December 1, 2017

"If God were the ocean, you'd be a cup of God."

Sorry, I can't put that in context, because Oprah — who interviewed Russell Simmons into saying that — has taken down the 3 videos of Simmons that used to play on her SuperSoul page:



"Music mogul Russell Simmons openly admits that he first started taking yoga classes to flirt with attractive women...." But guess what he tells Oprah? You'll have to guess, because Oprah took the video down, but I bet it's some blather about the spiritual power of yoga. (Of course, if a man takes yoga to "flirt with attractive women," he's going to tell them he believes in the spiritual power of yoga. The "flirting" would only work if the women didn't think you were only there for access to them. I assume men who don't maintain the pretense of believing in yoga get kicked out of these classes.)

But what did Russell Simmons do? Here's Jenny Lumet's essay: "Russell Simmons sexually violated me." That came out after the L.A. Times published "Russell Simmons and Brett Ratner face new allegations of sexual misconduct" ("Keri Claussen Khalighi was a 17-year-old fashion model from a farm town in Nebraska when she met Brett Ratner and Russell Simmons at a casting call...").

And here's an Atlantic article "The Pierced Piety of Russell Simmons/The hip-hop mogul’s public righteousness pushed two women to tell stories of his alleged mistreatment of them in the ’90s."
Simmons is associated with two things in the public mind: the drive, grit, and party-hard lifestyle that accompanied the rise of hip-hop, and his newer public idealism involving spirituality, veganism, charity, and progressive politics. But [his 2 accusers] Khalighi and Lumet clearly saw something false, worryingly so, in the narrative Simmons had been peddling. His supposed commitment to the #MeToo movement already was revealed to have its limits when he told the actor Terry Crews to give “a pass” to an agent Crews accused of groping him. Now Simmons joins the growing list of men who have taken high-minded stances in public only to be accused of doing monstrous things in private.

Some Simmons supporters might respond to the allegations against him by saying that he is not the man he was in the ’90s. But even before these women came forward, Simmons cheerfully stood as an example of how publicly performed “consciousness” can fail to extend to matters of the flesh. For a 2012 Forbes profile that touched on his womanizing ways, he said, “It was the last problem for Lord Buddha before enlightenment. I go to the classes, but I’m still looking at asses.” The Los Angeles Times article about Khalighi highlighted a passage in his 2014 book Success Through Stillness that said he’d transcended his former identity as a man “constantly on a mission to make more money, have sex with more women, and snort more coke than the next man.” But, Russell had added, he was “still working on the women part.”
AND: Remember something I said last week, when we were talking about the question why so many men have been ruined over sex allegations, but Trump has held his ground. I put out 4 theories at the time, but here's the one that has special relevance in the case of Russell Simmons:
Many of the new targets of allegations are people who had seemed to be male allies of the women's movement, and it's the lying and the hypocrisy that bothers us the most. The accusations against Trump seem only to reinforce what we already saw on the surface of Trump: brash exuberance, wanting plenty of good things for himself, excitement over beautiful women, impoliteness. The new allegations don't take us back to the Trump allegations because Trump wasn't accepted as an ally of feminism. He seems to represent the old school, male chauvinism. That's a different category and not what we're paying attention to right now.

49 comments:

rehajm said...

I assume men who don't maintain the pretense of believing in yoga get kicked out of these classes

No yoga for you!

Ann Althouse said...

LOL. Thanks, rehajm. Perfect. (Loved that episode.)

rhhardin said...

There's the game of Rapo ("come hither get away from me you beast") that was mentioned in Games People Play.

As I recall it was suggested to look for it after a couple of games of Yes But mingling at parties. ("I have this problem. You could try this.... Yes but...")

The book might apply better than I'd realized.

David Begley said...

How long until the next sexual predator is unmasked? I say by noon today.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

If we are going to relitigate the sexual behavior of popular music stars you may as well just tear the whole thing down now. Elvis, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Led Zepplin, all gone. Possibly even Bob Dylan, he was repenting hard for something.

rhhardin said...

There were NOW meetings in the 70s that served the yoga purpose for men.

Phil 314 said...

Gotta admit, rrhardin never gives an inch and is always true to the cause.

As Frank T.J. Mackie proclaims

" RESPECT THE COCK"

rhhardin said...

If we are going to relitigate

Don't buy today's premise at all.

Sexuality has always been a scandal. Making it into a new public problem is a political move.

It tends to move it into suppression rather than domestication. Society depends on the latter.

Systems that don't work in line with human nature don't work.

traditionalguy said...

The Professor seems to be saying that Trump falls into that older class of traditional guys who were not yet fully Baby Boomers. He was raised to be cautious when steaming through the waters of female procreation power, very aware that a wrong move could sink them. But the Boomer men were raised believing in entitlement to total protection from sinking events by a society with its new Birth Control Pill backed up by the new legal Medical intervention given in Roe v. Wade.

But the Patriarchy is meeting its Judgement day. This women's revenge is like an end of days apocalypse for the Boomers.


Unknown said...

The girl with the tattoos and the streaked hair from a bottle was at the bar again. After she quit her job because of her boss sexually harassing her she now has a lot of free time on her hands. And a lot of free time on one's hands can lead to a lot of free time spent at the bar.

Mind you, she has put out resumes, met with bar managers. Seattle has a lot of bars, but the bars downtown that cater to the opera crowd and the vistors to the expensive hotels aren't really looking for a girl with tattoos and streaked hair from a bottle. She pretty much has to wait for a dive bar that has an opening.

Most of the bartenders at the dive bars don't plan on quitting: they are in their element. Their dream job, even, if they are keeping their dreams on the small side.

So she is pretty much waiting for someone to get fired. It takes a lot to get fired from a job at a dive bar. Discreet drug use probably isn't going to do it: you need to be missing shifts, or selling to the customers, maybe. Then again, some bartenders who are drug users can't handle discreet: soon they are missing shifts, or selling to the customers, maybe. And then there is a job opening.

There are a lot of would-be bartenders waiting for that job opening. Being a cute girl might help matters, but it usually helps matters most when the bar owner wants to fuck you. And the cycle begins again.

There is a middle-aged Buddhist at the bar that has taken to trying to counsel her. The importance of waiting, shit like that. He is a Bar Buddhist: he likes what he knows about it, but he doesn't know that much.

She listens and nods, but explains to him she is not into yoga. He then says he isn't talking about yoga, and she listens and nods. He is relatively harmless, but it is obvious to everyone that he wants to fuck her.

- james james

Ann Althouse said...

"The Professor seems to be saying..."

What I'm saying is that Trump wore his attitudes toward women on the outside. He was openly expressive and not trying to update his persona. So he said he loved "first-class pussy" and some woman would look good down on her knees. He didn't set himself up to be unmasked as a hypocrite. He is what he is. Take it or leave it. Basically, America consented, and now we need to get on with our lives.

rhhardin said...

Basically, America consented,

Decided to go with human nature. That's the common sense flyover country.

Domestication, not suppression.

Bill Peschel said...

"Basically, America consented, and now we need to get on with our lives."

Which is also the reason we give a pass to rock stars. If you don't want to have sex with them, for God's sake, don't get on the bus.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Ann Althouse said...
Take it or leave it. Basically, America consented, and now we need to get on with our lives.


This argument is similar to saying that blacks should just suck it up if a blatant racist was elected to the office of the presidency.

rhhardin said...

What's a racist and what's a sexist. I've lost track of what the charge actually means. It's an epithet plus what.

Fabi said...

Blacks voted for LBJ, so what's your point again, ARM?

Kevin said...

Oprah did not have media relations with that man, Mr. Simmons.

Kevin said...

The Russia thing is a dry hole. Liberal men of stature are falling by the hour as they are exposed for the harassers of women they were known by our media to have been. Roy Moore’s election is likely and attacks on Trump after “Matt Lauer Kept A Bag of Sex Toys in His Office” has been widely discussed is laughable.

Even MSNBC has moved in to the “Trump has dinentia” line of attack. Let’s try to keep up with the evolving taking points, people.

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

On that Russian thing.

Michael Flynn, Trump's ex-national security adviser, is expected to plead guilty Friday to lying to the FBI

AP said...

Just a quick explanation of the quote in the post title. Vedantic (Hindu) philosophy suggests that there is one absolute, that "God" permeates all existence. In this way, individuals are manifestations of that absolute, like a drop of water from the ocean. The spiritual path of this philosophy is to realize your oneness with God and recognize the divinity within us all. The traditional greeting of "Namaste", with the hands clasped in front, is literally translated to mean "I bow to the divinity in you".

It's one thing to understand and accept this intellectually, which many do. It's another to truly experience it. Meditation and yoga are spiritual practices to help one work towards enlightenment and realize your oneness with the absolute.

-AP

Bushman of the Kohlrabi said...

The "flirting" would only work if the women didn't think you were only there for access to them

I know nothing about Simmons but think Althouse is going off the deep end here. There is nothing new about people putting themselves in advantageous positions to "flirt" (love the scare quotes) with others. This is true for men and women of all persuasions be it straight, gay, or lesbian. Often the targets of the "flirting" are well aware of, and are unfazed by, the "flirters" strategy.

In the future, maybe members of the "Reckoning" enforcement squad assigned to all males to ensure no unauthorized "flirting" can occur.

William said...

Is it that hard for a rich, famous man to negotiate sex without resorting to rape? I read Ms. Lumet's account yesterday. What Simmons did was flat out evil. We're not talking about fanny pinches or sexual harassment. That was rape. Ms. Lumet knows how to write and how to tell a story. There's no coming back from that story. You can't call it justice, but she definitely got some of her own back..........But that wasn't even yesterday's top atrocity. Israel Horovitz is a famous playwright, and his son is even more famous as a member of the Beastie Boys. He raped one of his son's girlfriends. That's a whole new dimension of evil.......There are all sorts of ambiguities and crossed signals when negotiating sex, but rape is rape.

Fritz said...

Never Talk to the FBI

Michael K said...

ARM posting hopeful bulletins on every thread.

Trump was supposed to collapse with the Bush tape. It said "they would let you grab them" but there was no second show. Inga keeps telling us about all the the women who accused but there is no evidence. Not even a Gloria Allred forgery.

SDaly said...

Why has Trump survived? Because at base, the allegations against him show normal sexual behavior (although at the high end of the scale). His behavior does not show a secret hated for women. Most women understand that, in fact, women are generally not offended if an attractive (back in the day), rich powerful man is aggressively forward with them. Trump treats them as a person he is attracted to.

On the other hand, the Weinstein/Lauer/Charlie Rose stuff shows contempt for women, really treating them as nothing more than objects (or potted plants). I've not seen the same type of abuse of authority, or sheer vileness in the claims against Trump.

Michael K said...

Second Shoe.

FullMoon said...

AReasonableMan said... [hush]​[hide comment]

Ann Althouse said...
Take it or leave it. Basically, America consented, and now we need to get on with our lives.

This argument is similar to saying that blacks should just suck it up if a blatant racist was elected to the office of the presidency.

No reason to bring Obama into the conversation

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Michael K said...
Trump was supposed to collapse with the Bush tape.


To be fair, after the years of moral preening by the right, it did seem reasonable to assume that such a crass pig would not be viewed as an acceptable leader of the country. Apparently people gave the right too much credit for consistency in their views on the issue of 'character matters'.

Ann Althouse said...

I'm fine with people continuing to criticize the President and to work against him politically. My remark relates to why The Reckoning is taking down men other than Trump.

If you were missing the context of my statement, please understand it now and apologize where appropriate.

rhhardin said...

The Reckoning discovered its ratings wings with angry soap opera women. Ratings are everything when it comes to what stories have legs. The mob watches commercials.

Trump cut it off in his case with sand-in-the-gearbox skills. Weinstein lacked that.

Rick.T. said...

AReasonableMan said...

"To be fair, after the years of moral preening by the right, it did seem reasonable to assume that such a crass pig would not be viewed as an acceptable leader of the country. Apparently people gave the right too much credit for consistency in their views on the issue of 'character matters'."

To be fair, it was reasonable for us to look the character of his opponent and decide on the lesser of two evils. Our votes did not take place in a vacuum.

rhhardin said...

It was the annual Thanksgiving crafts fair in the gym at Lake Woebegone junior high this past week, and as every year old Mildred Peabody sat at a card table full of her hand-painted clam shells with the Bible verses on them. In spite of her being upwards of 89 years old, you could always count on Mildred to pull up her shirt and show you her breasts. Of course you had to buy a shell first. Areolas the side of dinner plates.

-Garrison Keillor on Imus

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Rick Turley said...
To be fair, it was reasonable for us to look the character of his opponent and decide on the lesser of two evils. Our votes did not take place in a vacuum.


This is not an unfair point, but I think a little more understanding of the outrage many women feel at the election of this guy might not be out of order, given what a pig he is.

Also in support of your argument, I genuinely thought he might dial it down a little when he became president. How wrong I was.

rhhardin said...

I think a little more understanding of the outrage many women feel at the election of this guy might not be out of order, given what a pig he is.

It's a general resentment of men in general, not a resentment of a specific thing. That's how it gets media legs if not unlegged by a better man, with a reminder that you want a man on the job. Superior media skills.

rhhardin said...

F'ing conflicting edits. Always copy your comment before hitting post, allowing a report with a paste.

I lost internet for 10 minutes too just now. See?

$ ping 8.8.8.8

Pinging 8.8.8.8 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 71.50.222.0: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 71.50.222.0: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 71.50.222.0: Destination host unreachable.
Reply from 71.50.222.0: Destination host unreachable.

71.50.222.0 being the most distant working host probably.

Kevin said...

“given what a pig he is.”

Really? His behavior looks more restrained with each passing day.

By the time we’re done with the Reckoning, the tape of a bachelor regaling a younger man with tales of his dating life might seem oddly quaint.

Kevin said...

Dr. Egon Spengler: There's something very important I forgot to tell you.

Dr. Peter Venkman: What?

Dr. Egon Spengler: Never send a post without first copying your comment, allowing a repost with a paste.

Dr. Peter Venkman: Why?

Dr. Egon Spengler: It could be bad.

Dr. Peter Venkman: I'm fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing. What do you mean, "bad"?

Dr. Egon Spengler: Try to imagine all Internet connectivity as you know it stopping instantaneously and every electron contained in your exquisitely-crafted retort exploding at the speed of light.

Dr. Raymond Stantz: Total commental reversal.

Dr. Peter Venkman: Right. That's bad. Okay. All right. Important safety tip. Thanks, Egon.

rhhardin said...

given what a pig he is

Of a female, it means fat. The male version could be a brag.

rhhardin said...

I thought only pigs and women has hymens but the internet says all sorts of specific animals have them.

Just researching the gender specific details of pig.

rhhardin said...

The brag in the male version of pig would be I can seduce without being seduced.

rhhardin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Darrell said...

I would erase any comments nonresponsive to the topic of Russell Simmons. Oprah comments would stay, however.

n.n said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
n.n said...

Trump is on record lifting the veil of privacy put in place by female chauvinist pigs conspiring with male chauvinist pigs in pursuit of political leverage and pussy... hats, respectively. This is why social liberals have a blood lust and have been waving their scalpels hoping, sacrificing, Planning to deem Trump nonviable and therefore eligible for an abortion. The establishment of both parties hoped to deem him nonviable for other reasons.

n.n said...

Trump is a survivor of a socially liberal culture. Unlike the unrepentant female and male chauvinist pigs (e.g. abortionists, diversitists, Slut Walkers, liberal humorists, transgender pedophiles), he appears to have rejected progress (e.g. racism, sexism, transhumanism) and is pursuing positive progress. I think the same courtesy and benefit of doubt would be extended to female and male chauvinist pigs and other social liberals if they were to acknowledge divergence that has progressed denigrating individual dignity and debasing human life, and sin no more.

Darrell said...

Anglican Minister Urges Prayers for Prince George to Be Gay

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/world/europe/uk-prince-george-gay-pray.html

There's your cup of God.

rehajm said...

Anglican Minister Urges Prayers for Prince George to Be Gay

Pre-gay I hope...

rehajm said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tom_Ohio said...

Hollywood, Washington, State Houses and Court Houses are all full of tangled web, it would seem.
All of these places involve the wrong-think of placing persons on a Pedestal.
People are of 2 sexes, Males and Female, and the mixing does produce some drama.
When some people have to be "protected" by the Media, by the Party and by the rest of the hangers-on and hoi-polloi it is no wonder that things come crashing down when truthful accusations come out.
And they will always come out.
The worst sounding most noisy crashed are of those that were supported by the gossamer fluff of Hollywood and the protections of Media, the Management, and all the ilk that gets to be "all-in" the Cause is being supported.
The PTSD that will come of all these falling statues is not going to be them or their actual protectors, but to the people that actually Believed what they were being spoon-fed by these hypocritical jakanapes over the course of the months, years, and decades of their debuach and coverup lifestyles.
Tis sad, really