#me too campaign

[liskantope]

Looking back at the culture war battles of 2022, one development that particularly sticks out to me is the American Republican/anti-woke side latching on to the idea of everything social progressives call for that involves minors being a form of "grooming" and/or adjacent to pedophilia. This welled up during the 2022 midterm campaign season and I doubt it reached its final boil during the elections; it probably isn't dying down anytime just yet.

My first reaction, around mid-2022, to seeing this new-ish trend was that it was once again an example of the Right looking at a rhetorical tactic of the Left (in this case, finding a near-universally despised personal trait and relentlessly tarring as many opinions as possible from the opposing side as coming from that trait) and deciding that hey, two can play at this game. The main name that the Left has taken to using against as many opposing opinions as possible is "racist"/"racism", and what's arguably the one label even worse to have attached to you than "racist"? Probably "pedophile" or (more mildly) "groomer".

From that point of view, I can see where this Republican/anti-woke strategy comes from, to the extent that it's been consciously employed and regardless of how blatantly hypocritical it is. But it still caught me by surprise and feels strange, I think because of my impression of being anti-grooming as more of a liberal progressive cause. Now mind you, I know that anything adjacent to pedophilia is reviled by pretty much all parts of the political spectrum, and I also know that the conservative Right (at least in America) has a history of tarring gay people as secretly pedophiles, insinuating that open homosexuality (and other forms of queerness) corrupts and endangers children, and so on. But over the 5-10 years or so previous to the rise of "groomer" accusations from the conservative side, I had come to firmly code raising the alarm about grooming behavior as more of a progressive SJ-ish thing, naturally occurring as a part of the Me Too movement. I had been exposed to a lot of talk in progressive circles about the power differentials that come with age differentials and so on. The whole Josh Duggar scandal some years back seemed split roughly along political lines, with only conservatives (most infamously Mike Huckabee) being willing to come to his defense. And I had a vague notion that liberal people took child molestation and terrible behavior adjacent to it as a sort of higher-priority societal crisis than conservatives did, much as this was clearly the case with rape in general.

So I had thought of cries of "Groomer!" and "Pedophile!" as similar to cries of "Racist!" in that they involve a name that absolutely nobody wants to be branded with, which refers to a type of person that almost everyone looks down upon and is determined not to be but which the Right has a stricter definition of, doesn't see in as many places, and tends to think the Left is overly paranoid about. And yet, for the time being at least, the Right seems to have gotten hold of "Groomer!" and "Pedophile!".

I found this a sort of bemusing (and also of course disturbing) irony, given the extent to which so many socially progressive people around me see grooming / pedophilia / child abuse as a very serious problem and are very sincere in their concerns about it. And to be honest, one of the things I couldn't help saying to myself was, "Let's see how this goes and how people feel when 'Groomer!' is used against them, when the other side stretches at every possible opportunity to compare our side to something we truly find despicable whenever we stand for something they don't like. Maybe this will give some people a new insight about how ineffective it is to blast everything they don't like on the other side as "racist" or other -ists or otherwise coming from something purely evil. It's going to be interesting to see how this changes the dynamic."

(It's worth mentioning as a qualification that the American Right did do something like this as recently as the mid-00's with comparing everyone less hawkish than them with terrorist-sympathizers, but that was a little less direct and seems to have already faded from many people's memories. A closer example would be some decades earlier when an awful lot of Americans seemed determined to brand anyone to the left of them as a Communist sympathizer, but of course this is even further removed from the present.)

It's interesting to look back on this half a year later, because I definitely intended to write a more sharply pointed post expressing most of my paragraphs above sometime around last summer, but it got lost in the shuffle as many of my potential blog posts do. And now it seems like it sort of came to an anticlimax. Anti-woke conservatives did quite well in the midterms as long as they weren't too Trumpy, but Democrats put in a better-than-expected performance. My liberal colleagues and acquaintances mostly seem to have ignored conservative rhetoric about groomers or just dismissed it as idiotic (which, to be fair, it basically is) rather than let it bother them beyond that, either on a direct, immediate level or in terms of making them rethink messaging or persuasive rhetoric from their/our own side. All of this seems to be fizzling over, relative to what I imagined back around July.

[cjznark]

Diddy vs Sinaloa Cartel (yes, THAT Cartel)

Earlier this summer, Diddy found himself in some hot water with an unlikely source.

Alfredo P. Gonzalez of the Sinaloa Cartel filed a $666,000 defamation lawsuit against Bay Boy Entertainments CEO, Sean “Diddy” Combs. Gonzalez alleges a “business partner” of Combs reached out looking to acquire “some young [g]irls/[b]oys for a party in New York.”

The scathing 6 page dismissal from Judge Laura Taylor Swain further details how after being told no repeatedly, the “business partner” tried to assure that Diddy had “everything on lock.” The Cartel informed them that there was no money in sex trafficking and the call ended without a deal being made. Gonzalez claims this call with Diddy hurt their business and was suing for defamation.

It goes without saying that the Cartel is not a legitimate business, the phrase “illegal drug smuggling and sale business” showing up repeatedly.

The Cartel aren’t dumb, they can afford good lawyers. Lawyers who would have informed them that this lawsuit would go nowhere. In fact, the Cartel themselves had to have know this lawsuit would be dismissed before the ink dried on the paper.

But winning wasn’t the point.

In fact, I believe this lawsuit was less about money and more about making a statement. When the Cartel has higher morals than you, that’s a problem.

With Diddy now sitting securely behind bars until his trail in May of 2025, time will only tell what new evidence comes to light and what celebrities were involved.

Millennials, now is the time to listen to all the songs you enjoyed in our youth, cause Hollywood and the music scene as we know it is about to come crashing down around us.

[politics-project]

Hi guys!

In this blog, I’ll give talk about the positives and negatives of online activism in regards to the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements. And what change has been achieved from it.

Positives:

It helped with organising protests

It helps give voices to people who were victims of police brutality and sexual assault

It created a wider awareness to those who are normally apolitical

It helped grow system of support for victims of assault or made them aware that they were also a victim of assault

It helped destigmatise sexual assault

It made people more informed on the history and the systems that enabled rape culture and systemic racism

It can put elected officials under more pressure to make change

Petitions can be widely shared to make the views of people known to officials

Negatives:

People treat serious movements as trends

People often don’t put in the effort to actually help these movements and unpack their unconscious bias such as the performative ‘black square’ people posted in 2020 to show solidarity with the BLM movement

‘# Activism’ often drowns out the voices of those most affected and in most need of being heard

Not knowing the people you’re protesting with can lead to distrust and disjointed protest (You can see this with the protests for BLM in 2020)

Fake news can be spread rapidly to sow distrust in the movement and fear monger about those fighting for their rights

Achievements from Online Activism:

It helped hold some police officers accountable and got them to actually be charged with the crime they committed after much online pressure.Rev Wheeler Parker, a cousin of Emmett Till credited the Black Lives Matter movement with finally making lynching a federal hate crime. Derek Chauvin convicted of murdering George Floyd which was the spark from the 2020 Black Lives Matter Protests.

It helped pass The Times Up Act of 2018, which aimed to strengthen anti harassment and anti discrimination laws. It also helped to pass the Survivors Bill of Rights act of 2016 although the movement had not skyrocketed notoriety. It helped to convince Harvey Weinstein in 2020 and Larry Nassar in 2018. It also helped start the Times Up Legal defense Fund be established in 2018 which provided legal support for survivors of harassment assault and abuse. It helped to pass many other laws and put predators behind bars.

[yuribomber]

google "Roman Polanski petition" or "French 1977 petition" and this applies to the music industry too :(

[gasolinehive]

— Adèle Haenel retires over French film sector’s ‘complacency’ towards sexual predators (Guardian)

[tequileah]

So many innocent people were destroyed by the me too movement meanwhile real abusers get to live their lives

I think the movement did start with the best of intentions, but I agree with you. Lots of false accusations and men's lives have been destroyed as a result because "believe all women" is better in theory than reality. Women are capable of lying, reporting false accusations and weaponising their supposed victim hood. The ones that do, undermine and spit in the face of evrey women who has been assaulted/ abused and should be held as legally accountable as actual abusers. It goes without saying I want actual victims/syrvivors to get all the help and support they can.

[marisavavra]

How many times do I need to say “no”? Do my words not make sense?

I explain to every guy who tries to talk to me in a relationship way. I have been raped and sexually assaulted in my life so if I’m not ready for sex, I am NOT ready. Recently I avoided my almost second sexual assault.

Went to hang out with a guy to smoke and watch a movie. I sent to assert before I was going that we were not having sex. He says this is fine.

He is currently upset with me because I “made him feel weird” by leaving when he wouldn’t stop groping me or asking if I could feel his dick. I told him no to trying to cuddle with me but he kept trying to pull me towards him. He even tried to pull my face towards him to kiss him. I told him I had to leave because he was giving me flashbacks from my previous sexual assault, and it gave me so much anxiety. He was upset with me for feeling this way.

He says that he acted this way because he is in love with me. That is not the kind of love I want to be surrounded with. And ironically after I left he texted me saying wow you’re never gonna let me between those legs huh? This made me see red. I am not a sex toy.

I honestly don’t understand why men push sex so hard when it’s not wanted. 

[thecanishades]

I condemn you to Hell

A pound of flesh for your sin

You greedy dog

You mutt of filth

Your teeth remain in my skin like venom

I bite my thumb at you

I curse your name

I wish my pain on you and your kin

I lived in fear

I hid in the dark

You trapped me in the lion's den

My pain on display

For your entertainment

The crime of my torture forever on film

I curse you

I curse you

You haunt my dreams over again

You cowering fiend

The lord's pathetic lamb

I will slaughter you before the altar that remains

The altar I built in my mind

My mind where I worship my kind

My kind no longer in your binds

Your binds- the chains of time

Time that heals yet I still am trying

Trying to purge you, you swine

The swine who will bleed like wine

Like the wine I will swallow when I dine

When I dine on your flesh

You scum of the human kind.

A poem, complete with this doodle I did when I wrote it. It's me, stabbing the stupid bastard man I wrote this poem about. Then at the bottom, me and Crowley (he's a comfort character of mine shuddup) burn him in the pits of hell. I clearly have not recovered from my trauma.

[hanzsoulo]

[nathiebunny]

I already saw the trailer of the She Said movie in the cinema a few months ago and it really caught my interest as someone who worked in the media industry for years. Tonight I came across a copy of the movie and decided to watched it. Surprisingly, it exceeded my expectations. I manage to watched the core of the #metoo movement and how a story manage to become an eye opener for the world see the unjust system of our society. I remember one powerful phrase there “It is not about Weinstein, it’s about a system protective abusers.” This quote can be relate to other societal problems in which our system refuse to acknowledge as they choose to go with the flow to whom helps the power. Overall, go and watch this movie. It super worth it!

[politics-project]

Hi guys!

Today I’ll be discussing how Black Lives Matter and #Metoo started and what the organisation is about.

Black Lives Matter:

The #BlackLivesMatter movement started in 2013 by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tomeli because of George Zimmerman being acquitted for the murder of Trayvon Martin.

It is a global organisation that spreads across the United States, United Kingdom and Canada with the mission of fully getting rid of white supremacy and building local power to intervene in violence perpetrated by vigilantes or the State.

#Metoo:

The ‘me too’ movement was started in 2006 by activist and survivor Tarana Buke to develop the resources and supports for those who have experienced sexual violence that weren’t available at the time and to try to stop it from taking place in the first place. [The hashtag ‘#MeToo’ was only gained popularity in 2017]

Is an organisation that helps survivors heal, puts a wrench in systems that allow sexual assault to happen, holds perpetrators accountable and implements long lasting and sustainable systemic change. So, no one should ever experience something like that again.

Link to Theorist(s):

This links into the theorist Karl Marx because of his theory that the oppressed under a capitalist system will fight back when they’ve had enough. It links into the theorist Sylvia Plath because a lot of her work deals with feminisms and also sexual violence.

[scripture-pictures]

[bolllywoodhungama]

Tanushree Dutta files a FIR against Rakhi Sawant, accusing her of inflicting "psychological trauma" during the 2018 Me Too movement.

Tanushree Dutta claims Sawant made false and defamatory allegations about her, causing her image and reputation to suffer. Tanushree Dutta, a Bollywood actress, has filed a FIR against Rakhi Sawant at Mumbai's Oshiwara Police Station. During the Me Too movement in 2018, Dutta accused Sawant of inflicting her psychological pain.

Sawant, according to Dutta, made numerous false and defamatory allegations against her, harming her reputation and career. She has also claimed that Sawant was involved in a plot to defame her and damage her career. Dutta has stated that she is suing Sawant in order to protect herself from additional violence and to seek justice. She has also encouraged other victims of bullying and harassment to speak up for their rights.

"I have come to lodge a FIR against Rakhi Sawant for the psychological trauma she suffered during the Me Too movement in 2018," Dutta stated in an interview with the media. Many penal provisions have been introduced to the FIR for various reasons. We have documented every remark she has made against me. He will not be spared this time. Now that the process has begun, they will take action shortly, and I have provided them with the entire background." Dutta also explained what transpired. "The background is that during the film Horn OK," she explained. Please understand that they first deleted Rakhi and included me in the film, and then following the uproar with Nana Patekar, they reinstated Rakhi. So this is a strategy. The plan was to use my name to promote the film. They returned all of my checks. Everything was planned, and Rakhi was a part of it." Dutta also discussed the trauma she experienced as a result of Sawant's words. "I have gone through a lot of emotional and psychological trauma because of Rakhi," she explained. She'd said horrible things about me. I couldn't take it anymore. Every year, a fresh drama emerges to maintain the spotlight. She completely damaged my reputation. She ruined my personal life, and as a result, I was unable to marry. Rakhi had been bothering me for a long time." Dutta has encouraged other victims of abuse and harassment to speak up for their rights. "I want people to open their eyes and take strict action against people like Rakhi," she stated. My career was on the rise until she absolutely derailed it.

[dorothydalmati1]

The Simpsons Season 6 Episode 9: Homer Badman

Written by Greg Daniels

Storyboard by Peter Avanzino, John Rice & Jeffrey Lynch

Directed by Jeffrey Lynch

Animation directed by Utit Choomuang

[sadmages]

In my mind palace my tav and Astarion are playing the exact same game of 5D chess and they don't realize it yet