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
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.
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 💯👍
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!
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.
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.
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.
As I read this post a single statement stood out from the rest of it for me.. "if society expects victims to help make justice possible, society incurs obligations of its own."
Society, Governmental, Judicial have failed the survivors to this point. Not completely but still significantly. Hopefully these next months will yield progress towards correcting the imbalance of power that allowed this.
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
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.
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 💯👍
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!
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.
An important topic in today's world. It aligns with "all evil needs to succeed is for good men to do nothing."
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
Excellent post. Thank you.
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.
As I read this post a single statement stood out from the rest of it for me.. "if society expects victims to help make justice possible, society incurs obligations of its own."
Society, Governmental, Judicial have failed the survivors to this point. Not completely but still significantly. Hopefully these next months will yield progress towards correcting the imbalance of power that allowed this.