Trumps Two-Face War on Survivors

      

You can easily 

judge the character

of a person by 

how he treats 

those who can do

nothing for him.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

When it comes to the issue of sexual assault and our current President's position on the issue, the comic book character Two-Face comes to mind. The Batman nemesis is deeply conflicted. But so that I don't offend too many comic book lovers I will just present the "Two-Face" metaphor in a different way. In reality, the saying gets pinned on a person who wants to have life both ways. Someone who is one way to some people and another way to others.
On the last week of August, someone brought to my attention that the White House website had dropped the sexual assault report from 2014. It was discovered by Alexandra Brodsky, a civil rights attorney and co-founder of anti-sexual violence organization KnowYourIX.

“I went looking for it because I’m working on briefing for a client who’s a survivor and was looking for some literature about the impact of sexual violence and that’s been a really helpful resource for that kind of research,” Brodsky told HuffPost. “But it was no longer on the White House website. It’s not anywhere on the White House website.”- Sexual Assault Report Drops From White House Site, Remains On Obama Archive

HuffPost updated their article to include where the report could be found for those who wanted to see it. The 2014 resource has been removed and placed on the Obama Archive website. But this action by the Trump administration doesn't help survivors and advocates to worry less about their rights. 

Donald Trump has used the word "rapist" as an attack tool to stir his base and give them cause to
follow to his agenda. No doubt as a former Democrat he has learned what issues can incense the public.

Central Park 5 standing trial for rape of jogger in New York

In 1989 Trump inserted himself into one of the most brutal sexual assaults of it's time. Five young teens had been arrested for the brutal beating and rape of a jogger in Central Park. Trump lit the match in the case later labeled: The Central Park Five. He took out a full page ad calling for the death penalty to be brought back, and expressing his hate for the young boys.

"You better believe that I hate the people that took this girl and raped her brutally; you better believe it and it's more than anger, its hatred and I want society to hate them."- Donald Trump.

In 2002 when the real perpetrator confessed to the crime and when his confession was backed up with

Full page ad Trump took out on accused boys.

DNA evidence, the young men (who had been convicted by coerced confessions) were exonerated. Trump's obsession for his idea of justice never wavered. In fact when the falsely accused men were compensated by the city of New York, Trump took to Twitter and wrote a full editorial in the Daily News, calling it a disgrace.

After Trump descends on a escalator in Trump Tower to announce his bid to run for the presidency, he again used "rape" as a tool to spur his campaign on by denouncing Mexicans as rapists, and calling for a wall to be built to stop the flow of illegal immigration into the US.

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.”
–Real estate mogul Donald Trump, presidential announcement speech, June 16, 2015

Inserting rape as a political tool seemed to be a way for him to build his base and rally voters. Trump would attack Hillary Clinton on her husband's involvement with Monica Lewinski, and digging up Bill Clinton's past with other women after he himself had been accused by other women of rape, and had been caught on audio tape making a rape-joke confession. Trump held a press conference with 4 women who would also be invited to one of the debates sitting front row to stare Hillary down, and throw her off her game. -Trump appears with Bill Clinton accusers before debate. CNN Politics

Trump supporters disrupt a Clinton Rally with shouts of "Rapist"

At the same time, Trump operatives including Alex Jones, Breitbart News, and Fox News, were stirring the pot with accusations of the Clinton's running a sex trafficking ring beneath a pizza place. It was a lie that some die-hard Trump followers would continue to tweet about even after the scandal was debunked. Others would interrupt Hillary rallies by shouting "Bill Clinton is a rapist," at the top of their lungs. They were taking a cue from candidate Trump, and using a social issue against those who questioned his behavior. Many of us who firmly believe that sexual assault should never be used as a political tool, watched in dismay, as the truth about this issue became over shadowed by those who were in the fight for a political win at any cost. After Trump won the presidency, not another word was spoken about the issue of sexual assault from him unless it was to double down on fears of immigration.

Since President Donald Trump took office, Title IX — the federal civil rights law that prevents sex and gender discrimination in education, has come under scrutiny. Betsy DeVos, who has donated to groups that are dismissive of sexual assault survivors, comes off as though she's trying to fix the problems with the landmark law, but her willingness to meet with anti Title IX advocates seems to give an impression that the Trump administration will do a quiet dismantling of this law on college campuses. A tell-tale sign is DeVos's unhappiness with the Title IX under the Obama presidency has been her  appointment of Candice Jackson. Jackson has pulled no punches about her feelings on sexual assault, and has been privately expressing her intent to begin a process that could potentially end a 2011 directive that lays out the Title IX guidelines that Universities must follow when a student reports a sexual assault. Just recently DeVos proclaimed with a lot of gas lighting. "If everything is sexual harassment, then nothing is."

Trump has also come out denouncing women who accused the late Roger Ailes of sexual harassment in the workplace.

"I can tell you that some of the women that are complaining, I know how much he's helped them. And even recently," the Republican presidential nominee told Meet the Press host Chuck Todd. "And when they write books that are fairly recently released, and they say wonderful things about him. And now all of a sudden they're saying these horrible things about him. -- It's very sad. Because he's a very good person. I've always found him to be just a very, very good person. And by the way, a very, very talented person. Look what he's done. So I feel very badly."- 

 Donald Trump (with actress Arianne Zucker .

You can probably discover something about a person's character when you see who he is willing to defend. Protecting rape victims is not on Trump's agenda, as he feigned back in 1989. But the personality of this president seems to be one that exploits a person's outrage or fear of rape, as well as excusing his own behavior.
On this issue of sexual assault, (Like a few others) Trump has been on both sides of it. He has been both angry, and dismissive. He is ready to send down fire from the sky against those he hates on the subject, but then defend his own actions when he's caught on a hot mic as "Locker room talk. Two-faced people usually can't be trusted to tell the truth. And their sole agenda is do whatever they want to, while placing the place on others.

When someone shows you who they are the first time, believe them.- Maya Angelou

Special Thanks to:

Sue Vargo @Suvee85 on Twitter for the article :White House quietly removes sexual assault report  from website

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Injustice Backlash On Rape

Injustice Backlash On Rape

After every atrocity one can expect

to hear the same predictable apologies:
It never happened; the victim lies;
The victim exaggerates;
The victim brought it upon herself;
And in any case, its time to
forget the past and move on.

The more powerful the perpetrator,
the greater is his prerogative to name and
define reality, and the more completely
His arguments prevail.

Judith Lewis Herman from her book
"Trauma and Recovery"

It seems it doesn't matter if you lie or speak the truth, as long as you win. The Narcissist will never give into the fact that he or she is wrong. When something bad happens to them, or justice demands punishment at any level, there is no remorse or contrition. They don't change and don't regret. He is a good actor capable of convincing you that his or her view of life is the right one. The person who is allowed to do the most damage without being accountable for their actions feels empowered by society either by his or her exceptional looks, personality, financial influence or circle of friends. They're often shocked when they run into a wall of resistance and someone says "no" to them.

Title IX is a gender equity law guaranteeing a student has the right to an education free of discrimination. Victims of sexual assault unearthed this law going back to 1972, and petitioned the Department of Education. Some of you might be surprised that this bill was signed into law by none other than Richard M. Nixon. (Who would have guessed?) While most didn't pay attention to this law, the backlog of rape victims having their rights ignored and complaints of sexual assault was staggering on many major campuses through the decades. But most college deans and University boards, were fat and happy as long as the money kept coming in. "After all, our image is easier to protect than the real problem."   The Obama Administration discovered many Universities were not in compliance with the law. Most of these universities were forced to take sexual assault seriously, or face losing funding.

Now compliance to the law began to be a slow game changer. A guilty person could take his punishment and leave school, (and be thankful no criminal charges have been pressed), but the stubborn narcissist refuses to accept reality. "They can't do that to me!" He tells his friends, "It's not fair!" Apparently male rights activists and misogynists have found an Achilles heel in the narrative. Some are aligning themselves with those 1 to 8 percent who have been wrongly accused.  The mockery of gender equality from extremist men’s rights activists, including the National Coalition for Men has elevated their agenda into a voice that doesn't want true justice. They want "winning" on the platform of "unfairness to my gender." 

Rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment is personal. It affects the individual. Many students sexually assaulted on or off campus are looking for a safer environment, not revenge. They have every right to get an education free of the fear of running into their attacker or being harassed and bullied by the attacker's friends. That is a reality. But the narrative from the guilty or their peer group is:

• It was consensual

  

  Peer group victim blaming of sexual assault

• She's lying
• She wants to ruin someone
• He's a good guy and would never do that 
• The bitch needs to get over it
• Just another feminist who hates men

Being a politician doesn't mean you must be political. Also the President is suppose to be President of everyone. Betsy DeVos was appointed by President Donald Trump to head up the Department of Education, but does not have a background or degree in education. And Ms. DeVos seems to believe the best solution to this dilemma is to give time out to both sides. This fairness approach works well when dealing with children who have a verbal disagreement on the playground. It minimizes the issue and restores peace. You give them a cookie and tell them to play nice. The real gut fear from most survivors and advocates is that Betsy DeVos has a political agenda which runs against the policies set up by the previous President.  She told a group of reporters:

Betsy DeVos United States Secretary of Education

“No student should feel like there isn’t a way to seek justice, and no student should feel that the scales are tipped against him or her,” she told reporters Thursday afternoon, following what she called an “emotionally draining” series of meetings with college administrators, survivors of assault and students who said they were falsely accused and wrongly disciplined."- - Washington Post July 13, 2017

Misplaced empathy for someone who doesn't want to feel guilt, and does not want everyone to know about the shameful thing they've done seems to have found a sympathetic ear from Ms DeVos along with Candice Jackson her so-called Civl Rights chief.

"She told the New York Times that 90% of complaints “fall into the category of ‘we were both drunk,’ ‘we broke up, and six months later I found myself under a Title IX investigation because she just decided that our last sleeping together was not quite right.’” -LA Times July 17, 2017

Candice Jackson is Deputy Assistant Secretary  for Civil Rights 

 Ms. Jackson walked back her remarks, but then went on to comment through the filter of politics pointing at the previous administration. I'm sorry, but I can't un-hear your comments, or believe your agenda is not politically skewed.

I don't want to see anyone (as I'm sure any advocate or survivor,) become a victim of false accusations. It's just plain old wrong, and survivors can empathize with anyone regardless of gender when it comes to being falsely shamed and blamed. But the rights of survivors and future survivors cannot be placed at stake for the cause of misogynistic groups to score a win. Fairness is not the stick where Ms DeVos needs to affect change. No one who is guilty of wrong doing wants to face any justice or punishment. But there is an idea developing in America that says I don't need to be right, all I need to do is beat the other person.

"When top administration officials seek advice from misogynistic hate-groups that harass young rape survivors, parrot their lies in public statements and work to weaken the hard-won protections that student survivors rely on, it sends a clear message to America’s young people: Your safety does not matter to us. Your education does not matter. We never believed you." -Zoe Ridolfi-Starr NY Daily News Saturday, July 22, 2017

Holding meetings so some can feel better serves no purpose in the interest of Justice. Fairness is a principle which holds back the absolute truth for everyone.

Edward R Murrow Journalist Broadcaster 1908-1965

I simply cannot accept that there are, on every story, two equal and logical sides to an argument. -Edward R. Murrow.

THE INVISIBLE WARRIOR REPORT: Rape Busters! is out!
http://kevinrmcgil.blogspot.com/2017/07/rape-busters.html?spref=tw

Click here to check out My YouTube channel and the miscarriage of justice against rape victims.

Un-Happy Hour

Reading a book like Jon Krakauer's new book "Missoula" or watching a film like "The Hunting Ground," I'm reminded of the sad fact that many of the victims were attacked by someone they thought was a friend. This could have been someone they grew up with, a classmate, co-worker, or a nice person who ran with the same crowd. "I trusted them." "Always thought they'd look out for me," sadly someone would say, while reflecting the events. "They're the last one I would have figure to do something like this." This sort of behavior is becoming more pervasive in the military, on college campuses, or just in plain old society where an unsuspecting person figures he or she knows the crowd they're running with. And so they figure, if they get blackout drunk, their friends will close ranks around them protecting them from any "stranger danger." However sometimes an assumed protector can't seem to resist the opportunity to drop their moral compass and give into a darker side. Maybe it because they had their own private thoughts about this unconscious person; her drunken body and the music in the bar playing Rod Stewart's "Tonight's The Night" was a sign that the stars have aligned in their favor. Or maybe they hope porn culture is right, and that sex is something all women want once they get into it. Whatever the reason's are, the respect for him/her as a person has gone out the window. But then, hey, maybe she won't even know it happened.

ABC's 20/20 documents the story of mistrust and mistrial

On June 26, of this year, I sat glued to my seat watching another unbelievable college sexual assault story unfold on the ABC program 20/20.  The story was called "Reversal of Fortune"  and the title rang true on several levels. The jury, after finding two of the college football players at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, guilty of several counts of rape, their sentences were vacated because of the jury foreman who failed to disclose information about his past.
But it was the series of events leading up to the trial that left me with a big WTF in my head. Brandon Vandenberg had looks, charm, and the fortune to be recruited to Vanderbilt University's football program. A young coed met Vandenberg on a tour of the college and once he's officially enrolled, they begin to hit the hot spots around town including a place called

Brandon Vandenberg

the Tin Roof; a popular watering hole in Nashville. On one particular evening after a lot of hard drinking, the young woman with Vandenberg caught a cab back to the university. She was too inebriated to work the key to her dorm, so they get into the woman's Mercedes and he drives her back to his dorm room. As to what was going on in the mind of this 6'6" freshman recruit from Palm Desert, California, only he knows. To his credit, he didn't leave his female drinking date passed out in front of her doorstep that night, but when he brought her back to Gillette Hall on the campus, whatever his intentions were, soon escalated into a nightmare for her. Vandenberg alerts some of his football bros about the blackout date and they hustle her upstairs, unaware that the video surveillance of their operation will later be their undoing. The video footage shows Brandon and his posse dumping her out of the elevator at taking pictures of her lifeless body. They seemed amused at this situation.

Surveillance camera reveals Vandenberg
entering Gillette Hall with his passed out date

The drunk jock now seems to be more of a joker than a protector. As they lugged her in and out of room 213 and then in again, it was apparent this young lady's well being was the farthest thing from their minds. The "Bro culture" seems to be in full mode. It's a far cry from how the evening started with Brandon and this coed. They we're laughing, slamming down drinks and having a good time; but now through sheer stupidity to impress his team mates. this "would-be" all-star just flushed his career college career and reputation. The American Bro Culture is where alpha males throw out the rules of society. The filter comes off of their behavior as they drink hard, yell and scream demanding attention, objectify women, and even taking each other on, while hosing down the decks with their testosterone. You're either amused, impressed or intimidation by their riotous antics. So if Brandon Vandenberg was going to be one of the guys, he had to step up and put his passed-out date on the altar of their fun.

He is a walking scorched Earth policy. He takes what he wants to satisfy some hedonistic impulse and then he leaves her sobbing in a hallway with her friend on the other line. He wrings every moment of every drop of novelty. He is doing shots and never with a chaser, because moderation and restraint is for women and faggots and children. The only way to be a real man is to be a real man as ferociously as humanly possible. He goes all-in, he gets shredded and ripped and defines his life by aggression and competitions. He buys the hamburger that comes with two other hamburgers and a chicken cutlet on top of it. Why? Because it’s three hamburgers with a chicken cutlet on top of it. This American Bro: A Portrait of the Worst Guy Ever  by John Saward March 21, 2014

The victim wakes up the next morning in Brandon's dorm room, complete clueless of the goings-on of the previous night. After asking him what happen, he spins a story of taking care of her and keeping her safe at the expense of her puking all over the place. And of course she is embarrassed but grateful that he cared enough to make sure nothing happened to her. So score more points for Brandon on duplicity and deceit, because after all chivalry only exists on the Hallmark Channel, and she wouldn't find out the truth.
But this alleged victim does figure it out due to the fact that technology is not on the side of these gridiron party guys. One of the things that some guys can't resist is recording their exploits and downloading them. The college pantie raids of the earlier days have been replaced with selfies and cellphone videos to prove sexual prowess. You would think that they'd know better than to record the evidence of a crime. But to pass that up was too much for Vandenberg and his cohorts. The ABC 20/20 documentary reveals the brazen betrayal by Vandenberg, who is heard on the tape laughing and encouraging others to do things to his dead-drunk date. When the Metro Nashville police detectives come in, the players are attempting their own quarterback sneak of ditching the videos, deleting emails and pics, as well as other evidence which would come back to haunt them in court.

The Reversals aren't just Judaical ones.

Sadly the worse part of this situation is that the woman who thought Brandon was a great guy, found out otherwise. She defended his behavior to the police in several meetings until they showed her the videos with his voice cackling in the background. I can't imagine the shock and betrayal she must have felt in finding out the young man she went clubbing with made a decision to drag her back to his dorm room to be used as a sex toy for 3 other's amusement. This 20/20 program was called "Reversal of Fortune" because of the legal boomerang the case was handed, when they found that a juror failed to disclose important info about his past. But the title could also be applied to others as well. Brandon Vandenberg was a prize athlete from Vanderbilt's recruiting class; had fame and sports stardom within his reach. He never got to play one game. And for the young 21-year-old woman who thought maybe she found a prince charming, her reversal was obvious.
The final reversal could be for Vanderbilt College where this all took place, because with all of the security and students that were there that night, no one bothered to speak up for this victim and say this is not what our school is all about.

Preventing Unwanted Sexual AdvancesClick this PSA

Sources

ABC News.com "Reversal of Fortune" 

 You Tube- Who Will Help You 

Vice.com  This American Bro: A Portrait of the Worst Guy Ever  by John Saward March 21, 2014

The Campus Crisis

A Tearful attendee of the Columbia University's rally against rape looks on 

Some of the Faces in the HBO Vice documentary special "Campus Cover-up" tells it all. The hurt, the confusion, the deep disappointment in prominent schools such as Columbia University to fix the problem of campus rape. These are women and men who've had an interruption in their educational experience and campus life. They're victims of rape and a system of indifference on some of our major universities in America. But because they refuse to stay in the shadows and stay victims, some critics and victim blamers have marginalized the crime against them as "rape hysteria." The accusers have been pushed into the category of "feminist man-haters." They're  seen as young women who have nothing better to do with their time and energy but to make trouble for the universities and higher learning institutions by screeching out "rape!"
In truth these are bright young students who many of us, the public, have encouraged to go to college and get an education. We expect them to show up for classes, get good grades, be part of the spirit of the institution, and not be trouble makers. And when another student attacks them, don't say anything because sexual assaults are not important, the school's good name is. We are in the "Suck it up" day and age of our society. "If you get victimized, then you're a loser. Get over yourself." 

The most disheartening thing is when the administration either runs silent and deep on this issue, or when they go through the motions of a incompetent kangaroo court to settle the matter. Many times someone who is attacked will have to see their alleged attacker prancing around the campus, feeling safe because after all, it's my word against yours, and I've learned a new word; consensual.  

No handshake for Emma 

So perhaps part of the reason that Emma Sulkowicz began to "carry her weight" was to give many a creative bird's eye view of what it means to have rape be part of your life. No doubt when she began to carry her mattress from class to class and everywhere else, it didn't escape the gaze of anyone. It apparently pricked the conscience of many on campus, except perhaps the faculty, who when she carried her mattress across the platform mists the cheers and applauds, the Columbia University president, Lee Bollinger, turned away. It's iconic that the president would react in a way which perhaps spells out an attitude in about 40% of our colleges. When a rape occurs, apparently they look the other way. This problem has been shouted out by many victims who are just being dismissed with the feminist label, because after all its image and prestige which matters. Sexual assault complaints don't bring in money. So many institutions try to ignore the problem by just looking the other way.

But those who have joined the "deaf, dumb, and blind brigade" can't seem to get past the protest signs, bullhorns, the mattress carrying. or taped mouths. They don't see up close the person, who now struggles to keep focused in classes, or who runs into her or his assailant on campus, or left to go back to a dorm room, or area where the alleged crime took place. Rape in truth for the victim, is a horror movie that switches on any time or anywhere. Some outside the experience think it's like a skinned knee that heals with time. Still others have countered the issue with lunacy that makes

The Religious Zealot proclaims
"You deserve to be raped" 

the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and I want to puke at the same time. Dean Saxton, also known as Brother Dean Samuel, who preaches against wearing yoga pants and what he calls immodest, displayed signs around the University of Arizona pronouncing to women; they deserved to get raped. He seems to think the Bible backs him up on this issue as he wears his "virgin pride" shirt. His cultism message should be avoided at all cost while he seeks mental health.

As I watched the documentary "Cover-up," I saw people in pain like Elly, a student from the University of Arkansas who was raped by an athlete in her own dorm room. Elly apparently had to continue to live in that room even after the rape. She tearfully explained to reporter, Gianna Toboni, what it was like not to get help from those actually running the institution.

In HBO's Vice Campus Cover-up
Elly re accounts her attack

"He came in and made me do stuff I didn't want to do for an hour and a half.
He raped me in my own room--- like I can't even feel safe in here anymore
because it happened in here." - HBO's Vice Campus Cover-up June 6. 2015

Thankfully, Elly was able to move from that room to some place new. But only after her Mom's persistence through email's and phone calls. This might be evidence that colleges such as UA are not cooperating with the Title IX process. This is set up so that an alleged victim can received protection from being in the same class or dorm with the accused. And finally with her advocates help, this person was expelled from college life but not before he was pried from their cold administrative hands. Athletes are money makers for the schools.

Kirsten Gillibrand (NY-D)

  Schools are more concerned about their lawyers advice, or their insurers advice, or their PR specialists. That's not where their concern should be lying. They should be concerned with the well being of the students and their families who entrust their children to these institutions to educated them.- Kirsten Gillibrand  - HBO's Vice Campus Cover-up June 6. 2015 

I'm reminded of several things: A friend on Twitter expressed her deep concerns to me about her child going away to school. She knows about the climate on some of these college campuses. Of course, she's challenged with her own fears that come along with letting her child go away to school, only to have them compounded with the notion that her daughter could be a victim of sexual assault. The universities have a job to not worry about their reputation, but to do the best to invest in each student, a safe environment where learning is possible, and to correct any violations of campus life. The other thing is that any endorsement for a school should come from the graduates themselves.  No glossy pamphlets can cover up what a school is really about.

Special Thanks To:

Gianna Toboni and her crew

HBO

Bill Maher Productions

For bring this issue into our homes

Senator Claire McCaskill

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

For taking the fight to Capitol Hill

The Students and Advocates

of Universities everywhere.

We hear you loud and clear

Dedicated to my Twitter friend @LDRene and all parents
of college students.