Why I was mistaken for a pedophile
The week's news at a glance.
United Kingdom
Boris Johnson
The Daily Telegraph
There I was, said Boris Johnson in the London Daily Telegraph, about to take off on a long-haul flight to India. I was filled with dismay at the prospect of sitting next to two bickering children, so imagine my delight when the British Airways stewardess approached and said, "Please come with me, sir." Aha, an upgrade, I thought. But no. With a gentle cough the stewardess let me know that they had "very strict rules" about men sitting with children, as I was doing, and that she was moving me to Row 52. She was only deterred from carrying on with her plan when the children cried: "But he's our father!" In that absurd exchange, you can "see just everything you need to know about our dementedly phobic and risk-averse society." Why treat every adult male on a plane as a suspected molester? I mean, "how many pedophiles can there be?" And the damage done by presuming that the entire adult male population is comprised of pedophiles isn't confined to air travel. The hemorrhaging of male teachers from our schools—their number down 50 percent within 20 years—is at least in part due to the pernicious view that "all adult male contact with young people is potentially a bit dodgy."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 ladylike cartoons about women's role in the election
Cartoons Artists take on the political gender gap, Lady Liberty, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The right to die: what can we learn from other countries?
The Explainer A look at the world's assisted dying laws as MPs debate Kim Leadbeater's proposed bill
By The Week Published
-
Volkswagen on the ropes: a crisis of its own making
Talking Point The EV revolution has 'left VW in the proverbial dust'
By The Week UK Published