Volume 3, Issue 12, December 2022
Alan Winnikoff
Pages 27-47
Male Privilege
To what extent are allegations of past wrongdoings newsworthy and relevant to voters and political campaigns? In this work of philosophical short story fiction, Mayor Ted is retiring and has requested that Brendon run to replace him. After consulting with his wife, Brendon agrees to run and throws himself into the campaign. As momentums builds, he is contacted by the local newspaper about a former employee who says he attempted to kiss her on a business trip ten years earlier. A few weeks later, one of his son’s teachers comes forward saying he groped her in the parking lot of the school. Brendon denies the allegations, but knows the first allegation is true, while the second was caused by him tripping on an uneven portion of sidewalk. Regardless, his wife decides to temporarily leave him to gather her thoughts, his female campaign manager resigns, and Mayor Ted withdraws his support over the “optics” of the allegations. Brendon limps to election night alone, but, much to his surprise, wins.