What we’ve learned over the past three weeks — or rather, what was confirmed for most women — is that perpetrators of sexual harassment and assault can act however they want in public as long as they show results; they expect little reprimand even if they’re absolute monsters behind the scenes. In fact, these men — whether it’s well-known industry “bully” Harvey Weinstein or a man touting high moral character like O’Reilly — are banking on public opinion of their success to create reasonable doubt against anyone who crosses them. Many are smart and try to cover their tracks; using their positions of power, they create situations of plausible deniability by preying on women they consider weak or less influential. And when they’re caught red-handed, they try to throw in numerous red herrings in the hopes that people won’t actually ask how these events are related.