Protected Species: A Brief, Blunt History of Powerful White Men Being Shielded From Consequences

Nov 19

6 min read

By Ang, your SciWoo-with-a-side-of-facts friend

Let’s take a little stroll through history, a history where powerful white men have been caught doing very questionable things…and somehow…walk away with their careers intact, their reputations “managed,” and women left to clean up the mess, carry the shame, or disappear from the story entirely.

I told my youngest son recently:

“White men are a protected species.”

And the older I get, the more history backs me up.

If I behaved like some of these public figures; loud, unhinged, rambling nonsense into microphones, I’d be escorted off to a psychiatric evaluation faster than you can say “media statement.”

But when certain men in power do it?

“Freedom of speech.”

“Just being direct.”

“Strong leadership.”

Or my favourite:

“He says what others are afraid to say.”

Yeah… no.

Uncle Sam isn’t the cheater, he’s the symbol of the system that protects the cheater. He’s the white, authoritative, untouchable face of a power structure that has spent hundreds of years shielding powerful men from consequences while punishing the women who dare to speak.

Case Study 1: A President, a 30-Year Age Gap, & a Child Hidden for Generations

One recently resurfaced story involves Nan Britton, a young woman from Ohio who fell for President Warren G. Harding; a man nearly 30 years older and one of her own family’s friends. She developed a crush on him as a teen, but always maintained he didn’t touch her until she was 20.

Harding, almost 60, carried on an affair with her behind closed doors.

She became pregnant and gave birth to his daughter in 1919.

Then Harding died suddenly in office.

And his political circle, powerful male allies with reputations on the line, buried everything.

Nan was publicly shamed for decades, called delusional, immoral, a fantasist, or worse.

She wrote a book in 1927, The President’s Daughter, telling the truth as she knew it, and she was ridiculed for it for nearly 80 years.

Until 2015; when a modern DNA test finally proved what she had always said:

Her daughter was Harding’s child.She was telling the truth the whole time.

Nan died before she was ever vindicated.

This isn’t unheard of.

This is a historical pattern.

Power. Wealth. Position.

And the machinery to silence a woman who didn’t have any of those things.

Case Study 2: Bill Clinton & Monica Lewinsky

Everyone remembers Bill Clinton saying:

“I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”

Timeline of the Truth Coming Out

1998: Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr investigated Clinton for unrelated matters but uncovered evidence of the affair.
August 1998: Faced with DNA-verified evidence on Monica’s blue dress, Clinton publicly admitted the relationship.
December 1998: He was impeached in the House of Representatives for perjury and obstruction of justice.
1999: He was acquitted by the Senate and remained in office.

So yes; he was caught, exposed, and impeached.

And yet:

he kept the presidency
he kept his status
he kept his political power
he wrote books
he speaks at global events
he is still treated as “a statesman”

Meanwhile Monica, who was 22, was:

slut-shamed
ridiculed worldwide
torn apart by the media
used as a punchline for decades

A grown man in power lied.

A young woman paid the price.

This isn’t an opinion; this is documented, televised history.

Case Study 3: Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, & Networks of Entitlement

Whole networks of extremely wealthy men exploited underage girls, thinking their status made them untouchable.

For a while?

It did.

Epstein was protected for YEARS.

Connections.

Money.

Influence.

His victims fought to even be believed, let alone heard.

And let’s be real, if Epstein had been an unemployed brown man in a housing commission flat, he would have been arrested within 24 hours.

Entitlement + wealth + whiteness + power = invisibility cloak.

Case Study 4: Donald Trump & “Locker Room Talk”

Multiple allegations.

Multiple lawsuits.

Multiple scandals.

Multiple recordings of him bragging about behaviour that would get most men fired instantly.

If you or I acted like that in parliament?

We’d be carried out by security and booked into “mandatory rehabilitation.”

But he wasn’t.

He went on to become President.

Protected species.

And let’s not pretend this is ancient history

Australia has its own list of powerful white men accused of misconduct, some facing legal consequences, others protected by parties, institutions, and decades of silence.

I’m not here to name individuals outside of well-known public cases, but the pattern is global, historical, ongoing, and undeniable.

When marriages were for title & money, affairs were practically expected

Go back a few centuries:

Royalty, aristocrats, landowners, they ALL had mistresses.

It was normalised.

But here’s the problem:

the lovers weren’t allowed dignity.

They weren’t allowed to speak.

They weren’t acknowledged unless convenient.

And if a child was born?

Denied.

Hidden.

Or erased.

And if the woman dared to tell the truth?

She became the villain.

Nothing new under the sun.

To those who say “they could have said no”

Have you ever in your LIFE been pinned under someone twice your size?

Have you ever been in a situation where saying “no” would cost your home, your career, your safety, your reputation?

Have you ever been groomed as a teenager by someone with money, access, and status?

If you haven’t…maybe don’t comment on hypotheticals that aren’t hypothetical for millions of women worldwide.

Believe people with genuine merit, not just the loudest voice in the room

We need to stop:

worshipping charisma
excusing entitlement
enabling dangerous patterns
dismissing quieter victims

If you can’t understand the risk a woman faces speaking up, imagine your mother (or daughter) at 15 being manipulated by a man with the power to ruin her life.

Suddenly the conversation shifts.

Privilege Isn't Equal, Even Among White People

I live in Australia.

I’m aware that being a white woman here gives me certain protections others don’t get.

But I also know how different life is for:

Indigenous women
Black women
migrant women
women without resources
women without support

A strong Black woman speaks up and she’s labelled “aggressive.”

A white man does it and he’s “a leader.”

Explain that.

On the myth of the ‘charmed life’

People say Melania Trump lives a glamorous life.

But did you see the way crowds CHEERED HER and BOOED HIM?

You think he went home and said “well done sweetheart”?

I doubt it very much.

I’d rather sleep on a prison mattress than share a bed with that man.

So honestly?

More power to her if her entire goal is simply to outlast him.

Final Thoughts: The System Isn’t Broken; It Was Designed This Way

History is full of powerful white men:

hiding affairs
denying children
lying publicly
exploiting power
being protected by institutions
being forgiven by society

Meanwhile the women in those stories:

lost reputations
lost careers
lost safety
lost their place in history
were mocked, shunned, erased, or disbelieved

This blog isn’t about man-hating.

It’s about pattern recognition.

It’s about calling out the machinery that protects those already at the top and punishes those at the bottom.

And it’s about saying:

Believe people with merit.

Protect the vulnerable.

Stop confusing power with truth.

And for the love of equality; stop worshipping men who lie with confidence. - Ang x

If You Are a Victim and Need Support

If you’re reading this and realise that you, or someone you care about, might be a victim of abuse, coercion, manipulation, assault, or exploitation, please know this:

You are not alone, and what happened to you is not your fault.

There are organisations worldwide that offer:

confidential support
trained counsellors
crisis help
safety planning
legal options
emotional support
trauma-informed listening

You don’t have to have “proof.” You don’t have to be sure it “counts.”

If something felt unsafe, unwanted, or pressured, your feelings are valid.

Where to Reach Out (Worldwide Options)

🌍 International Hotlines & Support Networks

RAINN (USA): https://www.rainn.org — 24/7 support for sexual violence
National Sexual Assault Hotline (USA): 800-656-HOPE
Lifeline (Australia): 13 11 14 — crisis support
1800RESPECT (Australia): 1800 737 732 — sexual assault & family violence support
Samaritans (UK & Ireland): 116 123 — emotional support
Women’s Aid (UK): https://www.womensaid.org.uk/
Canada: Talk4Healing (Indigenous Women) 1-855-554-HEAL
New Zealand: Safe to Talk — 0800 044 334
Worldwide Domestic Violence Helpline List: https://www.hotpeachpages.net