Megyn Kelly’s defence of Epstein is a new low for MAGA supporters
What I do know is this, Megyn Kelly, you are a traitor not only to your own gender, but to all victims of sexual assault, past, present, and future. To make matters worse, you’re a mother and a lawyer, so you know better on both fronts.
But to answer your question about the vagaries of age, I’ll leave it to actress Christina Ricci, who posted in response to Kelly’s comments: “There’s definitely a difference between a five-year-old and a 15-year-old. But that difference isn’t ‘whether sleeping with them makes you a pedophile.'”
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I listened to interviews with Epstein survivors and was startled to hear a still fragile voice refer to Epstein’s penis as “wee.” Throughout my working life, I have talked about domestic violence and youth issues and seen the reality of rape. I, too, was a lost and scared 16-year-old away from home, desperately looking for a sane adult he could trust. At that age you always think it’s your fault. So there’s something inherently wrong with you. It’s hard to shake.
Epstein’s victims were young and troubled girls. Her pimp, Ghislaine Maxwell, could smell their vulnerability when she procured them from the school gates like a hyena circling a pack. These victims – some are 14 years old They were abused at that time – they live with the trauma of what was done to them every day. No one can judge how they feel. There is no comparison for them.
Moreover, they see the comments and read the discussion. They hear that this is all a “Democrat hoax,” that Epstein is a nice guy who likes women from the “younger side,” that he’s a little creepy, but there’s nothing else to see here. If there is no perpetrator, where will the victims go?
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There is no moratorium on pain. Hear from Epstein victims this video Will you be released this week and tell me how their suffering is going? Look at photos of the victims at the age they were abused and tell them to be thankful it wasn’t as bad as it could have been.
To suggest that there is a category of victims who make light of rape is obscene, immoral, and devastating to victim survivors. Toning down, reframing or diminishing sexual abuse against women and girls allows misogyny to thrive. Megyn Kelly, with her pious and arrogant anger, has shown that she can call herself a journalist, but from now on I will call her what she really is: a disgrace and, worse, an enabler.
Wendy Squires is a writer and author.
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