(ICYMI: This is a follow up to ‘Witch Hunts & Straw Men: Internet Discourse in 2015)

I want to start by saying that this is not about any particular incident, but instead is addressing a larger issue that is prevalent in our scene – misogyny and the underlying theme that overall treatment of women is a footnote of little to no consequence. We are starting to know who the culprits are, but each time there is an accusation, the same general outcry goes up regardless of evidence provided, or even our own common sense in regards to how society works. In reality, we all know bad behavior is treated as though it were acceptable from young men. We wouldn’t cling so tightly to the law to provide our moral compass if that wasn’t the case. The issue isn’t that we don’t think these dudes might be treating women badly. The issue is that we have decided, somewhere along the way, that unless their treatment of women is illegal, it isn’t an issue. 

Lately, there has been a lot of discourse on the Internet regarding how we talk about sexual abuse allegations. In those conversations, the real issue – which is the epidemic of abuse going on in our communities – often gets lost in the shuffle as skeptics and proponents of the status quo throw distraction after distraction into the ring. 

Let me be clear: I am not talking about the rare occasion where an allegation is unfounded and/or proven to be merely attention seeking (which is reprehensible and inexcusable). I am talking about the vast majority of incidents where that is not the case – and I am also speaking on behalf of victims whose abuse is not acknowledged by the law at all (see: most psychological abuse or continual domestic mistreatment). 

So without further ado – I’m going to address some of the more common responses to allegations and start to explore why they are a problem: