From the November 25th "Iraq snapshot:"
Let's move over to the US. Does assault matter?
If you're Gloria Steinem, it clearly doesn't. Former CIA employee Gloria latched on to feminism but really never delivered anything but her own fame. Sondra Locke was promised help by Gloria, it did not emerge. Help would have required Gloria to challenge a man and she wasn't going to do that. From a podium, maybe. But face to face? When Gloria encountered a sadistic male, she didn't confront them, she slept with them. Henry Kissinger wasn't the only one. Was Gloria undermining the feminist movement because of the CIA? That's for her to answer -- and, let's be clear, she's never answered honestly since becoming a 'feminist.' She attacked and smeared The Red Stockings, she stole their work, but she never answered honestly. You can find many clips of Gloria talking about her work for the CIA on YOUTUBE -- and those are from before she became a 'feminist.'
What I do know -- and I know Gloria -- how well is now open to debate because for years I believed her non-response regarding her CIA ties -- is that Gloria destroyed the feminist movement. The Second Wave went from making demands and staging sit-ins to funding from questionable foundations while we did nothing. Gloria sold women out in 1976 at the DNC (HARPER'S has the report) and she was weak over and over. She couldn't see a better future, she could only see maintaining what already was. As Ellen Willis so infamously said of Gloria, a reformer can't lead a revolution.
And we see that over and over. Monica Lewinsky? Gloria covers for Bill Clinton. Multiple women come forward to talk about unwanted touching (and sniffing) from Joe Biden and Gloria's defending Joe. Tara Reade comes forward to speak of both harassment on the job and of an assault and Gloria goes into silent mode.
Now on this day, one thing being stressed is believe all victims.
I don't agree with that and I've never agreed with it. We all have brains, we should use them. If you don't believe a woman who came forward, you may have a good reason not to, you may not have a good reason but you're going by what you see. We need to use our brains.
There are women who've come forward that I don't believe. I believe Rose McGowan one hundred percent. I don't believe another actress who has come forward about Harvey because I know this actress slept her way into roles including with a friend of mine who is a woman. I mention that because the woman coming forward that I'm speaking of presents as straight and has pretended to be in relationships with men. The only men she's slept with have been producers and directors. And it was for film parts.
I'm making that call based on what I know about her. I could be wrong. That's always possible. But I am not tearing her down. I am not naming her and writing, "You slept with _____ for your role in ____ and then with _____ for your role in ____ and" or "You have publicly lied about ____ and ___" I'm not doing that and I won't do that.
I do call out EJ Carroll. The minute she said that rape was sexy, that was it for me. No, it's not sexy. Have you been raped or assaulted? Those of us who have know it's not sexy. She may have some fetish where she pretends to be raped and it gets her off but she's an adult who should be smart enough to grasp that, in that case, she finds pretending to be raped sexy, not rape.
If you're saying rape is sexy, I don't have any use for you and I'll call you out because it has been one huge barrier after another that we have faced in the US to getting rape recognized and to moving from rape culture. EJ's on her own.
But there are women that I do not believe. It's because of them, not because I'm defending the man accused.
I loved Bob Filner. When women came forward against him, I did not question the women. I did not say, "Hey, that's my friend!" I said I hoped the accusations weren't true but that I didn't know, that we needed to listen to the women. If ever I was going to have a blind spot, it was then. But we covered it here and never attacked the women (they were telling the truth).
With Tara Reade, I've been very clear that I find her highly credible and can think of no one who has come forward about a past event who has as much supporting evidence as she has. I believe her.
And I'm fine with those who don't if they're not slamming her.
Her credit history has nothing to do with her assault. What some former friend thinks of her doesn't have anything to do with the assault.
The actress I was speaking of who gave it out to everyone to get a job? She still could have been assaulted. I'm basing my opinion on what I know about her -- beyond just her sexual history but the first thing I did was call my friend and ask her what she thought since she had slept with the actress and given her a role. We don't believe her for a variety of reasons and we could be wrong.
People who spread lies about Tara? Why? Why are you attacking her?
If you look honestly at your attacks, you'll admit that you're too tied up in Joe Biden to be honest. That's why you're attacking her.
As for those 'feminists' who said they believed Tara but were voting for Joe? Those bitches I have a problem with. Don't call yourselves feminists. Second Wave feminism and Third Wave have worked way too hard to fight for survivors and see that they are able to make their claims in a public manner.
Phyllis Chesler is a Second Wave feminist. She thought Gloria Steinem and Robin Morgan were her friends. She thought that. But when she was raped by a friend of Gloria and Robin's, they went out of their way to silence her. If this is news to you, that's one more reason you should read her book A POLITICALLY INCORRECT FEMINIST: CREATING A MOVEMENT WITH BITCHES, LUNATICS, DYKES, PRODIGIES, WARRIORS, AND WONDER WOMEN.
There are many stories that women have not brought forward about Gloria. When I began questioning Gloria's CIA ties and lies, it was because someone brought it up to Ava and me in an e-mail to THE THIRD ESTATE SUNDAY REVIEW. I hadn't given it much thought. I knew Gloria's side of the story (which were lies, I now know) and Gloria was friend. I thought I knew her. But I can always be wrong -- I often am -- and when Bob Feldman raised the issue in an e-mail, I did take a look at it. And I do that when someone raises an issue. I started asking and women started responding differently. It was a topic that a number of us had closed ourselves off too. The wall was broken and now we've arrived at the point where Gloria's work for the CIA can be -- and was -- reported by THE NEW YORK TIMES resulting in a whiny e-mail from Gloria.
Gloria is not a leader. She's failed feminism. She has taken the spotlight away from too many other women and, honestly, she thought Betty Friedan was too old in her fifties and worked to shove Betty aside (let's be honest, that's what happened) but she's 86 and still won't retire. Remember how, in the 70s, she teamed up with African-American women? She'd speak with one to raise issues. Please note, she never teamed up with younger women. That's what she should have been doing in the 80s, highlighting younger women, pulling her spotlight over to note them. But she didn't do it.
And now this media appointed 'leader' can't speak up for women.
Tara is saying she was assaulted. If you believe her but voted for Joe Biden, I don't think you can honestly call yourself a feminist.
If you didn't believe her, you can call yourself a feminist. That was your call and we can all make the call to believe or not believe.
But knowing how difficult it has been for women to come forward about past abuse and how they have been treated when they do come forward, to say you believe a survivor of assault but you're going to vote for Joe? You're saying what Robin and Gloria were saying to Phyllis: You don't matter, your assault doesn't matter.
And that's what women have been told since the beginning of time. It's why we have a feminist movement and have needed one: You don't matter.
I don't see how you can say "I believe Tara but I voted for Joe" and not expect to be called a hypocrite and a whore. You've betrayed women.
(Again, if you didn't believe Tara, that's your right. I'm not saying every feminist who voted for Joe should cease using that term. I am saying that those who believed her and voted for Joe need to stop calling themselves feminists.)
You've made it so difficult for any woman to come forward.
And let me add that you may have voted for Joe and you didn't know what to think regarding Tara. That happens and it doesn't make you not a feminist. We're not experts on every issue and when Tara came forward, you may have had difficulty assessing her assertions -- especially since the corporte media worked so hard to kill her -- not just her story but to wipe her out of the public record.
Tara tells her story in LEFT OUT: WHEN THE TRUTH DOESN"T FIT IN. Richard Medherst did a great interview with her a few days ago.
60 MINUTES covered the story.
Excuse me, 60 MINUTES in Australia covered the story. In the US? Not a peep.
It sends a message. You don't matter. The man who assaulted you? We're going to protect him. He is more important than you are. We are sorry you were assaulted and harassed but there is what we say we believe in and there is what we actually do.
I'm not a great person or even a good person -- I don't pretend to be. But when society sends the message that my assault does not matter, I reject that. Even me, someone who is not rushing to claim any glory, defend myself.
I am a victim of assault. I am a survivor of assault. I am Tara Reade for all intent and purpose. I have been assaulted and I want that recognized. When it is ignored, when it is minimized, you are not practicing feminism. (Again, if you didn't believe Tara that's your right and you can not believe her and still be a feminist. I'm addressing women who stated they believe Tara and still voted for Joe.)
When you ignore me and my assault, you are saying that I deserved it and I should shut up because I don't matter.
I'm luckier than Tara. I was assaulted as a child by a non-family member who kidnapped from school. There wasn't any pushback on my claims. Because of my very young age, I didn't have to face charges of what I was wearing, claims of leading someone on, etc.
Not everyone is so lucky.
Now that y'all can't yell at me anymore for enabling Trump by saying so, I'm gonna go ahead and reiterate that I still believe Tara Reade
I agree. I believe Tara was assaulted by Joe Biden. I know she was assaulted by the media and the Democratic Party. The second assault is appalling and telling and we have a great deal of work to do in terms of creating spaces for survivors to tell their stories. But the push back you're seeing right now? It's what I said months ago. This isn't over. The media's attempts to bury this have not worked. This will haunt Joe Biden throughout the rest of his life and will always be attached to his legacy. It is not going away and the support for Tara is only going to build. I saw it happen before with Anita Hill. The men -- including Joe -- thought that they had silenced Anita. No. Women didn't stay silent. And younger women and younger men could see what the men of the Senate and the men of the media refused to see in real time. You can see the same with Juanita Broaddrick. It's been on a smaller scale but she is being believed. I believe her. (And, to be clear, I didn't believe or disbelieve her back in the 90s. I was out of the country when she came forward. I left because I overheard some remarks by Bill that I shouldn't have -- unrelated to assault -- and I was of the opinion, as was James Carville, that it could come up and I left the country to avoid it coming up.) She is someone whose story is still being told and will continue to be told. The same thing is taking place with Tara.
Joe has lost to history. He's one woman coming forward away from losing in the present(there are two I know of who are weighing coming forward).
If we valued women and girls, we wouldn't have to have an annual day to eradicate violence against them. But the treatment of Tara Reade this year reveals that we don't value women. We have a great deal of work to do. Bless the Fourth Wave because they're the ones who will carry on this battle.