Leftists may be loud about calling out the abusers in the Epstein files, but leftist culture isn't ready or willing to divest from patriarchal structures.
Supporting and enabling predators is the norm.
Leftists fail to hold their community members accountable, treat survivors as disposable, don't learn the tools for restorative justice or even understand what it is, and then act surprised when survivors turn to carceral systems to seek the barest shred of protection.
I'm less interested in seeing leftist men put famous predators on blast and more interested in seeing them unpack their internalized patriarchy.
(Zawn's "Deconstructing Masculinity" series is a great place to start: https://zawn.substack.com/s/deconstructing-masculinity)
I'm less interested in seeing leftist men call out the Trump administration for the cover-up and more interested in them seeing how they've contributed to pushing survivors out of their spaces.
What if we really, really took a hard look at how the culture of power, exploitation, and pedophilia is reflected in leftist spaces?
The leaders who date younger women they can "mold" (abuse more easily)? Who use the language of relationship anarchy to absolve themselves of care, connection, and mutual support? Who spout the importance of reproductive rights but pressure their partners into unwanted abortions?
What if we untangled the complex knots of abuser/enabler networks in leftist culture?
What if we divested from the celebrity cult mentality that keeps exploitative leftist men in positions of leadership, skimming resources that should go toward survivors and others facing oppression?
What if we didn't let these men get away with the superiority complex of distancing themselves from the "bad" men in the files... when they're doing the same things on smaller scales?
Misogyny and transphobia are everywhere in leftist culture. We don't value safe leftist spaces that center survivors. We fund and worship performative feminist men while giving lip service to Black women who can barely pay their bills—and who live with trauma most of us can't imagine.
I'd love it if men who are railing about the Epstein files took a week off social media to reflect on how they uphold patriarchy, and actually change.
But I won't hold my breath.
@nat I think that, for me, I knew that the Epstein Files were going to be triggering for me in like 2007 when I first heard about the idea.
And it is, and its very hard to deal with every day. You used a CW and I thank you for that.
But I also want to point out that in that sense it feels like a victory lap for them. There was all this juicy blackmail on them but we cant do anything about their vile crimes because they have power.
There is no real way to disambiguate how these people cannot be prosecuted from the fact that shitty dudes in leftist spaces cannot be impeached. It is, as the meme goes, the same picture. I am not going to try to explain to you that there exist ways to regain and defend your agency in those situations. You know better than most and I respect how you frame this.
But, again, its the same picture.
@Montaagge This, so much. The way the files and their horrors are disseminated with no thought to how it triggers survivors is appalling.
And I've personally been massively punished for speaking out against my abuser. The backlash against some of the people who have supported me has been even worse. It's a battle where feelings are winning over facts, and if I share the facts then it can be held against me in court. They want us exhausted and scared.
Nat
The Little Wars
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