tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1786573611032564530.post7235767420472954917..comments2024-03-28T23:26:50.395-07:00Comments on Dean from Australia: Delayed Devastation & The Abandonment Of #MeToo.DeanfromAustraliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12292995600982621329noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1786573611032564530.post-3234661731176054372018-10-01T18:59:43.944-07:002018-10-01T18:59:43.944-07:00Scott - Your point on the #MeToo movement is salie...Scott - Your point on the #MeToo movement is salient indeed. I don't like the direction it is heading in - despite the fact that it has done some good. A oft-mentioned comment to me from within the movement is that, "We don't care. We are going to tear them all down." That is dangerous and alarming. <br /><br />I really appreciate you sharing your experience here Scott. I salute you.DeanfromAustraliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12292995600982621329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1786573611032564530.post-23104366450033033852018-09-30T21:21:39.504-07:002018-09-30T21:21:39.504-07:00Dean,
I was raped in high school almost 37 years....Dean,<br /><br />I was raped in high school almost 37 years. It was 1982. I thought I was kind of straight. But I was also attracted to guys. I had never heard of the word "bisexual". I just knew I liked girls and guys. And things were going great. For a month. And then in the school bathroom he did something to me I told him I didn't want to try. But he was bigger than me and he took what he wanted, hurting me in so many ways possible. So this is what I did: I didn't go to a doctor. I didn't tell my parents or grandmother - this was 1982 and AIDS was what, a year old? I knew they wouldn't love me any more and maybe throw me out of the house.<br /><br />This is what I did do - I shut the hell down. I essentially killed half the bisexuality from my personality. I did have sex again - 20 years later with my wife, the first person I ever told and she was gentle to me. Eventually I did tell my parents about 6 years ago. They were shocked and couldn't understand why I never said a thing, but I couldn't explain.<br /><br />And I have crippling depression to this day. I tried killing myself at least a dozen times by the time I was 28. I cut. I burned with cigarettes. Then I covered all my scars with tattoos. When Christine Blaise-Ford came out with her story, it just got to me in a way nothing has in a dozen years. I just went wild with the cigarettes. Then my brother-in-law died and I had to be the strong one again.<br /><br />There is a huge problem with #MeToo, even with all the good it's done: it's flipped our justice system 180 degrees. You are now presumed guilty until proven innocent. I've signed off on a lot of my posts with the hashtag - see, with all me problems I'm still free and I'll tell anyone who wants to listen. But I don't hang out with the #MeToo people for the reason I mentioned. Dean, trust me, I know what you feel like, just that I was the one who silenced himself. What matters is that you've survived and you've thrived (I haven't written any books to speak of). See if you can find a support group or a therapist that specializes in sexual assault. You didn't ask for it and neither did I.Scott-Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12051163018243722707noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1786573611032564530.post-33132693326680733002018-09-28T01:41:04.405-07:002018-09-28T01:41:04.405-07:00Thank you Kirsty for your kind comment.
Yes, I a...Thank you Kirsty for your kind comment. <br /><br />Yes, I agree. We all have a duty to pursue the truth through due process and a dispassionate appraisal of the facts. <br /><br />As I said, I have come to accept I will likely never get absolution from my own experience but I hope that the parties in this situation get theirs. <br /><br />Right now, all I can see are people being utterly destroyed.DeanfromAustraliahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12292995600982621329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1786573611032564530.post-80521569322896635612018-09-28T00:21:00.897-07:002018-09-28T00:21:00.897-07:00Hey Dean thank you for sharing. I can't imagin...Hey Dean thank you for sharing. I can't imagine the guts it must have taken to speak out. I'm so sorry your story has been rejected. I don't understand. Maybe all we can hope for from this movement is that people stop and really think about the way they treat their fellow citizens. We all have the right to feel valued and respected. It's awful to hear how diminished you were by those who had a duty of care.Kirstyhttp://kirstydavisart.com.aunoreply@blogger.com