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

[Simon C. Ion]

On 06/14/2016 03:57 PM, Hep Svadja wrote:
> Why are we focusing on this one account to the exclusion of all the other
> accounts?

Brian Henderson's opinion on Bähring's statement seemed to me to be
*dramatically* uncharitable and -perhaps- colored by mind-killing
properties of the larger situation that it's a part of.

> Can we not waste any more time pushing this singular
> account as some sort of "get out of all your other sexual assaults free"
> card?

Where did you get the impression that I was "pushing" anything, let
alone declaring *anything* a "Get out of X free card"?

My comments have been deliberately restricted to journalistic
fact-checking, Bähring's statement and Henderson's opinion on the
statement. Beyond suggesting that journalists should perform the basic
fact-checking that they should do with *every* story that crosses their
desk, I have *very* deliberately avoided speaking about any of the other
accounts. I thought that I had made it clear that my position on
Henderson's opinion was that if we removed the mind-killing aspects of
the situation (for instance, say it was damaging and inaccurate
reporting of a banal-but-significant female-on-female abuse of power
story *without* any sexual misconduct aspects) then his opinion on the
last two paragraphs of Bähring's statement would be *significantly* more
charitable and more in line with what I mentioned in my June 14th message.

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I'm a strong believer in the
discourse-enhancing power of being able to talk calmly and rationally
about disturbing and horrible situations. I also strongly believe that
discussion is improved when those who converse are permitted (or even
encouraged) to tell their conversation partner when the partner's
argument is fallacious, not supported by the facts of the situation, or
seems to otherwise be founded on seriously shaky ground.

Tangentially related to all that: unless you have *strong* reason to
suspect otherwise, a person's lack of vocal condemnation of a thing
doesn't imply support for that thing. :)


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