Shari Vaidya - Q3 Blog 11 - Stop and Think!
Imagine this: it’s 2005, you are a sixteen-year-old girl living in Palm Beach, and to make some extra cash, you decide to become a masseuse for a rich old guy because your friend told you she made $240 in an hour doing this. Spoiler alert, this guy is Jefferey Epstein, and now you are forced to become a prostitute essentially for him and his other rich buddies. These pals include a former and future president, the Prince of England, and the former Prime Minister of Israel. You are forced to endure years of both sexual and psychological abuse at the hands of these men. To make things worse, when things finally come to light, people on the internet make jokes about the horrific abuse you went through. Some are even blaming you for what happened, while others are creating idiotic conspiracies to try to justify their president being in the files.
We are often told that our words have power, but does the majority of the human population understand that? I guess not, because within the past couple of weeks, I have seen a multitude of people try to claim that Epstein and his associates were followers of Satan.
I would like to come out and say that THIS IS ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE AT ALL. In fact, these people were religious in some way. I mean, for Christ’s sake (no pun intended), the man wanted to build a baby farm to create a super-race of humans; this is quite literally a page taken out of the Christian nationalist’s handbook.
But I think the take that angered me the most was that some Christians apparently believe that it is written in the files that Epstein did not prey on Christian children because they were protected by god? So these people are basically saying that these women deserved what happened to them because they were not Christian.
And to add the cherry on top, the people pedaling these conspiracies are conservatives, you know, the same people who claim that trans people are grooming their children? The same people who voted for an Epstein associate in the presidential election, thrice.
Yes, what happened to these victims is absolutely terrifying, and what's even worse is that there was no apparent motive. But why do we need to spread false information about the horrific actions that Epstein and associates did when we know it will just re-traumatize the victims? Whatever happened to thinking before you speak?
Hi Shari! From everything that has been released about Epstein and his heinous crimes, it’s genuinely unfathomable how people still try to defend the perpetrators. Besides not understanding their intentions, what I don’t understand the most is their refusal to acknowledge their wrongs. The evidence is right there! Yet people who defend Epstein and his compatriots seem relentless in pushing their viewpoint. This forced, feigned ignorance is a massive reason why so many issues in today’s world go unaddressed. It seems like these people do think before they speak, and these unfortunately are their genuine beliefs.
ReplyDeleteVictim blaming is also surprisingly prevalent in much of society, especially regarding sexual assault. The classic “it must have been what they were wearing” statement enrages me every time I see it around, yet people still try to find fault in the victims rather than blame the assaulters. It must be absolutely devastating for all these young girls (some even underage!) to see these people who support the very people assaulting them, further isolating these poor victims should be receiving support and comfort after such traumatic experiences. The world is cruel, but it seems to show no mercy for those who need it the most.
Hi, Shari. I absolutely hate the fact that the internet (social media platforms) have made a joke out of Epstein. Beside the multitude of jokes, I’ve even seen videos making glorifying edits of Epstein. Now, I am all for laughing and jokes, and while this is obvious satire (for most), I think it really does has have horrible repercussions. By making these types of jokes, you’re essentially a part of the reason people become desensitized to the actual horrors that Epstein committed.
ReplyDeleteThe whole Satan thing is cope too. I feel like people want to find some sort of scapegoat or conspiracy to validate their own beliefs while providing an explanation for Epstein’s actions. On the topic of Christianity, though, there is one horrifying email from the Epstein files: “[Redacted] said that she felt gods presence next to her while she was in bed.. she knows that Jesus watches over her. and helped save her life. Whoops” (!!!) (https://www.wionews.com/world/-jesus-watches-over-her-whoops-disturbing-epstein-files-email-mocking-young-victim-s-faith-goes-viral-1771055911141)
I wouldn’t consider myself a conspiracist, but I feel like it doesn’t get much clearer than this. I obviously won’t say all the other details that support allegations of murder and cannibalism here, but it’s truly monstrous to make a joke out of this man! And, to your point, I think the actual funny thing is that apparently imaginary furries are demanding litter boxes in imaginary high schools, and that definitely requires bills to prevent it, but the leader of the country being close friends with a pedophile and (allegedly) being one himself is a-ok.