plavcd in a state that still flies the Starsrnand Bars. And it is this same apoplexyrnconcerning issues of race that preventsrncolleges and universities from combatingrnthe specious charges of organizations likernthe Black Coaches Association, whichrnregulari whines that because the Thirdrn’Vorld-le’el admission standards of ourrnstate universities are still too high forrnmany black athletes, racism reigns—ipsornfacto—in the halls of academe.rnBig-time sports are clearly now asrnracist and politicized as the other institutionsrnof American culture, and therntarget is increasingly that vanishingrnAmerican, the straight white male. Thernrednecks and beerguts who subsidize thernNFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB had betterrnfind something else to do with theirrnweekends. Tennis, anyone?rn—I’heodore PappasrnW H E N L O R E N A B O B B I T T startledrnher hubbv one evening with a knifernthrough his priates—vigorously severingrnan intimate part of their relationship—arnlot of women apparently admired the,rnuh, statement Lorena made that night. Irnown the conversation radio station forrnLancaster & York counties in Pennsylvania,rnand the other morning Lorena Bobbittrntalk poured from my office speaker.rnPhones sparkled with callers anxious tornreact. I thought about ambling downrnthe hall to discuss the topic with thernshow’s producer, a laser-sharp collegerncoed majoring in communications.rnThen I remembered a fax from my station’srnlegal consultant. It rciewed thernrecent Supreme Court decision on sexualrnharassment, together with a proposedrnseries of rulings from the EEOC.rnTeresa Harris was a 41-year-old managerrnof Forklift Systems in Nashvillernwhen the company’s president, CharlesrnHardv, buffeted her with tasteless jokes.rnAnnoved bcvond endurance, she quitrnand filed suit under Title VII of thernCivil Rights Act of 1964. While shernclaimed neither psychological damagernnor interference with her productivity,rnalleged neither sexual extortion nor phsicalrncontact, she did provide ample cidenccrnthat Mr. Hardy was a lout with arnsense of the comic that passed well beyondrnthe limits of genteel taste.rnIn a unanimous decision, written byrnSandra Day O’Connor, the High Courtrnsided with Icrcsa Harris, ruling thatrnHardv was a lawbreaker and that his firmrnwas subject to penalties to be determinedrnby a lower court. This is a big-dealrndecision. Taste is now actionable. We’vernnot come this way before. JusticernO’Connor specifically wrote that the lawrnas it applies to sexual harassment is violatedrnwhen for any of a variety of reasonsrn”the environment would reasonably bernperceived, and is perceived, as hostile orrnabusive.”rnThe Court says that psychologicalrnharm is not necessary to prove damage—rnit is enough that the employer either createsrnor allows a hostile environment tornexist in the mind of the employee—arnclimate that would be judged hostile byrna reasonable woman. Why the hunt forrna reasonable victim rather than anrnactual victim? Because the Court hopesrnthat it’s come upon the foolproof testrnwith the Reasonable Woman Doctrine.rnWith this test, harassment has shiftedrnfrom the need to prove a ease of objectivernharm to proving a subjective offense.rnIt’s not a matter of whether you werernhurt, but of whether you think yournwere—and of getting some other womenrnto agree that fhcv think so, too. If yourncan find enough women who agree thatrntheir gender is unable to cope with thernpressures of words and pictures, or thatrnwomen deserve romantic paternalism insertedrnbetween themselves and thernloutish buffoonery of some men—yournwin money.rnSo there I was CEO of this broadcastrncompany, preparing to go and ask arnyoung woman to tell me how she, andrnher friends, felt about castration. C)frncourse I stopped. Though the topic wasrninteresting and on the tongue of everyrntalk show host, and though my employee’srnjob description called for herrnto listen to the show, it didn’t demandrnshe discuss such topics with her boss.rnWhat to do? Simple. I passed by thernyoung producer’s office and discussed itrninstead with our engineer, a man whornis also taking university courses.rnSimply put, all of this means that menrnin authority can’t discuss sexual mattersrnwith women who work with them, evenrnif their occupations dictate the occasionalrndiscussion of such subjects.rnMoreover, if a woman brings up such arntopic, it’s best to change the subject, forrnfear your reaction may be so candid asrnto set a “hostile” tone. The woman’srnregrets in participating in that interactionrnmight easily escalate into a perceptionrnthat you have created a hostile workplace.rnIn fact, it’s best to scold her aboutrnsuch talk, and to do it in front of a num-rnIsn’t it time you owned.rnTHE KINGrnOF COINSrnCertified Genuine 1878-1904rnU.S. Mint “Morgan” Silver DollarsrnNow As LowrnAs $12 EACHrn(3 ROLLS)rnWE WANT YOUR BUSINESS ANDrnWE’LL MAKE IT WORTH YOURrnWHILE TO TRY US!rnAmerica’s vintage 1878-1904 U.S.Mintrn”Morgan” Silver Dollars are the world’srnmost popular coin — they’re big (38rnmm), loaded with silver (26.73 gramsrn.900 fine) and rich in history (struckrnfirom Old West bonanza silver and usedrnin bygone eras). You’ll really marvelrnwhen you hold prized silver dollars likernthese in your own hands. And now, yourncan own them priced riglit! 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