, before Anita Hill’s testimony at Clarence Thomas’s confirmation hearings, most men didn’t think that their advances toward women were unwanted or inappropriate. The sad part is that women had to endure being touched, pinched, pushed in the corner and manhandled while they were seething inside. They smiled and gave a friendly wag of their finger and felt they couldn’t do anything about it.

Men’s inclination to make sexist remarks and inappropriately touch women has persisted at an unconscious level since recorded history. Men have been totally oblivious to the discomfort they create with an inappropriate sexual comment or crossing a personal boundary. The level of demeaning behavior from men to women in the workplace has grown to a level of acceptance. However, women have finally spoke, it's not acceptable. 

Harassment is a way for men to exploit and manipulate women, a way to maintain and gain power. Dominance, not desire, is on the mind of men who sexually harass women. These men use their power explicitly or implicitly to intimidate and harass women. They try to minimize their inappropriate behavior and act like it’s completely normal and acceptable. The victim is placed in an intimidating lose-lose situation without any power over the advances. It starts at first as actions of intimidating. They will limit a womens behavior to speak up about things that are wrong. They are instantly silenced. 

Even though research into the mentality of accused harassers is at best incomplete, there are some common characteristics.

When a name man touches a woman without asking, he does so because he feels entitled. To him, the gesture may be meaningless. He feels it is simply a friendly gesture. He says to himself, “After all, what could be wrong with putting my arm around her waist? I’m not molesting her.”

For her, however, the “gesture” has a totally different meaning. Nico Lang of the Rolling Stones writes, “You might not think a pinched cheek or a shoulder caress is something to lose sleep over. But the next time you see a man put his hand on the small of a woman’s back, look at her eyes. Look at her smile. If you’re looking closely enough, I bet you can see her faking it. I bet you can see how painful it really is.” The point is, the man is invading another person’s personal space. He is ignoring her personal boundary

There are intense issues of entitlement, power and control that have gone unchecked leading to situations where men feel it’s perfectly fine to engage in these kinds of behaviors.

A perpetrator will justify his behavior with an acceptable label. For example, Bill Cosby referred to his sexual assaults as a “rendezvous.” In a displacement of responsibilty the harasser simply blames what they’re doing on things beyond their control. They might blame it on the victim: “After all, she was wearing a miniskirt and a halter top. She was asking for it.” 

I think this is difficult for most men to understand, because men have sexually objectified women for a long time. Sexual objectification happens when a women’s body or sexual functions are isolated from her as a person and treated as objects to covet or touch. When this happens, the value or worth of a woman’s body is connected to how sexually gratifying it is.

The impact of all of this on women is huge.  Imagine, if you will, a woman early in her career being inappropriately touched or spoken to. She begins to wonder if she did something to make it happen or encourage it. She feels embarrassed and fearful other people will find out. She begins to doubt her abilities and wonders if she was hired only because of her sexual value. She begins to question her achievement and ask herself, “Is this simply what it’s like in the field?”

She has nothing to compare her experience to, and has no idea what normal is or even what her recourse might be. All she knows is that she is having trouble sleeping and is feeling depressed and anxious. At this point, she doesn’t know if there are others being harassed, nor how to find out.

All of the research tells us that sexual harassment can wreak havoc on its victims. It can cause mental health issues, as well as physical effects. When people in the workplace are dismissive of harassment, they frequently say, “I understand how the sexual assault can lead to serious consequences, but how can simple harassment be so harmful?” The problem with this kind of thinking is that it discounts medical science and discounts the stories of victims of harassment. It exaggerates the crippling doubt that so many victims face. There are doubts that foster denial and other complications.

More specifically, the emotional responses to harassment include anxiety and depression.  Physical symptoms run the gamut of muscle aches, headaches, or even chronic physical health problems, such as high blood pressure and problems with blood sugar.

Employees talk of having a pit in their stomach commuting to work, having anxiety, panic attacks, inexplicable fits of crying and physical manifestations of stress such as hair falling out, hives, weight gain or loss,  sleeplessness and lethargy.

What to Do

After looking at the effects of sexual harassment or any kind of harassment in the workplace, the urgency to do something in our society becomes apparent. Currently, the media coverage of the perpetrators is overshadowing the impact on the victims. The impact on the victims should have equal coverage. There is an urgency for managers to create a harassment-free workplace with clear guidelines, adequate training, and rule enforcement. When men are allowed to continue their demeaning behavior to women, everyone loses. There need to be clear protocols for responding to harassment. If a man is harassing a woman companies should not remove them from their roles and promote them into a new one of larger importance. When this happens, this only demonstrates the companies support of a very sick culture. The goal should be to create a culture where sexual harassment is not welcome nor tolerated, not one that is used for promotion.

Journey to the Land of the Sweets in Dance Connection’s ‘The Nutcracker’ at MCCC’s Kelsey Theatre Dec. 15-17

No holiday season is as sweet without “The Nutcracker.”  Join Clara, the Nutcracker and the Sugar Plum Fairy for Dance Connection’s family adaptation of the timeless Tchaikovsky classic at Mercer County Community College’s (MCCC’s) Kelsey Theatre.  Dates and show times for this magical production are: Friday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 16 at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 17 at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.  Kelsey Theatre is located on Mercer’s West Windsor campus at 1200 Old Trenton Road.

Even the youngest theater goers will enjoy this fully-narrated, one-hour ballet set to the famous Tchaikovsky score. Dolls and sweets come to life, mice and toy soldiers do battle, and snowflakes dance in a snow covered forest. It’s abridged and yet complete – with a large cast danced almost entirely by children and teens in beautiful costumes and scenery full of warmth and wonder.  At the conclusion of the show, children and parents are invited up on stage to meet their favorite characters, who will be available to sign autographs. 

Dance Connections (formerly known as New Jersey Youth Ballet) is based in Hillsborough, NJ. It was founded in 2007 by David Kieffer, who has extensive experience as a teacher, dancer and choreographer.

Tickets for “The Nutcracker” are $16 for adults, and $14 for seniors and children. Tickets may be purchased online at www.kelseytheatre.net or by calling the Kelsey Box Office at 609-570-3333.  Kelsey Theatre is wheelchair accessible, with free parking is available next to the theater.  For a complete listing of adult and children’s events, visit the Kelsey website or call the box office for a brochure.

Even if they belonged to higher social classes, most women throughout history have been enslaved by men. Until recent times, women throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia were unable to have any influence over the political, religious or cultural lives of their societies. They couldn’t own property or inherit land and wealth, and were frequently treated as mere property themselves. In some countries they could be confiscated by money lenders or tax collectors to help settle debts; in ancient Assyria, the  punishment for rape was the handing over of the rapist’s wife to the husband of his victim, to use as he desired. Most gruesomely of all, some cultures practised what anthropologists have called ritual widow murder (or ritual widow  suicide), when women would be killed (or kill themselves) shortly after the deaths of their husbands. This was common throughout India and China until the twentieth century, and there are still occasional cases nowadays.

Even in the so-called 'enlightened' society of ancient Greece — where the concept of democracy supposedly originated — women had no property or political rights, and were forbidden to leave their homes after dark. Similarly, in ancient Rome women unable to take part in social events (except as employed 'escort girls') and were only allowed to leave their homes with their husband or a male relative.

In Europe and America (and some other countries) the status of women has risen significantly over the last few decades, but in many parts of the world male domination and oppression continues. In many Middle Eastern countries, for example, women effectively live as prisoners, unable to leave the house except under the guardianship of a male guardian. (There are many Saudi Arabian women who have only left their houses a handful of times in their whole lives.) And when — or if — they do go outside, they are obliged to cover themselves from head to toe in black, leaving them in danger of vitamin deficiency and dehydration. They have no role at all in determining their own lives; they are seen as nothing more than a commodity, property of the males of the family, and as owners, the men have the right to make decisions for them. Their male owners have the right to have sex with them on demand too. In Egypt, surveys have shown that the vast majority of men and women believe it is acceptable for a man to beat his wife if she refuses sex.

There have been attempts to explain the oppression of women in biological terms. For example, the sociologist Stephen Goldberg suggested that men are naturally more competitive than women because of their high level of testosterone. This makes them aggressive and power-hungry, so that they inevitably take over the high status positions in a society, leaving women to the more subordinate roles. This is hogwash. Women are and can be more competitive than men. Testosterone should not be used as an acceptable excuse for bad behavior.

However, in my view the maltreatment of women has more deep-rooted psychological causes. Most human beings suffer from an underlying psychological disorder, which is called ‘humania.' The oppression of women is a symptom of this disorder. It’s one thing to take over the positions of power in a society, but another to seemingly despise women, and inflict so much brutality and degradation on them. What sane species would treat half of its members — and the very half which gives birth to the whole species — with such contempt and injustice? Despite their high level of testosterone, the men of many ancient and indigenous cultures revered women for their life-giving and nurturing role, so why don’t we?

The oppression of women stems largely from men’s desire for power and control. The same need which, throughout history, has driven men to try to conquer and subjugate other groups or nations, and to oppress other classes or groups in their own society, drives them to dominate and oppress women. Since men feel the need to gain as much power and control as they can, they steal away power and control from women. They deny women the right to make decisions so that they can make them for them, leave women unable to direct their own lives so that they can direct their lives for them. Ultimately, they’re trying to increase their sense of significance and status, in an effort to offset the discontent and sense of lack created by humania.

No one wins when men continually do this to women in business. 

Buena Vista Social Club

As Cuban revolutions go, it was an entirely peaceable uprising – but its impact could not have been more profound. On the release of the Buena Vista Social Club™ album in 1997, few outside the specialist world music audience initially took much notice of the record’s elegantly sculpted tunes and warm, acoustic rhythms. Then something extraordinary occurred. The album was spectacularly reviewed by a few discerning critics, but although their words of praise did Buena Vista’s cause no harm, they cannot explain what subsequently happened. Good reviews create an early surge in sales, but unless it’s a big pop release sustained by an expensive TV advertising campaign, the established pattern is that interest then slowly tails off. Instead, Buena Vista’s sales figures kept steadily rising week by week, building almost entirely by word-of-mouth until it achieved critical mass: all who heard the record not only fell in love with Buena Vista’s irresistible magic, but were then inspired to play or recommend the album to everyone they knew. It was one of those rare records that transcended the vagaries of fad and fashion to sound timeless but utterly fresh. Once you heard it, you had to have a heart of stone not to be swept away by the music’s romantic impulses and uninhibited exuberance.

 That its impact had made waves, far beyond the specialist world music audience was soon self-evident. Buena Vista went on to win a Grammy and its crossover success persuaded the cclaimed director Wim Wenders to make an award-winning feature film about the phenomenon.s Nick Gold, whose World Circuit label released the record, put it :

“Buena Vista was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. We knew we’d made a special record but nobody could have imagined how it would take off.”

The record’s success launched what can only be described as Cuba-mania, helping to inspire a thousand salsa dance classes and Cuban-themed bars on every high street. At its peak, it seemed that you couldn’t move without hearing Buena Vista’s potent, captivating soundtrack : in coffee shops and mojito bars and even department stores and elevators songs such as Chan Chan, Dos Gardenias and Candela came to accompany our daily existence. Suddenly, Buena Vista was not so much a record as a brand, albeit one based on musical quality rather than marketing hype. Even Salman Rushdie, in his New York novel Fury, paid tribute to its all-pervasive power, describing the long, hot days of 1998 as “that Buena Vista summer”.

On the album’s release, Nick Gold had hoped that, given a fair wind, Buena Vista might ¬-Today the album’s global sales stand at over eight million, making it the biggest-selling Cuban album in history. As one critic put it, Buena Vista has become “world music’s equivalent of The Dark Side of the Moon

Yet few could have predicted this iconic success when the veteran musicians who recorded Buena Vista assembled in the run-down Egrem studio in Havana in 1996. They weren’t even a formal group, but a loose collective, spanning several generations and assembled more-or-less spontaneously for the occasion. Indeed, the group that came together was in essence an accident: the original intention had been to make an experimental hybrid record bringing together African and Cuban musicians, but the African musicians failed to turn up because of visa problems. In fact the original idea had been to record not one but two albums. The first was Juan de Marcos González’ dream project – an album celebrating the continued vitality of Cuban music’s golden age – the 1940’s and 1950’s. He hand-picked and recruited a multi-generational big band which he called the Afro Cuban All Stars and in a week they had recorded their brilliant debut album ‘A Toda Cuba le Gusta’ (‘All Of Cuba Likes It’). The following day recording of the Mali – Cuba collaboration album was due to start, but as the Africans were unavailable World Circuit’s Nick Gold, American Producer Ry Cooder and band leader Juan de Marcos were forced to improvise.

The veteran pianist Rubén González, who didn’t own a piano at the time had been persuaded out of retirement by Juan de Marcos for the All Stars album. Not that it took much coaxing: despite his years of inactivity, his playing was on fire and so eager was he to get to the piano that every morning when the janitor turned up to unlock the studio doors, he was already waiting outside. The singer Ibrahim Ferrer, who was scraping a living shining shoes and selling lottery tickets, was also rescued from obscurity – and proceeded to sing his heart out. Eliades Ochoa the great guitarist and singer provided the rural roots from Santiago. Omara Portuondo was recruited as the company’s leading lady and the rich, resonant voice of the 89 year-old Compay Segundo provided a link with Cuba’s deepest musical past. “He knew the best songs and how to do them because he’d been doing it since World War One,” as Ry Cooder noted.

Yet this stellar line-up of singers was only part of the story. Behind them were some of the finest musicians Cuba had to offer, including the bassist Orlando ‘Cachaíto’ López, who provided the heartbeart, trumpet player Manuel ‘Guajiro’ Mirabal, who added the flair, and Barbarito Torres the virtuoso laoud player. In the space of two weeks World Circuit’s Havana recording blitz produced not only the Afro Cuban All Stars and the Buena Vista Social Club™ albums but also the debut solo album by Rubén González.

When they had finished recording, Ry Cooder knew that he had been privileged to be part of a unique musical experience. “This is the best thing I was ever involved in,” he said prior to Buena Vista’s release in June 1997. “It’s the peak, a music that takes care of you and nurtures you. I felt that I had trained all my life for this experience and it was a blessed thing.”

In Cuba, he noted, he had found the kind of deeply rooted musical context that he had been searching for all his life. “These are the greatest musicians alive on the planet today,” he enthused. “In my experience Cuban musicians are unique. The organisation of the musical group is perfectly understood. There is no ego, no jockeying for position so they have evolved the perfect ensemble concept.”

Following the recordings, the musicians hit the road and extensive tours were undertaken by Rubén González, Ibrahim Ferrer, the Afro Cuban All Stars, Eliades Ochoa, Omara Portuondo and Compay Segundo. The original line up of the Buena Vista Social Club made three triumphant concert appearances; two at Amsterdam’s Carré Theatre and the final legendary show at New York’s Carnegie Hall. The latter was filmed by Wim Wenders as the climax of his successful documentary also named “Buena Vista Social Club™”, and the concert recording was released ten years later as “Buena Vista Social Club® at Carnegie Hall”. Over the years World Circuit has continued to travel to Havana recording acclaimed albums by Ibrahim Ferrer, Omara Portuondo, Rubén González, Cachaíto López, Guajiro Mirabal and Angá Díaz, who had been an integral part of the Afro Cuban All Stars.

Sadly, several of the group’s aging stars, including Compay Segundo, Rubén González and Ibrahim Ferrer are no longer with us. But the timeless, magical music that created the Buena Vista legend lives on. Omara Portuondo has been extremely busy having recorded two albums, one with Brazilian star Maria Bethania and a solo album due for release in autumn 2008; her tours continue to sell out concert halls around the world. Juan de Marcos González is ever active: working on musical productions in Mexico and forming a new edition of the Afro Cuban All Stars. Eliades Ochoa embarks on a new European tour in the autumn of 2008 and has been working on material for a new solo album. Cachaíto López, Guajiro Mirabal, Aguaje Ramos, Manuel Galbán, Amadito Valdés and Barbarito Torres are touring the world to great acclaim as part of the Orquesta Buena Vista Social Club.