[Noisebridge-discuss] Fwd: Re: [tor-talk] Statement by a group of women regarding *Appelbaum*

[brianhenderson474 at yahoo.com]

There's a lot of talk trying to claim that this is a conspiracy against Jake.  A smear campaign, and that he's innocent.  That the accusers have remained largely anonymous, and their stories are clearly false.  That without "due process" and a conviction, the accusations are meaningless.
I want to address those claims to try and show why they are this way.
Firstly, the anonymity of many of the people accusing Jake of inappropriate behavior is fair, and an accepted right in our society.  Victims of sexual abuse are NOT expected to share their personal details, lives, and stories of being personally invaded on a public platform.  We do not tell rape victims to make a public case.Now, many "men's rights" groups will tell you that this is a flaw, one that allows women to "victimize" men with false accusations.  I'm not saying that people criticizing this anonymity are part of that movement, but the narratives in this context are similar.
Complaining about someone protecting their identity while sharing very personal details of an assault, often by someone they trusted and respected, is not acceptable.
Additionally, while people who have worked with Jake, and several of his friends have come forward to defend him, it's not evidence of lack of wrongdoing.  I would expect that most people who know him did not directly witness this behavior from him.  It'd be beyond shameful if every colleague and friend of him was aware of such inappropriate behavior and stayed silent.
But these claims are not also out of the blue.  Many of us who have known Jake for years are completely unsurprised by this.  I never sat around thinking that Jake was a sexual predator.  But many of his other personality traits are, in retrospect, completely in line with it.
Jake is a narcissist.  It's a joke to claim he hasn't long been after fame, spoke up his own skills, reputation and accomplishments, and been incredibly thin skinned to any suggestion to the contrary.  That last bit being the most alarming.  Any criticisms of him, especially untrue ones, were met with a vitriol that only those who have called Trump's hands tiny have known.But the true insults weren't far behind in their responses.  Personal attacks, threats, and widespread attempts to discredit and ostracize people who spoke ill of Jake were normal.
Jake is a pragmatist.  I've seen him speak extensively about personal rights, anonymity, anti-government, and so many other topics with pure absolutism.  I've seen him abandon most, if not all, of those absolute and so alleged ardent beliefs when it became inconvenient, or clashed with his personal desires.
Jake is hugely anti-police, anti-government.  For someone who once railed openly about the police, the court systems, there's a true irony here for anyone to insist that Jake must be put through that very system before we can protect ourselves from him.
Jake is a bully.  He will attack people personally, and relentlessly to get his way.  Shouting arguments at people until they give up, and rallying his friends to do the same.  Opposing Jake has long carried a huge burden of effort, and often targeted social exclusion that lasts long after the argument -- win or lose.
Jake reacts unproportionally.  Simple conversations or disagreements can end up escalated with no clear pace.  On rare occasion, to a physical level.  Entering into a discussion with Jake on what may seem like a benign topic can quickly turn into shouting -- often with Jake being the only one shouting.
Jake is passionate.  Often this is a compliment, and one I think even he'd embrace.  But combined with a the rest of his personality, it often creates an easy trigger point.


It's easy for me to see the accusations being made against Jake as 100% true.  Especially because of the people who have publicly come forward with stories and accounts, I know them.  I know that they aren't part of some crazy conspiracy.They're just people who, like me, were bullied by Jake.  I'm disappointed in myself for being silent in calling Jake out on his bullying.  I'm saddened to hear that he expressed similar behaviors while sexually assaulting or otherwise acting inappropriately with both women and men.
But if you have doubts, go read what the people who know him, but aren't today close to him say.  Step back and think about the people who have publicly spoken.  Think about the likelihood of Tor forcing him out, about his confirmed previous suspension.
This isn't a smear campaign.  It never was.  It's an epiphany for many of us, and not a good one.

One last thing, with regard to the one accusation against Jake that is being disputed on specifics, involving Jill Bähring.  I don't want to address her statement, or the specifics of the original accusation, as it's not my place.  But three witnesses came forward publicly.  They described what they saw, and Jill doesn't disagree with it -- merely their perceptions of whether it was consensual.  At best, this was an honest mistake, and their intervention that night was commendable, because they thought they saw wrong and acted to stop it.Accusing these three people of running a smear campaign is wrong.  Everyone who thinks they see something like this SHOULD STEP IN.  If you're wrong, you may suffer some momentary embarrassment.  If you're right, you just did something great.  An easy choice.
But this one account, which again, was backed up by three people publicly, is the ONLY accusation being made by a third party.  The rest are first hand accounts.  And I'm sorry Jill, but it's hugely inappropriate to "wonder" that victims are making up stories just because three good samaritans thought they saw someone being violated and intervened in a very tactful way -- especially when you yourself state that what they saw was true, just misinterpreted.
And with that, I close.  I'm keeping my own identity anonymous.  If you need to understand why, take a look how people who have identified themselves in these accusations are being victimized.

On Sat, Jun 11, 2016 at 11:17 AM, Cecilia Tanaka <cecilia.tanaka at gmail.com> wrote:
> Sorry, I can't resist more!  It's stronger than me!  :)
>
> Did you all read this statement?  :)
>
> Jill Bahring: I Was Not Assaulted by Jacob Appelbaum
>
> http://gizmodo.com/jill-bahring-i-was-not-assaulted-by-jacob-appelbaum-1781684838
>
> Quoting 'Mirimir', a voluntary collaborator of Tor Project:
>
> "I'd say that conspiracies among Tor Project employees and volunteers to
> force out and humiliate a key employee would be a serious matter, with
> obvious impact on Tor development.  So it's not just Jacob's behavior that
> must be reviewed.  It's also the behavior of the lynch mob.  And anyone who
> behaved dishonestly and/or recklessly in this matter needs to resign.
> There's no place in Tor Project for rapists.  But there's also no place
> there for lynch mobs."
>
> Tender kisses!  Sorry for my bad English!  :*
>
> Ceci
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: "Cecilia Tanaka" <cecilia.tanaka at gmail.com>
> Date: Jun 11, 2016 3:01 PM
> Subject: Re: [tor-talk] Statement by a group of women regarding *Appelbaum*
> To: <tor-talk at lists.torproject.org>
>
> Oh, it is so lovely!  The world is really small, as I said times before!  <3
>
> Joana Varon  (not Veron)  is a lovely friend of mine and we both work
> voluntarily in different groups for *women's empowerment* using technology
> in general.
>
> I am a bad lawyer and tell lots of bad jokes, but Joana is a famous
> researcher, famous for her intelligence and her work in the privacy area.
>
> I didn't know about this statement, because I am being harassed for several
> "friends" of mine and, just in case, I avoiding contact with everybody.  :P
>
> Now, my day is much more beautiful and I think I love her even more, haha!!
> ;)
>
> I bcc her in this message and  -  wow!  -  Jo, I do love you!  Thank you for
> being so fair and rational in all the moments.  You are an awesome
> professional and a gorgeous person.  Thank you for being, my dear!  :*
>
> Have a lovely weekend, shiny happy people!  <3
>
> Cecilia, la la la...  Yep, always "cecilying", Jo!  :D
>
> On Jun 11, 2016 2:26 PM, "carlo von lynX" <lynX at time.to.get.psyced.org>
> wrote:
>>
>> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Saturday 11th June 2016
>>
>> We, the undersigned, are a group of women who have been friends,
>> colleagues, co-workers or partners of Jacob "Jake" Appelbaum over many
>> years.
>>
>> We have decided that we must speak out due to the nature of this
>> coordinated and one-sided attack on his character and work. It has become
>> clear the mainstream media are unwilling to fact-check, and only too willing
>> to persist in spreading uncorroborated and unfalsifiable rumor. This
>> statement is to give our positive experiences with Jake from our first-hand,
>> long-term perspectives, over many public and private situations.
>>
>> We do not claim to know what happened in precise situations that we were
>> not present for, and we do not want to trivialise and minimise any pain that
>> may have been caused. But we are observing – beyond the allegations, that
>> are not for us to comment on specifically – an egregious character
>> assassination is being played out with numerous defamations online and
>> offline. This is not how the truth can be determined, or justice for anyone
>> done, whether law enforcement is to be trusted or not.
>>
>> We would like to state that our experiences with Jake are different than
>> what is often being portrayed. We know Jake to be a kind, loyal and
>> dedicated person. We do understand Jake can be outspoken and provocative
>> regarding a number of issues – which can come across as offensive – however,
>> we have never found Jake to be as is being alleged.
>>
>> We are not apologists for any genuine wrongdoing, and as women working in
>> this community we know that there are struggles around sexism. However,
>> simple punitivism is not how the human rights that we all defend should be
>> enforced or framed.
>>
>> We believe that an open and evidence-based discussion in this situation is
>> necessary to allow our community to develop better processes to handle any
>> allegations. Furiously targeting one person without allowing for proper fact
>> analysis will never solve the bigger structural problem that has been
>> highlighted. We should use this moment to grow and make things better, not
>> destroy the movement and create divisions. We need to create a channel for
>> discussions on how to make things better.
>>
>> We stand in solidarity with Jake against the way this is being handled and
>> on the side of justice for all, in hope the truth on all sides will be able
>> to come to light in a rational and constructive manner.
>>
>>
>> Renata Avila, Human Rights Lawyer
>> Susan Benn, Artist
>> Cathleen Berger, Policy Advisor
>> Geraldine de Bastion, Policy Expert
>> Annegret Falter, Political Scientist
>> Marie Gutbub, Journalist
>> Sarah Harrison, Journalist
>> Christy Lange, Writer
>> Isik Mater, Infosec Specialist
>> Angela Richter, Theatre Director
>> Felicity Ruby, PhD Candidate
>> Joana Veron, Lawyer
>>
>>
>> The initial signatories to this statement (named above) have opened an
>> email address to receive additional
>> signatories as well as any other constructive comments.
>>
>> Email: dueprocess at riseup.net
>> Key ID: 3D1CEF58
>> Key Fingerprint: 2A1D 7685 7AF0 ADD5 F3E5 D5B0 748C FAE0 3D1C EF58
>>
>>
>>
>> https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2858953/Statement-Appelbaum-11-06.pdf
>>
>> https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2858953/Statement-Appelbaum-11-06.txt
>> --
>> tor-talk mailing list - tor-talk at lists.torproject.org
>> To unsubscribe or change other settings go to
>> https://lists.torproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tor-talk
>
>
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