"Connection breeds empathy. Empathy allows growth."
Dan Harmon. Photo by Gage Skidmore/Flickr.
Another day, another powerful man in media is exposed for harassing a woman. But in this case, the apology has created an opening that shows a way forward for both men and women who work alongside each other.
On New Year’s Eve, “Rick and Morty” co-creator Dan Harmon posted a tweet that acknowledged he was part of what he called the “Year of the Asshole.”
That tweet drew a response from comedy writer Megan Ganz, who previously worked with Harmon on “Community.”
Their back and forth quickly went viral as Harmon lumbered through attempts to explain his past bad behavior and make an amends to Ganz:
That’s normally where the latest #MeToo chapter would end, short of Harmon resigning from his job and public life. And media outlets and other people on social media were understandably quick to pile on with stories about Harmon’s public shaming.
But Ganz not only dropped the proverbial mic on Harmon’s unacceptable behavior, she also called him out for his bungled attempts at an apology.
You see, Harmon was off to a strong start, deferring to Ganz on the best way to make any potential amends. But his unsolicited solution quickly regressed by “Dansplaining” that he’d already made steps forward by building figurative walls between himself and his colleagues:
Instead, Ganz showed Harmon, and everyone else for that matter, a more realistic and constructive way moving forward. Don’t build walls between bosses and their employees, tear them down. Don’t isolate from a position of fear, build honest and respectful relationships grounded in empathy and compassion. After all, it’s much harder to demean someone that you know and respect as your equal:
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