Yes, The #MeToo Movement Received A Backlash

But there’s no way the movement is over

Harvey Weinstein’s accusation and conviction gave birth to the #MeToo movement.

Instead of being a positive one, the result turned out to be negative. It affected not only the women, but men had their fair share of the negative experiences too.

Women were less likely to be hired because men had feared being wrongfully accused. Men, on the other hand, turned into monsters in the eyes of many.

Indeed, unfair for both genders.

Life is unfair. But whenever possible, we must fight for what’s right. That’s a brave way of using one’s voice, be it in speech or in writing.

I thought the #MeToo movement was enough to keep predators at bay. But I guess there are still some of them out there who don’t really give a damn about it.

November was my birthday month.

I forgot that my birthday was available to the public in my LinkedIn profile, and I only realized this, well… on my birthday.

Greetings poured in from people I didn’t know. Of course, I was grateful for the time they spent to click on the button that sends an instant greeting. Such heartfelt greetings.

Gratitude is important, and so is respect.

Sometimes, people often mistake kindness for something else. I guess a corrupted mind has something to do with it. But we never know.

Being on the professional platform was necessary for me to be noticed by recruiters. Getting a job was a priority, and it still is up to this moment.

Maybe I’m naïve, but I never expected sustaining a conversation was seen as a signal to steer the conversation to the direction I never planned to go.

I responded because I’m not that cold. But I realized maybe I have to learn how to be cold.

What should I have done then? I’m a bag of emotions.

Two conversations started with a birthday greeting. To be honest, I never knew they were on my contact list until they sent me a greeting.

What I knew was I accepted anyone who sent a request for the sake of expanding my network. I mean, what could go wrong?

To find out about their intentions wasn’t what I expected from a professional network. It’s LinkedIn. Not Facebook, and most importantly, not Tinder.

Ladies, if you’re reading this, when a dude (not a gentleman at all) says ¨Dear¨ within three minutes into the conversation, then know that the title under his name is irrelevant. Perhaps you already know this.

But in my case, I had good intentions and I believe people have good intentions too.

It’s pathetic how these people are desperate to even use a professional network to stir up a conversation they think would lead to the bedroom.

They had the guts to attempt unwanted conversations at an unusual time where a pandemic is happening, and that makes me loathe them even more.

I’m alarmed, disappointed, and disgusted to know that no matter what title appears under a person’s name, they become monsters the moment they make unwanted advances.

In the year 2012, I was working as a young flight attendant and excited to take adult responsibilities for the first time.

I never expected to have a #MeToo moment at that point in my life. I mean, who wishes for that? Not a single soul ever.

I’d say other women who shared their #MeToo stories had tougher experiences than mine.

Comparison is not the aim here. Awareness of the problem is what this movement is about. However you look at the experience, it is painful and traumatic in every way.

It happened in the kitchen. There was a knife but it didn’t reach the point where I could’ve pointed it at him. I was able to run.

I reached safety. But it doesn’t mean there wasn’t any trauma. There definitely was. The physical body can heal, but the emotional and mental wounds are the ones that are difficult to overcome.

Given that incident, I couldn’t imagine the pain of those who experienced it a thousand times more than I did. Nor do I want to imagine it at all, and never would I wish it on anyone. Anyone because it’s not only on women.

Just like the ones who were afraid to speak and chose to repress the memory, I did the same thing.

Why? Because of fear. I was young and about to start a career.

More so, it was devastating to know more ladies had similar experiences. And they said it was because of the country we lived in.

It’s disheartening to know a country known to be one of the richest in the world, hides plenty of stories untold.

At some point, I lived in fear. Maybe you too, but you shouldn’t.

Fear is crippling and hard to live with.

Wherever you are in your life right now, know that fear will always be there. Feel that fear and use it as fuel to drive you to where you want to be.

I feel a mix of anger, disappointment, and disgust when I remember it.

Angry because of why it happened. Disappointed because I didn’t fight for what was right. Disgust because of the incident itself. Who wouldn’t be?

It’s not my intention to recall the incident. If I could forget it, I would. But we have brains, and in it, we store memories whether we like it or not.

Forget them, I can’t. Suppress them, I try. Yes, like Jedi Master Yoda.

But things happen when you least expect them. And the LinkedIn dudes stirred so much emotion in me that I feel it’s right to let the world know there are still predators lurking in unexpected places.

Who knows who their next victim will be? We never know.

No person deserves to be preyed upon. All genders are victims at some point. And in the modern world, what we aim for is equality and justice.

Maybe #MeToo received a backlash. But the movement is over.