Opinion: Not all men deserve to have their lives ruined for behaving stupidly toward women

To the editor: I would be thrilled to see the likes of Harvey Weinstein, James Toback, Roy Moore and, yes, President Trump laid low for their decades-long mistreatment of women. Their behavior is extreme, and their ilk exists in every industry, every profession, every environment where men hold power. (“Whatever happened to the presumption of innocence?” Opinion, Nov. 16)

We must not let this long overdue reckoning turn into a blind rampage in which every man who ever got drunk at a Christmas party or succumbed to a flash of bad judgment and did something stupid or boorish to a woman is also destroyed.

Call people out for their mistakes, but know that an idiotic prank like the one Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) played on his fellow USO performer does not equal the sinister and remorseless perversion of Toback’s or Moore’s alleged behavior.

If we treat these offenses the same, we denigrate the real, deep, lasting pain those disgusting men consciously inflicted on hundreds of women. Call out the Frankens of the world, by all means. They are legion. But save total destruction for the creeps who really deserve it.

Barbara Carlton, El Cajon

..

To the editor: Presumption of innocence is an important legal standard. That said, Brendan O’Neill’s defense of men (a.k.a. “celebrities”) who have been called out for harassment or worse sounds like a guy who is defending his people because this transparency thing is starting to feel really uncomfortable.

Perhaps we can reframe it for him: This what it feels like when the shoe is on the other foot.

Hannah Galloway, Santa Monica

..

To the editor: The presumption of innocence is based on the same logical principle of parsimony that underlies the null hypothesis and Ockham’s Razor.

Giving the detriment of the doubt is a logical error, and it is comical to think that “in everyday life” one can legitimately be off duty from logic.

Jim Johnson, Whittier

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook