I don’t usually write diaries but I ran across this today and I think the author makes many points that other diaries and commenters have been trying to say.
A Survivor’s Defense of Al Franken
It’s a powerful piece of writing that I think is important for Democrats and progressives to consider.
Selected excerpts
I’m sick of pedophiles. I’m sick of rapists. I’m sick of sexual violence and sexual predators. … More than that, I’m sick of my traumas and the traumas of other survivors being exploited for political gain and emotional satisfaction on both the left and the right. …
And I am sick that people like Leeanne Tweeden feel comfortable enough to take the traumas of the women and children that have been the true victims of sexual violence and used them for her own personal gains and the political goals of the Republican Party. ...
Leeanne was never raped. She was never assaulted. And she was never the victim of sexual violence or harassment. She was a willing and active participant in a comedy show that involved sexualized behaviors. She consented to participating. She actively engaged in and invited similar behaviors with other performers other than Al Franken at the event. …
What Tweeden is, is a willing participant in a new skit in which the Republican Party uses her completely normal interaction with Al Franken as an excuse to accuse a Democratic Senator of sexual assault, deflect from the charges of rape and pedophilia in the highest ranks of their own party, and test drive a strategy by which they can gain increasing amounts of power by exploiting the sexual traumas of women and children. …
That’s because one of the most common rhetorical strategies employed by the Republican Party is to deflect an accusation by turning the charges on them around to the accuser. And as common and predictable as this strategy is — the Democrats still haven’t come up with a consistent method to counter it. …
The Democrats and members of the left have called for the removal of Senator Franken and an investigation into Tweeden’s right wing backed accusations. They have failed to protect true victims of sexual assault from Republican exploitation. They refused to counter the narrative that Al Franken’s completely legally, nonviolent and consensual interactions with Leeanne Tweeden should be equated with sexual harassment, assault and pedophilia. And they have all but totally succumb to calls for the investigation and removal of Al Franken. …
There is no shortage of Tweedens standing in line to gain 5 minutes of fame and a right-wing paycheck to be used as a grenade to blow up the next Democratic target. … If the Democratic Party keeps allowing the Republican Party to blur the lines between sexual violence and sexualized behavior, they are putting more women and children in the hands of unthinkably powerful predators — and they are paving the path for the destruction of the entire Democratic Party at their violent and perverse hands.
I urge you to go read the entire article. It’s vitally important that we take a step back and try to do a better job of figuring out how to navigate the trap that the Republican Party has so successfully laid for us.
