Keller @ Large: Don't Dismiss #MeToo Stories Of Sex Assault, Harassment

BOSTON (CBS) - By now you've probably heard about the Twitter hashtag #metoo, an idea offered by actress Alyssa Milano on Sunday to give women a chance to share their stories of sexual harassment in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.

For those who don't do Twitter, when you affix a hashtag to your comments, they merge into a stream of remarks by others using the same hashtag.

And if you haven't done so already, I urge you to open up Twitter and search for #metoo.

Unless you severely narrow down your geographic reach, you will not be able to read the feed that pops up, because it is acquiring new comments too fast for the eye to follow.

Let this blur rush by you for a moment.

Yes, it's the internet, where anyone can post anything without verification. But even if you dismiss half of the comments on those grounds, this is still an overwhelming testimonial to the extent and depravity of predatory, exploitive and violent behavior that women and girls are subjected to, at home, on the street, in the workplace.

Everywhere.

And we shouldn't dismiss any of these comments.

Instead, we should contemplate what they're saying – that behavior 99% of boys and men would never tolerate if it were directed at their mother or sister is routinely practiced and tolerated by an appalling percentage of those same men and boys.

By the way, I saw more than a few #metoo Twitter postings by men as well.

Which points us toward a basic truth about sexual violence and harassment – it's more about power and mental illness and brutality than sex.