When do the women get their redemption tour?

After a whole nine months out of the national spotlight—surely a punishment worthy of its own circle of hell—Louis C.K. is back, baby. He showed up unannounced to a comedy club last weekend and before he even told a joke, the audience gave a standing ovation to the uninvited onanist.

So I guess Louis is testing the waters to make some sort of comeback. Matt Lauer was also telling fans “Don’t worry. I’ll be back on TV.” (I know I was missing sleep over his absence.) I’m sure Charlie Rose, Harvey Weinstein and every other bathrobe-wearing pervert will be along soon. After all, it’s a time-honored tradition in showbiz to transgress, do your time, and then embark on a redemption tour.

One question: When do the women these people harassed get their redemption tour?

I have zero sympathy for any of these men and do not relish their re-embrace by the public. They sexually harassed women at work because they knew they could get away with it, and they did get away with it for years. Meanwhile, the women they preyed on ended up with trauma and ruined careers.

Among these people, Louis C.K. especially pisses me off. He caused women pain, turned that pain into art for himself, then rode that art to great fame, fortune and critical acclaim. The women he harassed are left only with their pain and further harassment by the public. Rebecca Corry spoke out against him after he masturbated in front of her and she lost her career:

“Since speaking out,” Corry explained, “I’ve experienced vicious and swift backlash from women and men, in and out of the comedy community. I’ve received death threats, been berated, judged, ridiculed, dismissed, shamed, and attacked.”

Is more Louis C.K. self-loathing comedy really worth the pain of all these women? Do people really need more of this man wallowing in how depraved he is (he was telling people how abusive he was all along in his comedy and everyone just laughed) for laughs at the expense of these women’s livelihoods?

I don’t think it’s worth it. I don’t think people like him are irreplaceable. I understand his fans miss Louis’s work (I liked Lucky Louie OK but I saw a few episodes of Louie and found it so depressing that I specifically request never to have to watch it again) but we should keep in mind that we may also be missing out on the work of talented women who were forced out of the industry for the great crime not wanting to watch their boss jerk off at work. I’d much rather see these women are doing OK than have to watch Louis’ inevitable triumphant return to the Emmys, complete with a vomit-inducing standing ovation from his peers.

Has Louis even learned? Who knows. Judging by last year’s “apology” statement, there’s no evidence that he has: “The power I had over these women is that they admired me. And I wielded that power irresponsibly … I also took advantage of the fact that I was widely admired in my and their community.”

“Power.” “Admired.” It’s like the guy’s still jerking off in front of people.

People like Louis C.K. deserve the chance to right themselves but I can see this turning into some kind of victory tour with accolades, and nobody should get a round of applause for treating people with a bare minimum of dignity by not whipping your dick out at work. People like him shouldn’t have to live on some island forever but we also don’t owe them HBO specials.

I’m sure Louis C.K. would have been able to live out life comfortably away from the spotlight with the money he earned by causing pain to women. The women, I assume, don’t have that luxury.

Failure Means You Failed

I forget exactly where we were recently (maybe the rest stop on our trip?) when I saw a knickknack that said something like “Failure means you tried.”

I have some questions. When is it ever appropriate to give such a knickknack to someone? Is there any way the message “Failure means you tried” can be anything but a backhanded compliment? You may be trying to make someone feel better about failure but you’re still calling attention to the fact that the person failed.

Also, where would one display such a knickknack? What, are you going to put it up at work so everyone who walks by your desk can see the word “failure” in an inspirational font? Do you really want coworkers to associate you, even subliminally, with the word “failure”?

I guess I see the point in giving this to kids to encourage them, and I do see the overall message that you shouldn’t give up. Like, maybe Faulkner’s work was rejected by several publishers or Einstein’s theories didn’t pan out at first, etc.

However, I disagree that failure always means you tried. For some dopey ding-a-lings out there, “trying” is like when a little kid tries to reach for a remote on the end table but won’t move from the chair to get it. He just wiggles his fingers and groans and says “It’s too far!” It’s cute when a kid does this but not for an able-bodied, able-minded adult. We’ve all seen this with drivers, customer service, etc.

Yeah, don’t give up. But “Failure means you tried” can enable incompetent behavior. I’m thinking of that person who screwed up (again) but “doesn’t let it get to me.” He slaps on a dimwitted smile and doesn’t think about it again. There, there: You just dig into that bowl of strawberry ice cream and look at that inspirational pencil holder of failure and keep not improving. You shouldn’t let your mistakes tear you apart but sometimes you need to let something get to you to spur you to competence.

Failure does mean you tried but you know what else means you tried? Success. Sometimes failure just means you failed.