Has hugging became a crime? Has the Me Too movement brought us to this?
Sandy City fired its police chief, Kevin Thacker, and it might be he did nothing worse than hugged people. The mayor was asked if his offenses rose to the level of criminal conduct and replied that he could not make a legal judgement as to whether the offenses amounted to that.
The mayor, Kurt Bradburn, fired Thacker for inappropriate touching and unprofessional behavior. The story discusses nothing more than hugging, so we are left wondering if that was the whole of his offenses.
So, has it come to this? Is hugging an offense you can be fired for? Does it, in fact, reach into the realms of criminal conduct? Could you potentially do a little jail time for hugging?
What has the Me Too movement wrought?
It is safe to say that when hugging becomes groping, its a crime. But, what about hugs that don't go so far as groping, yet still might be considered sexual? Pressing another person's body against yours can be wrong. Or is it? There are hugs in which the bodies do not make contact -- only the arms and and shoulders touching. But, a great proportion of hugs are truly hugs, chest to chest, body to body, -- that's somewhat the definition of a hug.
So, has hugging become a crime? Is it becoming a crime? "Yes, non-consensual hugging is an assault," writes someone with the nametag NeifyT in an online comment to the Deseret News story.
So, then, where do we draw the line on this new thing we call "consensual hugging"? Most people feel pressured to accept hugs, but that does not mean they welcome them. It would seem, then, consensual hugging should only include those that are welcome.
All I can say is, if every unwanted hug is criminal, we've got a lot of sexual predators out walking around free on our streets.
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