When the facts come out from the New York Attorney General’s report on allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behaviors concerning Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the general conclusion will be the same: However anyone slices it, Cuomo appears to have behaved in an astonishingly clueless way with…what is it, four or five accusers?
The #MeToo movement has been up and rolling for three years and change, and somehow Cuomo, a high-profile politician constantly under media glare, thought he could be casually handsy and familiar and whatnot? How hard could it have been for Cuomo to understand that shit doesn’t work any more?
There’s one thing that nobody’s mentioned, partly because it would sound cruel or below-the-belt to do so. But here goes anyway: Gov. Andrew Cuomo doesn’t look like Brad Pitt, George Clooney or Cary Grant in their respective heydays. Nor does he look like Chris Cuomo.
Another way to put it is that Gov. Cuomo is somewhat homely. I think it’s fair to say that, and I think most of us understand two things: (1) Because of their looks and magnetism and ease with women throughout their lives, Pitt, Clooney and Grant put out vibes that most women regard as alluring, cool, gentle and for the most part good to be around. Generally speaking it’s very hard (but not impossible) for guys in Pitt, Clooney and Grant’s league to offend women by showing interest or in some instances even coming on to them. It’s also relatively easy for a homely man to generate a stand-offish or negative reaction from same.
That’s not to say homely men can’t be gentlemen, but I have a theory that homely guys are angry at God and nature on some level for giving them a bad hand, and that they take this anger or resentment and turn it around by behaving in a slightly pushy or brutish with women if they (i.e., homely guys) happen to enjoy a certain power in a workplace realm.
Boiled down, of all the men who’ve been accused of inappropriate or aggressive sexual behavior in a work environment, from the days of Clarence Thomas onward, many more of them have been in Andrew Cuomo’s league, attractiveness-wise, than in the realm of those other three.
From “What Men Don’t Understand When They Complain, “It’s Only Creepy If The Guy Isn’t Hot,” posted on 8.29.18:
Questionable assumption #1: “If a sexy man compliments me, that’s fine. If a ugly man looks at me too long, that’s harassment.”
Questionable assumption #2: “It’s only sexual harassment if he’s ugly and poor.”
Questionable assumption #3: “If he’s cute, it’s called flirting, but if he’s ugly that’s sexual harassment and you’d better go to HR.”
Long story short: If you’re physically unattractive, you may have to approach flirting a little differently from those despised “hot guys.”
But one thing you can do right now that will instantly make you more manly and attractive, is think about what behaviors of yours might be problematic…and how you can correct them.
Because, to me, one of the major differences between a man and a boy (and, for that matter, a woman and a little girl), is that a man takes accountability and doesn’t blame his faults on other people.
