thomasjpr
Coach Pāṇini ®This part.
The Zen LadySo true. As a survivor of child sexual abuse, I learned in counseling that 3 of 5 girls have been abused by age 18 and 4 out of 7 boys. Sexual abuse is epidemic in the USA
F3715H@thezenlady @dianea @paninid not just in the USA, it's a global phenomenon.
#CSA is just being scientifically studied in the USA and EU in terms of prevalence.
@thezenlady @dianea @paninid precisely that.
- Previously victims were either gaslit or otherwise silenced.
- Previously victims were either gaslit or otherwise silenced.
Pete the Gopher Keeper@F3715H @thezenlady @dianea @paninid It looks like it's not only global but it's been organised by an incredibly powerful network of wealthy, prominent people. What I find so shocking is the sheer scale of it and how the very people we'd expect to bring perpetrators to justice might well be involved. So, what to do? Shock and outrage is warranted, justified, but how can we move forward?
@GopherPete @thezenlady @dianea @paninid do it like #France and actually #investigate the #EpsteinConnection!
And the Brits are also investigating. Only the US is not because it is currently controlled by the "pedophile in chief"
@thezenlady @F3715H @dianea @paninid it seems the French have now raided Epstein's Paris office/apartment and have found a lot of relevant stuff. I wonder if they'll release pictures/files?
That's great!
At least I trust the french not to destroy the evidence
Dan V Peterson@paninid Love this. What is this from?
Miakoda 
valsombraI was groomed online during my early teens by a man who was in his late 50s. He was 58, I was 12.
I struggled with identity from a young age; he inserted himself very neatly into my life, casting himself as a mentor figure who could help me 'figure things' out. The entanglement went on for years, until, I suppose, I outgrew his affection.
For me, the damage was emotional in nature; shame, guilt, love; a sort of weaponized attachment.
He worked for NASA; he was married, had several children. He was a well respected professional, who existed invisibly within his community. He coached and ref'd in a girls softball league (a fact that still bothers me to this day.)
I am sure I am not the only one he groomed; that his victims were both male and female. I am sure that others went through much worse than what I did. He never faced any sort of judgment or accountability.
Reading through some of the emails in the Epstein files--not even all of the police reports or tips, just what they said in their own words--what these men AND women did--how they laughed at their victims, treated them as disposable...
The only word to describe the rage I feel is 'divine.' It is increasingly obvious that the systems of power globally rewarded them for their evil; that their embrace of these evil impulses was not a byproduct of their status and power, but a prerequisite for it. Their hunger gave their masters leverage over them, which in turn gave their masters power and control over the rest of us.
The Epstein files are like a drumbeat in my head that I have to work very hard not to think about; which is all the more frustrating b\c I think it's something that EVERYONE should be thinking about and talking about constantly. The existence of these predators, the global reach of their network--the implications that has for how thoroughly our political parties and governments are compromised--are mind boggling.
Valéria@paninid @dianea Further thoughts .. I don't honestly know where to start with the "this bothers me immensely" scenario - that's an understatement obviously. As a boomer, I was brought up to believe that The Establishment, Queen and Country etc was honourable; yes, even MPs - otherwise how would they attain their privileged positions? But as you grow older, and more importantly, mass, near-instant communications arrived, The Establishment couldn't hide behind the facade of respectability, and we culminate in the Epstein Cesspit. I'm sure there are others too... As someone who's grown cynical over the years, you have to realise that my beliefs - nearly everything I was brought up to believe in - have been turned upside down, and there must be many, many others that feel the same. We're not victims in the same way that the real victims are, but the feeling of not knowing who to turn to, who to *trust* is deeply unsettling and bewildering. And just when you think it can't get worse, another turd surfaces 🤬