Harvey and Bathsheba

By Jeff Long

The headline to this column may seem like piling on to a famous man's disgrace. Harvey Weinstein is ruined and perhaps justifiably so. The Hollywood mogul has been accused by actress after actress for inappropriate behavior, for using his position of power to intimidate ingenues into sex.

The potential reward for giving in to his advances? A part in an upcoming film; the weight of the studio behind promoting the actress' personal brand.

Refusal? Threats to never work again.

It's a stark choice.

At first, Weinstein claimed these encounters were consensual. Now he is admitting to misbehavior. There are so many reports, more every day, that denial seems ludicrous. Harvey and his many Bathshebas.

Bathsheba. There's a name that should ring a bell. Know the story from the Old Testament? David and Bathsheba. In my Old Testament class at Southeast Missouri State University, we spend considerable time looking at this tale from the book of 2 Samuel. Things spin out of control quickly in this vivid Davidic account, and everybody involved gets hurt. Some get killed. Read it sometime. The limitations of space only permit me to hit a couple of relevant highlights. My heavens, though. It seems as if Weinstein was following the biblical script, because he goes steadfastly down David's road.

David, like Harvey Weinstein, was an accomplished person: a warrior, imaged as charismatic, a character who is said to be "a man after God's own heart." (I Samuel 13:14). Yet we are told David was bored. In his idleness, he views something he wouldn't have had the chance to see if he'd been busy. Bathsheba, a beautiful naked woman. She's someone else's wife; Uriah's wife, one of David's soldiers. David abuses the normal boundaries that make life tolerable and pleasant for us all. He decides he must have Bathsheba -- and since he's the king, a man of immense power, he gets what he wants.

My friend and real estate colleague Jeff Martin is recently back from his latest mission trip to Tanzania, in east Africa. He tells me that Tanzanian men, when they happen upon a woman in a compromising situation (e.g., breastfeeding), they -- by custom -- look away. It's a boundary men do not cross. If Tanzanian males know they shouldn't see something, they choose not to view. What if King David, 1,000 years before Jesus, simply looked away when he happened upon the beautiful Bathsheba bathing? What if American men would simply look away? What if Harvey Weinstein had followed that Tanzanian example?

The argument we sometimes hear is, "I couldn't help myself. She was dressed so provocatively that ... ." You can finish the sentence without my help.

Consider the mindset. A.) A woman is physically appealing to me. B.) I'm married. C.) She's married. D.) I am unable to control myself. E.) I will use my power position to cajole said woman into a relationship. F.) If she hesitates, rebuffs or refuses, I will intimidate said woman with implied or explicit threats of retaliation, which can include loss of reputation, status and financial support.

This is the David and Bathsheba story in a nutshell.

This is allegedly what Harvey Weinstein has been doing for decades with dozens of Bathshebas.

I understand the danger of offering a simplistic solution to an age-old complex problem. This sort of abuse of power has been going on since time began. And yet, the boundaries are clear, men.

Just look away.