My dismay grows ever deeper when I hear the defenses of Al Franken. They all really boil down to the same thing - she did some kind of sex work, so she is not credible but even if it is true, a worthless woman like her should not be able to bring a valuable man like him down.
I have even seen grown adults saying that because she did nude modeling, she cannot feel emotional effects of sexual assault or sexual harassment – so she is exaggerating her claims of distress.
Even more boggling is the argument that this is a Republican hit job.
Sex workers get raped, sexually assaulted, and suffer all manner of
sexual abuses. Selling sex, or sexual fantasy does not relinquish your
right to consenting to sexual activity. It does not make you immune to
the effects of sexual violence and abuse.
Franken admitted to the incidents, and there are pictures of the incidents. If he says it happened, and there are pictures that it happened, her credibility should not be the issue but it is still.
Her credibility is so bad, her negative actually outweighs Franken's positive credibility? That no matter what she says, no matter how it is confirmed, the fact that she said it means it is not true?
Credibility, the likelihood that she is telling the truth, is not what it is about. Credibility is being used as a placeholder term for value.
Sexual chastity is so closely tied to a woman's value that if she dares to have a sexual identity or worse - use it to get money - she is considered fair game for abuse.
We can know she is honest and truthful but our society values her so little that no act is bad enough that a man should be punished for it.
The police and prosecutors actually have a term for it, NHI. NHI stands for No Humans Involved. It is an informal category of crimes which fall to the lowest priority and often are not investigated at all. NHI crimes include crimes against prostitutes, sex workers, drug addicts, drug dealers, and police informants.
While the term NHI may be falling out of use, the category still exists. Serial killers target prostitutes at such a high rate because no one cares to investigate.
As for hit being a hit job - he admitted to it. He did it. So the question is even if the Republicans brought her forward, how does that absolve him of his responsibility?
Franken admitted to the incidents, and there are pictures of the incidents. If he says it happened, and there are pictures that it happened, her credibility should not be the issue but it is still.
Her credibility is so bad, her negative actually outweighs Franken's positive credibility? That no matter what she says, no matter how it is confirmed, the fact that she said it means it is not true?
Credibility, the likelihood that she is telling the truth, is not what it is about. Credibility is being used as a placeholder term for value.
Sexual chastity is so closely tied to a woman's value that if she dares to have a sexual identity or worse - use it to get money - she is considered fair game for abuse.
We can know she is honest and truthful but our society values her so little that no act is bad enough that a man should be punished for it.
The police and prosecutors actually have a term for it, NHI. NHI stands for No Humans Involved. It is an informal category of crimes which fall to the lowest priority and often are not investigated at all. NHI crimes include crimes against prostitutes, sex workers, drug addicts, drug dealers, and police informants.
While the term NHI may be falling out of use, the category still exists. Serial killers target prostitutes at such a high rate because no one cares to investigate.
As for hit being a hit job - he admitted to it. He did it. So the question is even if the Republicans brought her forward, how does that absolve him of his responsibility?
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