Sam Ferri: The Woody Allen Test

Sam Ferri in the New York Observer talks (and, of course, draws) a column/comic titled The Woody Allen Test.

Mr. Allen was accused of child abuse 21 years ago by Mia Farrow. The charges, after investigation by the Connecticut Police and the Child Sexual Abuse Clinic of the Yale-New Haven Hospital, were dropped.

But this is all back in the news, with social media masticating the events for weeks now.

Is she, Mia Farrow, heroine or victim? Is Woody Allen a talented saint or a villain? What of the grown-up children? Do we need to decide, for certain, whether these people are angels or devils? 

Many would like, in general, a summing up: a concrete knowledge of ourselves and our world. But, because we are human and flawed, so is our ability to "know." 

A lot of people disagree with that. Absolute knowledge is something a lot of people want, and there are all sorts of activities (religion, self-help-books) that pitch that view.

Being certain in a world of chance brings comfort and closure. But is it realistic?

Maybe people really think that we can "know the unknowable" and have the absolute knowledge of the gods. And we can say unto everyone via our Facebook pages. 

Related: the NY Times: Woody Allen Speaks Out.