There is an extended number of severe and challenging social issues that people try to but cannot eliminate. One such problem is abuse and harassment, and the Me Too movement aims to reduce the rate of assaulting people regardless of their age, gender, and race. The article “Me Too Founder Tarana Burke: Movement Is Not Over” discusses the actual goal of this social movement, as well as its global recognition and similarities with Black Lives Matter (Gurvinder and Rahman-Jones). Precisely this article may shed light on the importance of this movement because it explains that the problem of violence against women has several serious sides, including the guilt of the victim and the very fact of assault.
In my opinion, this article is compelling and sincere. The authors quote the words of the movement’s leader, Tarana Burke, which is probably the paper’s main strength (Gurvinder and Rahman-Jones). Burke mentions that the problem of assaults itself and the fact that victims feel guilty because of the crime need to be eliminated. In other words, “what Tarana sees as a victory for Me Too is helping people not blame themselves for sexual violence committed against them and lead fuller lives” (Gurvinder and Rahman-Jones). Therefore, the critical goal of this social movement is above revenge – the participants and leaders of the Me Too try to help the victims, both male and female, feel better after the violence was committed. The fact of mentioning these brilliant and powerful words is another strength of this article.
The problem addressed by Gurvinder and Rahman-Jones is quite crucial and has to draw the public’s attention. The level of violence perpetrated by famous and wealthy people is on the rise, and victims cannot get justice because of their lower social status. This fact proves the necessity and importance of this movement and this article, which draws attention to the Me Too and lets it become wider and more powerful.
Another positive aspect of Gurvinder’s and Rahman-Jones’s paper is that it mentions the necessity of talking about is disabled persons, everyday children, women, men, and trans people. All individuals “who are not rich, white, and famous, who deal with sexual violence on everyday basis,” need to be heard, protected, and treated equally and fairly. What is more, Burke urges everyone to talk about the systems that allow violence and injustice to happen (Gurvinder and Rahman-Jones). Precisely the misuse of privilege and power leads to sexism and racism, and the goal of both the Me Too and Black Lives Matter movements is to stop it. However, a counterargument to this statement is that there are several governmental programs against violence and harassment, so it is not quite right to judge the whole system.
There are some negative aspects of this article that make it not as strong and powerful as it could have been. For instance, it is evident that society has the potential to change the unjust system, but the measures required to be taken are not discussed in the paper. Unfortunately, if one creates awareness without indicating a literal plan of action, he or she will not be able to solve the problem or make a tremendous difference. The relevant problem not addressed in this article is the lack of secure and safe ways for assaulted people to let the authorities know about the crime and get help. If it is currently impossible to solve the problem of violence itself, it is necessary to eliminate the factors contributing to it.
To draw a conclusion, one may say that such movements can actually make a great difference by drawing the public’s attention to severe social issues. However, speaking about a problem is never enough, and the leaders of the Me Too should think of some real aspects of reducing the level of violence and abuse. Certainly, assuring people that assaulting black and white men and women is not appropriate makes a difference, but a multilateral approach may be more effective.
Work Cited
Gurvinder, Gill, and Imran Rahman-Jones. “Me Too Founder Tarana Burke: Movement Is Not Over.” BBC News, 2020, Web.