Anthony Eichberger
2 min readAug 25, 2022

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Your question is an intriguing one: how exactly should we define a "sexual predator"?

In my view, it involves a pattern often combined with shamelessness. If someone makes an inappropriate sexual advance upon someone else as an isolated incident with no hypersexual intent...their behavior should be corrected, but they don't deserve to be labeled as a "predator."

In the case of Al Franken, multiple women came forward to report his "handsy" demeanor. Now, do I believe he should be socially persecuted in the way we'd demand accountability from a rapist or a lying chauvanist? No, of course not. But there clearly was a level of accountability he needed to take...which he, by all accounts, seemed unwilling to do. And his supporters didn't WANT to believe he could be capable of such offenses because...well, he's Al Franken. Iconism.

Now with the example I'd cited, outside of our Post Office, when "Larry" catcalled the young woman -- in that case, I could visibly see her perturbed body language. This leads me to believe that she has been preyed upon many times in her life. What's more..."Larry's" commentary was unsolicted, even if he only intended for it to be a nice compliment.

So if you came up to me, as a stranger, and complimented me on my looks -- yeah, I'd be a little rattled and taken aback...but I'd give you the benefit of the doubt. But those are due to my own personal experiences. I'm not someone who frequently receives unrequited positive attention about my physical appearance, as I'm not considered "conventionally attractive." So I don't have that experience. The sexual assault and harrassment I've endured has been of the negative variety...where others were either trying to actively make me feel like shit, or humilitate me by weaponizing my perceived sexuality against me.

Which brings us to your questions about homosexuality. Yes, if we're in a communal all-male changing space -- I expect other men to "get over it" when we're changing out in the open. Whether I'm gay, straight, or bi should be of zero consequence to them, **AS LONG AS** I'm not harassing them or intentionally violating their space.

These would be the standards that I apply, in various combinations, to whether or not someone is a "sexual predator" --

A.) Is their behavior unsolicited?

B.) Do they show remorse when the other person exhibits discomfort?

C.) Do they behave in this manner repeatedly, throughout their daily life?

D.) Are they using an authority position to sexualize someone due to a power differential, be it a systemic or a cultural/social gap of prestige?

We ought to still evaluate each person on a case-by-case basis; but these are the ingredients that the SERIOUS activists (not the fake ones, such as Amber Heard) of #MeToo would cite.

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Anthony Eichberger
Anthony Eichberger

Written by Anthony Eichberger

Gay. Millennial. Pagan/Polytheist. Disabled. Rural-Born. Politically-Independent. Fashion-Challenged. Rational Egoist. Survivor. #AgriWarrior (Deal With It!)

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