Beware of people who jump in and out of movements.

[yardwork]

In a movement with the hashtag #metoo there are going to be mentally unstable people who want to be included.

They might falsely accuse people. This is the dangerous flip side of movements that bring real problems out in the open.

As a lesbian, I'm familiar with the occasional false accusation of gay bashing brought forward by unstable people who wanted attention. Their accusations usually fall apart under scrutiny. It's infuriating because there are thousands and thousands of genuine examples of gay people being attacked, fired, and even murdered just because they were gay. But one false accusation tends to undo a lot of progress.

This is one reason why investigations are absolutely essential. Yes, it's important to treat accusers with respect. Don't discredit them personally or mock their stories. But please, do investigate and verify before rushing to judgement.

[True Dough]

1. Especially

bowel movements!

[brooklynite]

2. So you're saying there's a chance that some of Franken's accusers are "mentally unstable"?

I guess some of Roy Moore's accusers could be mentally unstable as well?

[yardwork]

3. Any accuser's story needs to be investigated.

Moore's accusers have been put through the wringer. They have corroborating witnesses from the same time period. The fact that Moore was actually banned from an entire mall because of his predatory behavior with young teen girls is an example of corroboration.

[R B Garr]

6. Excellent. That's the exact example I was thinking of with Moore. Adult

people knew enough about his behavior to ban his presence at the mall, and way back before any of this publicity now.

[yardwork]

7. Investigators always seek contemporaneous corroboration.

[R B Garr]

4. Great post. This is something that should not be dismissed, especially when

you are dealing with damaging people's lives and reputations. Thank you for bringing it up. I have some things I could add but hesitate to for now. Just wanted to say that people's motivations are routinely questioned, and so should the possibility that they are mentally unstable. It's just not right to say that anyone can come forward and individual rights to examination are subverted or denied.

[yardwork]

5. Thanks.

[ProudLib72]

8. Do you think that's what Dupuy did?

Jump on the bandwagon? I feel like she did, and I'm not so sure about her mental stability. Her story is a non-event, and yet she got an interview out of it and made it sound like something horrible. Now, do I equate her non-story to every MeToo story? No. Does it make me question them? Definitely. The trouble is that others are going to take Dupuy's metoo moment as reason to discredit the whole movement. It's what conservatives like to do, generalize from one example.

[yardwork]

9. I think that there might have been some bandwagon jumping, yes.

And that's an interesting metaphor in this context. Dupuy identified as a recovering alcoholic for many years, then decided that she wasn't an alcoholic after all.

[ProudLib72]

10. Yes, I read about the AA stint

On Wikipedia the wording made it seem like she was pressured into believing she was an alcoholic. It was a very strange story, and it made me believe she was not completely rational.

[yardwork]

11. I read the same wiki page. Horrific childhood.