In 1973 MIT was probably the first major employer and the first academic institution in the US to use the term harassment and to develop policies and procedures about offensive, intimidating and hostile behavior that has the intent or effect of unreasonable disruption of the educational or work environment. Not only have we worked on these questions and developed some of the more widely recommended options for dealing with harassment concerns, but we have had, since 1973, two presidents and three provosts who feel strongly about the subject. In fact most people at MIT feel really strongly that harassment is unacceptable. Those who care a lot about diversity and equal opportunity find harassment repugnant, cruel, contemptible. Like its Janus-twin favoritism, harassment distorts the environment so that creativity and genius are twisted out of their proper paths.
Harassment is an unacceptable corrosion of objective excellence and accomplishment.
I am concerned about this question. Let me give you some reasons. I am contacted by MIT people hundreds of times a year about harassment. Some is based on gender, on sexual orientation, on religion and color and nationality and appearance. One person's ethnic joke causes another to lose sleep, one person's tirade seems like normal behavior to another.