Nonjudgment

I wrote recently about the two biggest chips on my shoulder, one of them being that when I describe challenges I've faced, people keep saying that I've had an easy life, I think because they see a straight white male in the United States. When I talk to people who have lost limbs or eyesight, which seem pretty significant losses, they don't talk that way. The ones who tell me I've had life easy never ask about my experiences, they just tell me what they must have been. I've long felt scared to share my experiences, since they box me in, but I'm going to explore these areas and stop accepting their checkmating me. I have had an easier life than most people on Earth.…

Finally, a media piece treated Ghislaine Maxwell as a full human, not just a sidekick to a man. I'm following up my post Why don't the media and courts treat Ghislaine Maxwell like an independent woman with agency?. The new piece is in The Conversation: Ghislaine Maxwell guilty in Epstein sex trafficking trial: What the case revealed about female sex offenders. I know people like to put some people on pedestals and consider others toxic, but some people research what happens and find what happens can differ from people's stereotypes. This peer reviewed article shows relevant results, Uncovering Female Child Sexual Offenders—Needs and Challenges for Practice and Research: Estimates of the proportion of sexual abuse committed by women range from 1% when based on conviction…

I didn't know if I wanted to write about a tawdry subject, but I keep seeing Maxwell treated as an accomplice only when she sounds like a willing participant doing horrible things herself. [EDIT: I wrote this piece a day or two ago, then put it in the trash folder, but the articles keep continuing the pattern: not treating Maxwell as a full human. The timing may be off relative to the publish date and I'll add a couple new examples at the end.] Nothing below implies Epstein himself was any less responsible or his actions any less traumatizing or disgusting. But do his actions remove responsibility for another person acting of her own choice? The New York Times wrote two days ago, "Prosecutors say…

I've posted about finding used syringes in Washington Square Park and Penn Station. Besides the syringes, I described my unexpected wincing at seeing someone inject in broad daylight. Today I sat in the park working on my computer in the area where people use openly. One woman sat on the bench I did, over six feet away, just on the other side of the metal arm rest, got out a crack pipe and smoked it. It's an open air drug den with no serious attempt to hide. People walked in, would ask to buy dope, bought it, and used it. They complained about losing bags or whatever. A couple police officers came by and spoke for a few minutes to one guy. I don't know…