The direction of this discussion (supporting men accused of multiple sexual assaults) does not feel as though it's heading anywhere positive, and unless a calm, measured discussion can be had I would like to politely suggest that it tails off with immediate effect.
I used to listen to Marilyn Manson a lot and am old enough to remember the media hysteria around the group in the distant past, but this is not media hysteria. This is a catalogue of claims from a number of different people supporting the idea that a man has been abusive towards them, followed by a bunch of financial settlements and an admission that the accusations cannot be followed up due to legal limitations rather than because anyone has proof they didn't actually happen. Nobody actually knows what happened between any of the people involved other than them, but if you're willing to blindly believe Warner's side of things with absolutely no evidence then I think it would be reasonable to extend the same generosity to the human beings who have risked their reputations to relive their trauma and announce what happened. If not, you are not the unbiased beacon of common sense that you believe yourself to be.
It is impossible to compare the disappointment of missing out on a concert with the horror of being sexually assaulted by someone you trusted. It is absurd to equate a fan's suffering with that of a victim. It sucks for the other staff members and the people who really wanted to go to that show, yeah, but people hero-worshipping an abuser is something that sucks for their victims over and over again for the rest of their lives. As anyone who has ever dealt with a council in any capacity ever can attest, getting a council to actually do something in a timely, productive manner is a herculean effort. It wasn't the council which did this, even if they were the ones who actually pulled the trigger on the show. It was the public. People who campaigned. People who feel strongly about changing our society where crimes which seldom leave any tangible evidence and have demonstrably low conviction rates can be carried out freely by powerful individuals protected by blind fans, parasocial loyalty and a deep-seated bias against the testimony of women.
If you just want to complain with an audience of people who already agree that men are the victims of a society biased against them, please take it to PM. It doesn't have any place here. If you don't have anyone else to discuss it with, feel free to PM me. This isn't your blog, so if you post something in a forum for discussion you actually have to engage with that discussion instead of dismissing it and doubling down on your point as though yours is the only opinion which matters.
Were it another topic I would be more comfortable with the debate continuing on the understanding that people actually conduct the debate reasonably. But sexual assault is an especially cruel form of violence that real people on this real forum have personally experienced (and openly brought up in an effort to broaden this and previous debates). It is not kind or appropriate to dismiss firsthand accounts from peers in order to push a one-sided agenda based on groundless hero worship. It doesn't make you look smart and it completely undermines what you're trying to achieve with your argument by dismissing the valid concerns of your fellow forum-users - who are also your audience here.
So in other words, please stop. This will be my only warning. My PMs are open.
R
www.theprp.com
