Nothing to see here?

The outraged tone of CTV news last night suggested it was somehow unreasonable for former PC leader Patrick Brown to hire a team of investigators, lawyers and crisis managers to discredit the two anonymous women who made sexual misconduct claims against him.

I’m not sue how you discredit anonymous accusers, but I’ll take their word for it. Their allegations led to Brown’s rapid resignation as Opposition leader and threw the Ontario PCs into turmoil heading into the June election.

And CTV thought – what? That he was going to roll over and not fight back? That, his career in tatters, he would allow these allegations to just hang there unchallenged? Newsflash, CTV. If you bring down the leader of a political party on anonymous allegations, chances are that person will do everything in his power to fight those charges, to restore his previously good reputation and to revive his political career.

It seems one young woman is recanting claims she was “underage” and “in high school” at the time she was drunk in a bar. She allegedly went back to his house and went to his bedroom, where he allegedly dropped his pants and asked her to perform oral sex.

She complained Brown was a sober, older man seeking to take advantage of an intoxicated young woman.

Now the ground has shifted. The woman now says she was of drinking age – so at least 19. And it happened about 10 years ago, so Brown was about 29. Well, when I was 20, I was dating a guy who was 29. So that is not a big age gap, nor even a power gap. Brown is a lawyer and was at that time an MP – so quite  a good “catch” in the whole dating scheme of things.

Instead of drunken women complaining about sober men taking advantage of them, perhaps those aforementioned drunks should stay sober, so sober guys don’t have the advantage. Then you drive yourself home, instead of having the sober guy make sure you get home safely.

And words to the wise to all young women from a much older woman: If, when intoxicated, you agree to go back to a man’s house, and if you agree to go to his bedroom, do not be all that surprised if that guy drops his pants. Just be rather relieved when/if that guy takes “no” for an answer and has the courtesy to drive you home.

And, oh yes. If you are going to make allegations of this gravity, please tell us your names.