I read an interview with Mark McDonald in the National on Saturday and I wasn't impressed. I also heard him being interviewed on STV last night and my opinion hasn't changed. He struck me as glib and a wee bit too keen to declare himself 'rehabilitated' and then to challenge the voters to accept what he says at face value. I think maybe rehabilitation involves - or should involve - a bit more than losing your party's endorsement, followed by you claiming that you're all better now and asking plaintively: 'Don't you believe in rehabilitation?'
I'm also not sure a man accused of harassing women is 'morally justified' in keeping his job (and his salary and expenses). That is surely for the voters to decide in a by-election, once the facts are known.
Today I've seen a lot of comments on Facebook and twitter defending Mr McDonald. The concern (not always from men - some from women too) is that his career is in tatters, he has lost 'everything', his family life is 'shattered', etc.
As soon as I saw these comments, I knew the SNP was in serious trouble over Mark McDonald.
What's happening to the woman involved in the case is not that different from what happens to rape victims. Because sexual harassment and bullying are a 'he-said-she-said' business, it is very difficult for the victim to prove what has happened to her. Westminster and Holyrood seem to handle these cases badly: everything is hidden and the whole story drags on month after month, so that in the end all of us - men and women alike - start to wonder if the delay in investigating is deliberate, intended to torture the accused and the victims alike.
Worst of all in my opinion is the fact that these cases occur in the very places where our laws are enacted (87% of UK laws are enacted in the UK, not in the EU). It seems our law-makers can't get things right. In fact, a small number of our politicians behave as if the law doesn't apply to them.
I don't want to go down the road of 'why do these men do these things' because it hasn't been proved that they did anything wrong. If they did, I want the police called in. And I want all the support and counselling available out in the community to victims to be made available in both parliaments.
But most of all, like most people, I want people to be treated with respect at their workplace. Is it that difficult to create a working atmosphere in which people are treated with consideration?
What's happening to the woman involved in the case is not that different from what happens to rape victims. Because sexual harassment and bullying are a 'he-said-she-said' business, it is very difficult for the victim to prove what has happened to her. Westminster and Holyrood seem to handle these cases badly: everything is hidden and the whole story drags on month after month, so that in the end all of us - men and women alike - start to wonder if the delay in investigating is deliberate, intended to torture the accused and the victims alike.
Worst of all in my opinion is the fact that these cases occur in the very places where our laws are enacted (87% of UK laws are enacted in the UK, not in the EU). It seems our law-makers can't get things right. In fact, a small number of our politicians behave as if the law doesn't apply to them.
I don't want to go down the road of 'why do these men do these things' because it hasn't been proved that they did anything wrong. If they did, I want the police called in. And I want all the support and counselling available out in the community to victims to be made available in both parliaments.
But most of all, like most people, I want people to be treated with respect at their workplace. Is it that difficult to create a working atmosphere in which people are treated with consideration?
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