Fuck. This. Shit.

[Pacifist Patriot]

188. Thank you! I go through this mental exercise deliberately.

Whenever a scandal breaks, I go through a series of mental examination regardless of whether it's a Democrat or a Republican involved.

1. Do I have enough information to even pass judgment at this point?
2. What does either side have to lose or gain from making accusations?
3. What would be my emotional response if (pick a person from the other party) was the accused instead?
4. What is the broader context that may be influencing timing of accusations?
and so on and so on.

This story has a lot of troubling issues with it.

I used Marco Rubio in my mental exercise yesterday because a) he's my Senator, b) I loathe him, and c) he has shown weird moments of odd humor.

I came to the following conclusions.

1. Need way more context on the photo to know what was actually going on, but at first glance it looks like a dumb gag and I can't bring myself to be appalled by it yet.
2. Wondered if there was a history/pattern of disrespect to women that was going to be revealed over the coming days, because without one it doesn't seem all that alarming.
3. Does not remotely compare to the charges against the powerful men who have been exposed for their records of abuse recently, so the false equivalencies are ridiculous.

On the other hand, when the Moore story broke I thought about my reaction had it been a Democratic candidate for Senator. I have no doubt I would have been as appalled and definitely would have wanted the candidate to withdraw. A long history of predatory behavior against minors when the accusers are not from across the aisle is damning.

As a victim of sexual assault and harassment myself, I don't take this lightly and do think women should be believed. But I'm also an academic who can't help but examine sources. One of the criteria you look at when weighing historical evidence from a contemporary source is the biases of the writer. If an enemy says something flattering, it's more likely to be true than if they say something critical. And vice versa. I can't help it, but if Franken's accuser had been a liberal I'd give her more credence. Stone's involvement just cements that for me.