Hey NOW. Overreact Much?

This was an easy one. In response to David Letterman's revelation of office affairs with some of his staff, the National Organization of Women ("NOW") decided to rush to judgment.

Recent developments in the David Letterman extortion controversy have raised serious issues about the abuse of power leading to an inappropriate, if not hostile, workplace environment for women and employees. In the case of Letterman, he is a multi-million dollar host of one of the most popular late-night shows; in that role, he wields the ultimate authority as to who gets hired, who gets fired, who gets raises, who advances, and who does entry-level tasks among the Late Show employees. As "the boss," he is responsible for setting the tone for his entire workplace -- and he did that with sex. In any work environment, this places all employees -- including employees who happen to be women -- in an awkward, confusing and demoralizing situation.
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Every woman -- and every man -- deserves to work in a place where all employees are respected for their talents and skills. The National Organization for Women calls on CBS to recognize that Letterman's behavior creates a toxic environment and to take action immediately to rectify this situation. With just two women on CBS' Board of Directors, we're not holding our breath.

There's no evidence that Letterman created a "toxic environment" at his office. There's no evidence that he "abused" his position.

Let's be realistic here. There are certainly lots of workplaces where scumbag bosses harass and abuse their employees. They are contemptible and should be penalized. But there are also lots of workplace romances where both parties are willing, consensual adults. In Letterman's case, there is so far NO EVIDENCE that any of his affairs were anything but consensual. Why don't we wait to hear from the women involved before we hang Letterman in effigy?

If such evidence comes to light, then Letterman will deserve the scorn. If not, maybe NOW should be a little less knee-jerk. It doesn't endear people to their cause when they overreact.