"Favoritism"?

In this era of the New Puritanism, the Washington Post seems to be straining for le mot juste:

Mfume Accused of Favoritism At NAACP

Ex-President Denies Rewarding Women

Allegations detailed in a confidential NAACP report claim that Kweisi Mfume gave raises and promotions to women with whom he had close personal relationships while he was president of the nation's oldest civil rights organization.

Readers who are sufficiently patient or intrigued to reach the sixth paragraph will eventually get a hint of the real charge, and no, it is not exactly "favoritism":

Mfume took over the group from interim head Earl T. Shinhoster in 1996 when it was still reeling from the turbulent 16-month tenure of Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. Chavis was removed in 1994 after he agreed to secretly pay $332,400 in NAACP funds to settle claims of sexual discrimination by a female aide.

Ahh!  If the past is any guide, Mfume is being accused of sexual discrimination.  The eleventh paragraph is a bit less coy:

Speaks could mount a credible claim of workplace harassment because of "the impression [that was] created that a woman must provide sexual favors to Mr. Mfume or his associates in order to receive favorable treatment in the workplace," the lawyer wrote in the memo.

The WaPo mentions "workplace harassment" and "sexual favors", but avoids "sexual harassment".

Well, well.  Mfume is the former head of the NAACP and a possible Democratic candidate for the US Senate.  When time permits, we will see whether the WaPo was as discrete in describing the allegations against folks like former Senator Kissy-face.

UPDATE:  Betsy Newmark does not like trial by innuendo.  Hmm - how does she feel about stonewalling and cover-ups?

Capt. Ed ponders the implications for the 2006 Senate race in Maryland.

MORE:  OK, sex in the workplace is a complex topic, and "sexual harassment" can cover a wide range of behaviors.  At one end of the spectrum would be a boss chasing a subordinate around the desk while yelling "You've got to give head to get ahead".  Most folks would agree that such behavior constitutes harassment.

However, the spectrum also includes inappropriate behavior without a quid pro quo (Sen. Packwood), inappropriate language without a quid pro quo (Clarence Thomas, allegedly), and the insidious office romance situation evidently being described with Mfume, where the boss hits on lots of people, and just happens to develop a better working relationship with those who say "yes".

Is that last category "sexual harassment"?  The woman who say "no" and get passed over certainly think so; however, the women who enjoy the attention and the promotions often do not complain.  Consequently, the "consenting adult" defense misses the point.

The CEO of Boeing made news recently for his entry into this sweepstakes.

And all Democrats will remember Paula Jones, whose allegation against Bill Clinton was that the girls who did Bill did better.  Professionally.  The search for corroborating stories led to Monica Lewinsky, the only one of eighty White House interns to be offered a paying job in the White House.  And the rest is (ghastly) history.

LAST: I am sure I gleaned that tidbit about Ms. Lewinsky being the only intern to land a WH job from the NY Times, back in the day.  However, I am not able to quickly verify it, and now I am wondering if my steel-trap is a bit rusty.

Ken Starr has not been much help.

Comments

[richard mcenroe]

IIRC, doesn't Mfune have five children by five separate women? Some favors.

[Neo]

So exactly how much of this is really just payback from Julian Bond ?

[D.B. Light]

I think the most plausible source for this is Ben Cardin's campaign. He just announced for the Senate a couple of days ago and Kweisi is his strongest opponent. There are also a lot of people in the Maryland Democratic Party leadership who want Kweisi to bow out because polls show that he would lose to Lt. Gov. Steele [who will probably be the GOP candidate] while Cardin would win. The NAACP has had a lot of trouble with women extorting money in exchange for not charging sexual favoritism or harrassment.

[Jor]

Didn't really think about the consenting problem. I usually zone out during sex harassmant stuff because they usually tell us about the really obvious stuff, rather than the more complex situations. I'd probably stay awake if it wasnt always about chasing girls around the desk.