Rose is Rose

ARGH! Just a few days ago I posted a video from Charlie Rose on PBS, and now he’s caught up in the unwanted sexual advance scandals.

BREAKING NEWS ALERT

Eight women have come forward to allege that longtime TV host Charlie Rose made unwanted sexual advances toward them, according to a new Washington Post report.

The women, who ranged in age from 21 to 37 at the time of the alleged encounters, were employees or aspired to work for Rose at the ‘‘Charlie Rose’’ show from the late 1990s to as recently as 2011. Rose, 75, whose show airs on PBS, also co-hosts ‘‘CBS This Morning’’ and is a contributing correspondent for ‘‘60 Minutes.’’

Shortly after the report was published early Monday evening, PBS said it is immediately halting distribution of Rose’s interview program and CBS News suspended him.

David Letterman survived his sex scandal, but there was blackmail involved. These are the related questions, as I see them in all such cases:

1. Is the person being pursued at least at the legal age of consent, preferably 21? Whether or not either person is married is a personal matter, relevant only in a divorce case, and irrelevant here. As bad as Bill Clinton’s involvement was with Monica Lewinsky, they were two consenting adults.
2. Was the advance actually a verbal proposition, without any touching involved?
3. If it was a proposition, and the person’s answer was no, was it accepted immediately without further discussion? If not, this is where an unwanted advance crosses the line into harassment.
4. If the man (assuming it’s a man) was in a position of supervision or professional influence, does that violate the policy of the workplace? Were there no consequences as a result of the offer being declined? Again, this is where the line into harassment is crossed.
5. Is flattery automatically considered to be flirtation, and is flirtation an unwanted advance?
6. “Unwanted advances” begs the question of what is a “wanted advance?” It’s ridiculous that saying “no” would automatically turn a proposition into an unwanted advance. Who is supposed take the lead, or are we at the point where no social interaction can be allowed, as is the case in Muslim countries?