What's in the news?

[Oniya]

Every occasion, from New Year's Eve to 14 July to demos, attracts "casseurs". As their name indicates, they just… break things. Burn things. Trash shops and cafés. Hit people, sometimes. I'm reading the Figaro updates too. Some gilets jaunes managed to attack an airport and delay some flights from the tarmac. Others tried to target the unknown soldier grave. My friend posted that she can smell tear gas into her apartment.

Earlier posts have made me wonder if a certain English term is also used in France.  It didn't occur to me until people started translating 'gilets jaunes' into English, but is 'yellow jacket' also a term for a type of wasp/hornet over there?

[Tolvo]

I just don't find politely supporting death and murder to be really better than impolitely doing so. Also I don't think we should say the guy who claimed WMD's existed that didn't, based on nothing, so he could get us into a war, is exactly someone who didn't distort the truth. But in either case we might agree on the idea that just, please no more evil presidents. Can we get a good one please. Just some good people who are world leaders who don't commit atrocities. World is it too much to ask?

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ellievhall/celebrities-white-supremacists-video-app-cameo-anti-semitic?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc

Also here is a weird one, Neo Nazis are tricking celebrities into using White Supremacist dogwhistles in short videos for money that they then try to make go viral.

Also yep Yellow Jacket is one of those here.

[RedRose]

Earlier posts have made me wonder if a certain English term is also used in France.  It didn't occur to me until people started translating 'gilets jaunes' into English, but is 'yellow jacket' also a term for a type of wasp/hornet over there?

It may! But not that I know of…

Random destruction https://www.facebook.com/quoi2news/videos/vb.595384737156831/206842490191822/ Really? I feel so bad for people who have to go to work or just function in Paris, own a shop that got devastated... I am lucky that I live in a quiet area though the closest road block is in walking distance. I was just talking to a neighbour, she called Macron the fag (with a very bad word). Older woman. I was surprised but again the gilets jaunes made it all more possible.

[Tolvo]

RedRose I don't think you meant it in a bad way, and it also is a bit funny just that you phrased that the way you did. But Fag is also considered a very horrible slur for queer people. I normally wouldn't even use it to explain it(I usually say f slur, unless I feel I need to specifically point out what word I usually just say "R slur" or "[Letter] Slur").

[RedRose]

She really used the worst word. Like just as offensive, but also from an extremely vulgar root - not sure how to explain

[Tolvo]

Oh I don't doubt the word after the f slur was horrible. I can in my mind put some in there that I'd never say in any context myself.

[Shekinah]

Okay can be, but what if he would be homosexual, what has that to do with him being able to rule or not?
I can understand the people being outraged by the special taxed on fuel and such and that they want to protest against it and that they aren't happy with how he's governing things. But what has his sexuality to do with that?

[Tolvo]

Lots of people in every country around the world hate gay people and associate us with lack of morals, degeneracy, pedophilia, evil, etc, so they see it as a negative character mark and reason for someone to not have any power and for them to be in jail.

[Shekinah]

Lots of people in every country around the world hate gay people and associate us with lack of morals, degeneracy, pedophilia, evil, etc, so they see it as a negative character mark and reason for someone to not have any power and for them to be in jail.

and people who have pasts known for harassing women, corruption and such are fit to rule and make laws because they aren't gay?
fun world we live in.

[Oniya]

As I once phrased it to my mother, who was concerned about me going hiking with two gay guys (who weren't even in a relationship with each other):

'Mom, would you rather that I went out into the middle of the woods with two straight guys?'

[gaggedLouise]

Okay can be, but what if he would be homosexual, what has that to do with him being able to rule or not?
I can understand the people being outraged by the special taxed on fuel and such and that they want to protest against it and that they aren't happy with how he's governing things. But what has his sexuality to do with that?

It's just a way of rapping out that he's not a real man, while preserving the "dirty joke value". The scrawl about Macron on the yellow vest in the pic Rose posted said that the wearer was gonna fuck Macron in the butt, and to some people that's a code word for the one on the receiving end being not just gay, but (sexually and humanly) treated like a woman. I think most people here will get it.

[Tolvo]

It's just a way of rapping out that he's not a real man, while preserving the "dirty joke value". The scrawl about Macron on the yellow vest in the pic Rose posted said that the wearer was gonna fuck Macron in the butt, and to some people that's a code word for the one on the receiving end being not just gay, but (sexually and humanly) treated like a woman. I think most people here will get it.

Oh I didn't see it was that specific wording. Strangely that was even common in Ancient Rome and Greece. Where being the top in a male/male relationship was fine but being the bottom was considered shameful. So they'd use that specifically as an insult. It dates back pretty far in history.

[gaggedLouise]

Oh I didn't see it was that specific wording. Strangely that was even common in Ancient Rome and Greece. Where being the top in a male/male relationship was fine but being the bottom was considered shameful. So they'd use that specifically as an insult. It dates back pretty far in history.

Yeah, they don't see "being treated for a woman" at all like you and I do...

[Tolvo]

Yeah, they don't see "being treated for a woman" at all like you and I do...

I have so many ways to respond to this and very few of them are appropriate.

I also mostly have news about Trump but no one has posted in that threat recently so I can't post news without double posting. D:

[RedRose]

I didn't even notice the treated like a woman aspect of it. Yes. Neighbour used the gay slur for gay AND treated like a woman. Basically for them - Macron is not manly, plus babied by his wife who is much older, so they associate all this with degenerate, sneaky, reckless, spoiled… The fact that he is neither here nor there politically doesn't help! I don't think this is how you discuss politics 

[Sara Nilsson]

https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/12/01/pope-francis-homosexuality-gay-priests/

Pope Francis has been quoted as saying that “there is no place” in the clergy for gay people and that the issue of homosexuality “worries” him.

I never understood why so many ever thought he was on the LGBT side. He hasn't done anything to prove that. And people still think.. oh he is so progressive. Sure.. Yes once he embraced us in a way.. saying the church needs to be more welcoming but he never did waver from the idea that homosexuality is a sin. The few breadcrumbs he throws at the lgbt community always seem to be nothing more than that.. sure.. don't toss out the evil gays, take them to the shrink but dont throw them out.. hmm.. I guess it is a smaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall step forward but it isn't much more than a little stumble.

Yes I am well aware that the church is a huge monolithic institution that moves slowly if she ever moves at all. But dammit.. its frustrating to see and hear my lgbt friends who are stuck in religious households having to endure this shit. 

[Tolvo]

https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/02/21/pope-transgender-people-are-like-nuclear-weapons/

The Pope did compare trans people to the existence of nuclear bombs. And whenever he says something transphobic murders of trans people worldwide, especially in Brazil(The heavily Catholic murder capital of Trans people in the world), spike.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/paris-protests-assault-rifle-stolen-police-trade-union-fuel-price-rises-macron-france-a8662831.html

Also damn looks like some of the protesters stole an assault rifle from police.

[Sara Nilsson]

WARNING: ALL THE TRIGGER WARNINGS!!!!!!!!!!! Seriously if you are triggered do NOT read. Please please. And if the story upsets you PM is always open to someone who has been there (and still is)

sexual assault

CNN has been running a very VERY good series on rape, rape kits and how the police are failing abysmally in caring for the kits, doing the proper investigation. In some cases destroying the kits loong before the statue of limitation and in many many cases never testing them at all. This isn't really new to those of us who are survivors but I think this story really explains it well to someone who isn't a survivor. Please again, it can be really upsetting to read so.. heads up and all that.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/29/health/destroyed-rape-kits-takeaways-invs/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2018/11/investigates/police-destroyed-rapekits/index.html This vid really explains the shit a survivor has to go through in the immediate aftermath. Also leads to some good links that are worth exploring.

The story about the police follow up was basically "get in touch with us in 10 days or we drop the investigation" really hit me. That is what you do with fender benders, how is someone who is seriously traumatized expected to function that well? I didn't even open any of my mail for a month after my attack, I just sat in my dark room, playing WoW and EVE online constantly to hide from the world. Many an innocent highsec miner got suicide ganked that month. 

[Tolvo]

Sexual Assault Stuff Below

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

Sadly even before then we have known, it especially came into public knowledge when a university wanted to do some tests with rape kits and discovered a lot of them were completely untested or checked by the police of those they were offered, the cops basically went "Sure you can have em, we don't use them for anything." And then did lots of tests and actually found out who a lot of the rapists were and that there were serial rapists in certain cases who shared the same rapist.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-the-us-ended-up-with-400000-untested-rape-kits

https://www.newsweek.com/rape-kit-untested-sexual-assault-serial-rapist-detroit-prosecutor-nation-752440

I'm a survivor so it really doesn't surprise me yeah. I've been used to this for a while. I still have to see the people who do it at family parties and live with one of them. It's the depressing reality of how our society treats victims.

[Tolvo]

https://www.facebook.com/notes/neil-degrasse-tyson/on-being-accused/10156870826326613/

So Neil Degrasse Tyson released his side of the events and allegations. Normally I don't link something of an alleged rapist, but I do in this case because honestly his own words seem super damning of himself. I was unsure but wary and wanted an investigation and support for the accusers, but this is written by a man who sounds like a sexual predator in his own words.

[Icelandic]

https://www.facebook.com/notes/neil-degrasse-tyson/on-being-accused/10156870826326613/

So Neil Degrasse Tyson released his side of the events and allegations. Normally I don't link something of an alleged rapist, but I do in this case because honestly his own words seem super damning of himself. I was unsure but wary and wanted an investigation and support for the accusers, but this is written by a man who sounds like a sexual predator in his own words.

I'll admit that I only skimmed through this article, (I just woke up...), but it sounds like he is only confessing to the 2009 incident? (Which is very creepy to be sure.)

Is there any other point I am missing? Because aside from the admittedly creepy 2009 incident, I'm not seeing much that is him damning himself.

[TheGlyphstone]

It isnt a confession, but it does give some immensely creepy vibes and hits a number of red flags seen in previous similar cases, to the point where I read it and thought 'Neil, you arent selling your case real well here'. A more thorough analysis will have to wait until Im not on my phone.

[Tolvo]

Yup. With him trying to paint his accusers as crazy and believing in magic and pseudoscience(Something he spends a lot of time trying to debunk) and how he'd been recording all of the actions of one and talking about how he just accidentally groped another, and for some reason talking about his own magic(Why did he talk about that handshake the Native Elders taught him?) it does not sound good. A lot of red flags for someone who doesn't understand consent or boundaries in the most generous of readings. There are a lot of people still believing he did nothing wrong but even a lot of people who wanted to support him I saw going "Yikes Neil" after reading his side. If he is innocent someone needs to immediately talk with him about this shit because if he doesn't understand it this much he will seriously or has seriously hurt people even out of ignorance. If he does understand it that's even worse and shows a frightening level of malice and desire for power over others he can prey on.

[Icelandic]

It isnt a confession, but it does give some immensely creepy vibes and hits a number of red flags seen in previous similar cases, to the point where I read it and thought 'Neil, you arent selling your case real well here'. A more thorough analysis will have to wait until Im not on my phone.

But gain, aside from the first accusation that he's talking about, I don't see any other real red flags. I could be missing something though, which is why I wanted examples.

[TheGlyphstone]

But gain, aside from the first accusation that he's talking about, I don't see any other real red flags. I could be missing something though, which is why I wanted examples.

Alrighty then:

So to start, there's the "two admissions, one denial". On its face, it's simply 'I was honest about these two, so I'm also being honest about the third one'. Which is a fair interpretation, but at the same time it also demonstrates a pattern of ignoring or being weirdly, almost cartoonishly unaware of boundaries. Like, Hollywood Negative Stereotype Autistic-grade unaware. Admittedly a light pink flag at best, but it's not a great way to start out your rebuttal.

The meat of the post is, of course, the 1980's accusation. The biggest red flag there is questioning why she waited so long to make the accusation, primarily because this has been thrown out repeatedly in similar situations such as the Kavanaugh hearings and the Cosby trial. It's implicitly or explicitly hinted that a true assault would have been reported immediately, completely ignoring the social and psychological factors that might push someone to stay silent. Again in itself not damning, but this being a standard-issue counter in the playbook of alleged-rape defense is not good.

Secondly, it seems to bring the accuser's credibility into doubt by detailing her apparent interest in New Age pseudo-science, contrasted against his own reputation as an educated scientist. This makes his earlier comments about a special handshake taught to him by a Native shaman seem rather out of place in retrospect. Combined with the mention of her getting pregnant and dropping out of school, it comes across as irrelevant at best, and at worst an effort to undermine her moral character.

All in all, nothing is outright damning. But it's at best exceedingly tone deaf, like he's never heard about Wienstein or Cosby or other recent celebrity accusations. He has every right to defend himself in the court of public opinion while the investigation is underway, but he could certainly do a better job at it.