This And ‘TED’: Monica Lewinsky Explains 'The Price Of Shame'
Among the other celebrated guests, the infamous former White House intern, Monica Lewinsky rocked her speech at the TED 2015 Conference that took place in Vancouver, Canada last week. The conference featured speakers from across the globe giving brief presentations on a variety of topics.
Ms Lewinsky, known for her affair with the former U.S. President Bill Clinton, confessed to the audience saying, even though she was publicly silent for a decade, recently that has changed. This is perhaps the second time she has given such a candid speech after the Forbes 30 Under 30 summit in Philadelphia last year.
Below Is An Excerpt From Her Speech
Dealing With Unsuccessful Pickup Line
At the age of 41, when a charming 27-year-old guy hit her on, she had declined him despite being flattered. Apparently, his unsuccessful pickup line to her was, “he could make me feel 22 again.” The same night she realized she is probably the only person over 40 who don’t want to be 22 again.
Not Everyone Falls In Love With The President Of The United States Of America
Lewinsky requested the audience to raise their hands if they didn't make a mistake or did anything they regretted at age 22. She added that like her at 22, a few would have made the wrong decision and have fallen in love with the wrong person including their bosses. But unlike her, the boss probably wasn’t the President of the United States of America.
Braving Public Humiliation
Ms. Lewinsky said, changing behavior begins with evolving beliefs, true for almost everything including racism, homophobia and many other biases. Just how the changing beliefs around same-sex marriage offered many people with equal freedom, similarly, recycling has become a habit of many others valuing sustainability. “So as far as our culture of humiliation goes, what we need is a cultural revolution. Public shaming as a blood sport has to stop, and it's time for an intervention on the Internet and in our culture.” She also gave examples of organizations such as the Tyler Clementi Foundation in the U.S., Anti-Bullying Pro in the U.K. and Project Rockit in Australia that deal with bullying and public shame.
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