Great analysis. It struck a chord with me, as I have worked my whole life where I was a mandated reporter. It is not a comfortable position to be in. This is 4especially true when a student comes to you and there is a suspicion of abuse. The law states that you are legally obligated to report. The reporting is not the difficult part is the knowledge of what the victim will face. Protective services that are stretched thin, lack of meaningful support. Victims should absolutely come forward. It should be incumbent on our legal system not to further victimize them. It also becomes our moral duty to not to ignore the message they are telling us
You've named the tension exactly: the law makes the reporting obligation clear...but...it says nothing about the burden of knowing what the victim faces afterward.
Stretched-thin protective services...and a legal process that too often re-victimizes the people it's meant to protect...THAT'S the gap between our moral duty...and our system's CAPACITY.
Thank you for spending a career on the right side of that uncomfortable line...and for saying plainly what so many mandated reporters feel but rarely voice.
I cannot imagine what happened to those victims, but I do know this. If someone did those awful things to me or to my family, I'd sure as hell want them to pay for the crime. And yes, I know that victims suffer all over again when they relive the abuse, but what about those who are still being abused? What if some of the earliest victims had spoken out? I don't know what the solution is, but I fear we will never see justice for them all.
Roberta...I think you've put words to what so many people feel...the anger on behalf of victims...the understanding of why they stay silent...and the haunting question of what earlier voices might have prevented.
Those things can all be true at once...and...that's what makes this so hard.
The only resolution I can see...is that the cost of speaking out has to come DOWN.
As long as coming forward means reliving the worst moments of your life...inside a system that offers little support...SILENCE will remain a rational choice...and abusers will KEEP counting on it.
You're right...that we may NEVER see justice for them all. But...making the path easier for the NEXT person who speaks...is absolutely something within our reach!
I can see an analogy to a widow with young children who has just lost a beloved husband. She's enmeshed in grief, but she recognizes that she has to provide comfort and care and love to the kids, even from a temporarily empty heart.
Margaret...that's a beautiful and aching analogy...and I think it captures something the piece was reaching for but didn't say half so well.
The widow doesn't stop being depleted...the grief is real...and it doesn't politely wait... and yet...the duty to the children does NOT pause for her to recover.
She acts from an empty heart... because the obligation is to THEM...not contingent on how full SHE feels.
That's EXACTLY the kind of responsibility the situation asks of us: NOT the easy kind that flows from having plenty to give...but the HARDER kind that holds...even when we're running on NOTHING.
And...there's a quiet grace in your version, too...the heart is "temporarily" empty.
Acting from duty when you're depleted...is often the VERY thing that lets the heart refill.
Jack, your analysis of this topic is even handed in it's discussion of responsibility for society and the individual.
I have a nuanced word choice that can empower the individuals who have crimes perpetrated on them.
Survivor.
The label of victim carries a paradigm of powerlessness. When it becomes the lens survivors are viewed through, agency becomes subordinate to the systemic processes
Peace, protection and privacy. Each of these require an embedded proven process in a system that supports the survivor to make empowered choices.
DJP...thank you...and I accept the distinction completely.
You've articulated something I should have been more careful with: yes..."victim" carries an embedded paradigm of powerlessness...and when that becomes the lens...the person's agency gets SUBORDINATED to the very processes...meant to HELP them.
"Survivor" keeps the agency where it belongs. Coming from someone who has lived it ...and...also ruled from the bench...that's a point I won't forget.
Your framing of peace...protection...and privacy as things that require PROVEN...embedded process... not goodwill...not discretion...but actual STRUCTURE...is the heart of the whole problem.
A system that depends on the RIGHT person being in the RIGHT chair... isn't a system; it's luck. Survivors deserve BETTER than luck.
I'm honored you'd share both your experience...and...your professional judgment here. It sharpens the conversation in a way I'm thankful for.
Jack this is an excellent article. There is a writer from New Mexico who had been reporting on the Zorro Ranch and she is now in hiding. She was going to leave the S for Mexico for the safety of her family and her dad who is a naturalized citizen. Doge deleted him from that status and stopped his social security and she has her dad in a memory unit for Alzheimers. She has no idea how to correct this and stay safe, She has his original papers but can't be i the public eye. There are also reports she was attacked like the Havana syndrome with some sort of sonic thing that left her unsteady. Her substack is The Pugilist by Alisa Valdes Rodriguez. Her writings corroborate the things about victims and the need for protection and truth to stop and make those accountable for their actions. Being a victim , yes there is repeated pain with having to relive it but if you can prevent it from happening soothers that is important. A lot of people say "just forget about it. It was a long time ago." but that only makes it worse because they act like you had a broken arm or some emergency surgery and you have healed. I do not believe you ever completely heal from abuse. You find a way to go forward and be stronger but it always there even in the darkest recesses.
Whoa. Jack. This afternoon I nearly changed my mind about leaving your articles until after I’ve read all the others. I’m very glad I didn’t.
I’ve been thinking back on the times in my younger life that I could’ve so very easily ended up in regrettable situations that presented no easy exit and through my sheer naivety led me down a very dark path. I was lucky. That’s all I can say about that, but it’s given an edge to my experience of this issue that I hadn’t considered to this depth before.
This is a “holy shit” moment for me. Yeesh.
Thanks for clawing it up from the depths.
May I suggest that you might consider doing this for a living? I think you have a gift.
When a piece pulls something up from a reader's OWN past...those moments that could have gone so differently...that's the most I can ever hope it does.
"Luck" is the word a LOT of survivors use...and the fact that you can name the thin margin...between where you landed...and where you MIGHT HAVE... is exactly the edge that makes this issue REAL...rather than abstract. I'm glad you came through it, and glad it gave you something new to sit with.
As for doing this for a living...you've made my whole day.
The truth is that readers like YOU...who bring their own hard-won perspective...and meet the work this openly...are what make it feel WORTH doing at all.
Jack, you have a unique gift of shining a light on every facet of a situation, bringing greater understanding, especially one like this which is multi-faceted. "Subtle form of diminishment" - yes, indeed. Understanding a situation is not the same as excusing it. Thank you!
Gretchen..thank you...that's especially kind...and you've zeroed in on the line that matters most to me: understanding a situation is not the same as excusing it.
That distinction is the WHOLE tightrope of writing about something this multi-faceted. It really is.
The moment we treat any attempt to UNDERSTAND...as a form of endorsement...we lose the ability to think clearly about hard things...and these things are too damn important not to think CLEARLY about.
I'm grateful you saw EXACTLY what the piece was trying to hold.
No matter how you report on this story, it's still a Travesty that these Victims, after All these years, haven't been Vindicated. The cover-up has been absolutely disgusting. Good article this morning ☕ and will reStack ASAP 💯👍
Once again, you present a well-reasoned analysis of this particular moral responsibility. Very compelling, and while this opened my mind more on the subject, I am at a loss for words.
Jack, I believe this is without a doubt one of the most thoughtful articles you’ve ever written.. and so important given all we face in today’s world.
I read carefully and didn’t find a single thing I disagreed with.. and believe me… I expected to when I started reading. I’ll admit I actually dreaded reading it but that was completely unfounded.
The victims have undoubtedly suffered beyond most people’s comprehension but there are still others to be considered.. unknown current victims.. future victims.. and victims no longer able to speak for themselves. They also deserve consideration.
I understand why this is so emotionally charged because the victims who have already come forward have done so at great risk to themselves and their loved ones… and have endured unimaginable pain. Understanding.. Care.. and Protection is paramount for those who choose to endure the pain and risk of coming forward with the information they possess.
As a side note.. I know you’ve taken a great deal of heat for this article.. I’ve seen it. Some of it coming from people who hadn’t even read the article, which I find absurd. I actually found myself wanting to defend you but realized that you didn’t need defending. You have my sincere respect and admiration for never backing away from an important topic because people might disagree with it. It’s one of the many reasons why I’m here.
Thank you for this, Jack. It gave me some new perspectives and a lot to think about.
Susan...thank you...this means more than I can easily say...especially because you told me you dreaded reading it.
That's exactly the reader I write these for: NOT the person already nodding along...but the one bracing to disagree...and willing to stay ANYWAY. That you came through it with new perspective...is the WHOLE point of the exercise.
You named the thing the piece was really about, too. The survivors who've come forward have done so at staggering personal cost...and... they deserve every ounce of understanding...care...and protection we can muster.
But...you're right that the circle is wider...the current victims we can't see...the future ones...and those who can no longer speak at all. Holding all of them in view...at once is what makes this so hard...and so NECESSARY.
As for the heat...thank you for wanting to defend me...even though...you're right that I don't need it.
Criticism from people who actually read the piece I welcome; that's the conversation worth having. One person who was giving me the most heat..and..who clearly had not read the article...and just wanted to attack...was an actual Epstein survivor. You probably also noticed...I wasn't taking her bullshit.
Surviving horrible things in life...as most of us have...only means we have survived horrible things. It is never...however...a ticket to be an asshole...and get a free pass.
The rest...comes with the territory. Readers like YOU...are precisely why the territory is worth standing on.
Jack, thank you and yes I followed that conversation and I noticed everything you mentioned. I truly wish she would read the article. If she did so with an open mind she might feel differently. Then again, maybe not.
You made reference to the PROTECTION that survivor would REQUIRE in order to be able to come forward. Given THE KNOWN track record of the abusers, this cannot just be casual protection. The witness protection programs are not administered by their friends. The murders mentioned in the files have been done in the dark. Every thug in the machine's employ would hunt their families. HOW can we protect them to the level required?
A few months back I was considering trying therapy. Never felt I needed it in my first 71 years but maybe I did then. Then Jack appeared on my Substack ! The way you share the problem and the rational thinking to deal with it, makes confusion easier to handle. Only appointment scheduled is with Dr. Jack Hopkins.
Good analysis and explanation. I’ve also long thought about the corollary piece. The perpetrator side. If we had but one high profile participant have a “come to Jesus” moment. Could be Clinton or Gates or whomever actually was involved and knows others who have as well. Someone who says, “I don’t want to die with this on my conscience”. This would be the 7-10 split, so to speak. Yes this could be wrapped in a plea deal. Or not. Just a thought!
However, there is the question if society is ready and willing to fulfill its obligation to protect the victims and do everything to limit traumatizing them further. How do we do that when the perpetrators comprise the most powerful and highly placed? Graves at Zorro ranch demonstrate the risk. We are asking an act of superhuman courage from people who have endured the unimaginable.
To me, an even bigger question is are we ready and able to offer the kind of protection and support they deserve.
Great analysis. It struck a chord with me, as I have worked my whole life where I was a mandated reporter. It is not a comfortable position to be in. This is 4especially true when a student comes to you and there is a suspicion of abuse. The law states that you are legally obligated to report. The reporting is not the difficult part is the knowledge of what the victim will face. Protective services that are stretched thin, lack of meaningful support. Victims should absolutely come forward. It should be incumbent on our legal system not to further victimize them. It also becomes our moral duty to not to ignore the message they are telling us
Kristine...this comment stayed with me.
You've named the tension exactly: the law makes the reporting obligation clear...but...it says nothing about the burden of knowing what the victim faces afterward.
Stretched-thin protective services...and a legal process that too often re-victimizes the people it's meant to protect...THAT'S the gap between our moral duty...and our system's CAPACITY.
Thank you for spending a career on the right side of that uncomfortable line...and for saying plainly what so many mandated reporters feel but rarely voice.
-Jack
I cannot imagine what happened to those victims, but I do know this. If someone did those awful things to me or to my family, I'd sure as hell want them to pay for the crime. And yes, I know that victims suffer all over again when they relive the abuse, but what about those who are still being abused? What if some of the earliest victims had spoken out? I don't know what the solution is, but I fear we will never see justice for them all.
Roberta...I think you've put words to what so many people feel...the anger on behalf of victims...the understanding of why they stay silent...and the haunting question of what earlier voices might have prevented.
Those things can all be true at once...and...that's what makes this so hard.
The only resolution I can see...is that the cost of speaking out has to come DOWN.
As long as coming forward means reliving the worst moments of your life...inside a system that offers little support...SILENCE will remain a rational choice...and abusers will KEEP counting on it.
You're right...that we may NEVER see justice for them all. But...making the path easier for the NEXT person who speaks...is absolutely something within our reach!
-Jack
I can see an analogy to a widow with young children who has just lost a beloved husband. She's enmeshed in grief, but she recognizes that she has to provide comfort and care and love to the kids, even from a temporarily empty heart.
Margaret...that's a beautiful and aching analogy...and I think it captures something the piece was reaching for but didn't say half so well.
The widow doesn't stop being depleted...the grief is real...and it doesn't politely wait... and yet...the duty to the children does NOT pause for her to recover.
She acts from an empty heart... because the obligation is to THEM...not contingent on how full SHE feels.
That's EXACTLY the kind of responsibility the situation asks of us: NOT the easy kind that flows from having plenty to give...but the HARDER kind that holds...even when we're running on NOTHING.
And...there's a quiet grace in your version, too...the heart is "temporarily" empty.
Acting from duty when you're depleted...is often the VERY thing that lets the heart refill.
Thank you for this; it's going to stay with me!
-Jack
Jack, your analysis of this topic is even handed in it's discussion of responsibility for society and the individual.
I have a nuanced word choice that can empower the individuals who have crimes perpetrated on them.
Survivor.
The label of victim carries a paradigm of powerlessness. When it becomes the lens survivors are viewed through, agency becomes subordinate to the systemic processes
Peace, protection and privacy. Each of these require an embedded proven process in a system that supports the survivor to make empowered choices.
I speak as a survivor and a retired Judge.
DJP...thank you...and I accept the distinction completely.
You've articulated something I should have been more careful with: yes..."victim" carries an embedded paradigm of powerlessness...and when that becomes the lens...the person's agency gets SUBORDINATED to the very processes...meant to HELP them.
"Survivor" keeps the agency where it belongs. Coming from someone who has lived it ...and...also ruled from the bench...that's a point I won't forget.
Your framing of peace...protection...and privacy as things that require PROVEN...embedded process... not goodwill...not discretion...but actual STRUCTURE...is the heart of the whole problem.
A system that depends on the RIGHT person being in the RIGHT chair... isn't a system; it's luck. Survivors deserve BETTER than luck.
I'm honored you'd share both your experience...and...your professional judgment here. It sharpens the conversation in a way I'm thankful for.
#HoldFast
-Jack
Jack this is an excellent article. There is a writer from New Mexico who had been reporting on the Zorro Ranch and she is now in hiding. She was going to leave the S for Mexico for the safety of her family and her dad who is a naturalized citizen. Doge deleted him from that status and stopped his social security and she has her dad in a memory unit for Alzheimers. She has no idea how to correct this and stay safe, She has his original papers but can't be i the public eye. There are also reports she was attacked like the Havana syndrome with some sort of sonic thing that left her unsteady. Her substack is The Pugilist by Alisa Valdes Rodriguez. Her writings corroborate the things about victims and the need for protection and truth to stop and make those accountable for their actions. Being a victim , yes there is repeated pain with having to relive it but if you can prevent it from happening soothers that is important. A lot of people say "just forget about it. It was a long time ago." but that only makes it worse because they act like you had a broken arm or some emergency surgery and you have healed. I do not believe you ever completely heal from abuse. You find a way to go forward and be stronger but it always there even in the darkest recesses.
#HOLDFASAT
Teri
Whoa. Jack. This afternoon I nearly changed my mind about leaving your articles until after I’ve read all the others. I’m very glad I didn’t.
I’ve been thinking back on the times in my younger life that I could’ve so very easily ended up in regrettable situations that presented no easy exit and through my sheer naivety led me down a very dark path. I was lucky. That’s all I can say about that, but it’s given an edge to my experience of this issue that I hadn’t considered to this depth before.
This is a “holy shit” moment for me. Yeesh.
Thanks for clawing it up from the depths.
May I suggest that you might consider doing this for a living? I think you have a gift.
#HoldFast
Rae...this comment got to me, so thank you.
When a piece pulls something up from a reader's OWN past...those moments that could have gone so differently...that's the most I can ever hope it does.
"Luck" is the word a LOT of survivors use...and the fact that you can name the thin margin...between where you landed...and where you MIGHT HAVE... is exactly the edge that makes this issue REAL...rather than abstract. I'm glad you came through it, and glad it gave you something new to sit with.
As for doing this for a living...you've made my whole day.
The truth is that readers like YOU...who bring their own hard-won perspective...and meet the work this openly...are what make it feel WORTH doing at all.
Thank you for not saving this one for later!
#HoldFast
-Jack
Jack, you have a unique gift of shining a light on every facet of a situation, bringing greater understanding, especially one like this which is multi-faceted. "Subtle form of diminishment" - yes, indeed. Understanding a situation is not the same as excusing it. Thank you!
Gretchen..thank you...that's especially kind...and you've zeroed in on the line that matters most to me: understanding a situation is not the same as excusing it.
That distinction is the WHOLE tightrope of writing about something this multi-faceted. It really is.
The moment we treat any attempt to UNDERSTAND...as a form of endorsement...we lose the ability to think clearly about hard things...and these things are too damn important not to think CLEARLY about.
I'm grateful you saw EXACTLY what the piece was trying to hold.
Thank you for reading so closely!
-Jack
Excellent post. Thank you.
Thank you, Karen. You're welcome.
-Jack
No matter how you report on this story, it's still a Travesty that these Victims, after All these years, haven't been Vindicated. The cover-up has been absolutely disgusting. Good article this morning ☕ and will reStack ASAP 💯👍
Once again, you present a well-reasoned analysis of this particular moral responsibility. Very compelling, and while this opened my mind more on the subject, I am at a loss for words.
Anna...thank you...and please don't worry about being at a loss for words.
Some subjects earn the silence; sitting with them honestly...is its OWN kind of response... often a more MEANINGFUL one than a quick reply.
That the piece opened your thinking a little further is EXACTLY what I hope for.
Grateful, as always...that you read with such care!
-Jack
Jack, I believe this is without a doubt one of the most thoughtful articles you’ve ever written.. and so important given all we face in today’s world.
I read carefully and didn’t find a single thing I disagreed with.. and believe me… I expected to when I started reading. I’ll admit I actually dreaded reading it but that was completely unfounded.
The victims have undoubtedly suffered beyond most people’s comprehension but there are still others to be considered.. unknown current victims.. future victims.. and victims no longer able to speak for themselves. They also deserve consideration.
I understand why this is so emotionally charged because the victims who have already come forward have done so at great risk to themselves and their loved ones… and have endured unimaginable pain. Understanding.. Care.. and Protection is paramount for those who choose to endure the pain and risk of coming forward with the information they possess.
As a side note.. I know you’ve taken a great deal of heat for this article.. I’ve seen it. Some of it coming from people who hadn’t even read the article, which I find absurd. I actually found myself wanting to defend you but realized that you didn’t need defending. You have my sincere respect and admiration for never backing away from an important topic because people might disagree with it. It’s one of the many reasons why I’m here.
Thank you for this, Jack. It gave me some new perspectives and a lot to think about.
#Holdfast
~Susan
Susan...thank you...this means more than I can easily say...especially because you told me you dreaded reading it.
That's exactly the reader I write these for: NOT the person already nodding along...but the one bracing to disagree...and willing to stay ANYWAY. That you came through it with new perspective...is the WHOLE point of the exercise.
You named the thing the piece was really about, too. The survivors who've come forward have done so at staggering personal cost...and... they deserve every ounce of understanding...care...and protection we can muster.
But...you're right that the circle is wider...the current victims we can't see...the future ones...and those who can no longer speak at all. Holding all of them in view...at once is what makes this so hard...and so NECESSARY.
As for the heat...thank you for wanting to defend me...even though...you're right that I don't need it.
Criticism from people who actually read the piece I welcome; that's the conversation worth having. One person who was giving me the most heat..and..who clearly had not read the article...and just wanted to attack...was an actual Epstein survivor. You probably also noticed...I wasn't taking her bullshit.
Surviving horrible things in life...as most of us have...only means we have survived horrible things. It is never...however...a ticket to be an asshole...and get a free pass.
The rest...comes with the territory. Readers like YOU...are precisely why the territory is worth standing on.
#HoldFast
-Jack
Jack, thank you and yes I followed that conversation and I noticed everything you mentioned. I truly wish she would read the article. If she did so with an open mind she might feel differently. Then again, maybe not.
You made reference to the PROTECTION that survivor would REQUIRE in order to be able to come forward. Given THE KNOWN track record of the abusers, this cannot just be casual protection. The witness protection programs are not administered by their friends. The murders mentioned in the files have been done in the dark. Every thug in the machine's employ would hunt their families. HOW can we protect them to the level required?
A few months back I was considering trying therapy. Never felt I needed it in my first 71 years but maybe I did then. Then Jack appeared on my Substack ! The way you share the problem and the rational thinking to deal with it, makes confusion easier to handle. Only appointment scheduled is with Dr. Jack Hopkins.
Good analysis and explanation. I’ve also long thought about the corollary piece. The perpetrator side. If we had but one high profile participant have a “come to Jesus” moment. Could be Clinton or Gates or whomever actually was involved and knows others who have as well. Someone who says, “I don’t want to die with this on my conscience”. This would be the 7-10 split, so to speak. Yes this could be wrapped in a plea deal. Or not. Just a thought!
An important topic in today's world. It aligns with "all evil needs to succeed is for good men to do nothing."
I agree with everything Jack says.
However, there is the question if society is ready and willing to fulfill its obligation to protect the victims and do everything to limit traumatizing them further. How do we do that when the perpetrators comprise the most powerful and highly placed? Graves at Zorro ranch demonstrate the risk. We are asking an act of superhuman courage from people who have endured the unimaginable.
To me, an even bigger question is are we ready and able to offer the kind of protection and support they deserve.