I am not going to start
harping on about how it’s not fair and how CSA victims/survivors deserve better, and
what a disgrace it all is. OK, maybe I am.
The truth is that I’ve been
put off blogging since the #paedobritain fallout. I’ve been tempted to take
down my blog, because I’m scared that personal information will be used against
me. I put it out there in the first place because it helps me, it’s an act of
defiance. But I’m asking myself what the cost might be, and have decided to
stop blogging about my personal shit for the time being, until I’ve sussed
things out as much as is possible, until I decide properly what risks I’m
prepared to take. Although anything that could identify me has probably been
screenshot already. Hey-ho.
I was going to go down the
route of screen-shooting and proving stuff, and then I said to myself, no. Not
going there. Anyone who’s interested can go on Topsy and follow the trails. Sniffing
around Topsy is not a great way to spend your time, and I don’t like doing it,
because it runs contrary to the whole idea of Twitter in the first place, to
exchange ideas in the here and now. Personally I was so pissed off I couldn’t
leave it alone.
In terms of the people taking
part in the sorry saga, more of the actors on the one side appear to have links
to the Huffington post than would be statistically expected, which is
interesting.
A statistically significant
number of actors on the other side of the saga seem to be in it to discredit Stephen
Meesham (who may or may not merit it, I don’t know), the Waterhouse Enquiry,
and random CSA survivors and campaigners. That’s also interesting.
This is a selection of
methods I’ve seen used too good effects from several quarters:
Flattery and making someone a
“favoured friend” (unfortunately works very well on yours truly)
Making survivors feel
embarrased about “complaining” or “playing the victim” (also known as telling it like it is)
Encouraging tribalism (“our
side” against “their side”)
Suggesting that every enquiry
is worthless (agree most are cover-ups, but still contain valuable information)
Suggesting that all
resistance is useless, nothing will ever change (agree system is rotten, but I
won’t stop fighting within it and against it)
Continuing to include
people’s names in twitter convos even when they’ve unfollowed or blocked someone to
give impression of continued support
Continuing to quote people on blogs and on twitter when they’ve explicitly withdrawn their support for someone
Using patronising language
Using threathening language
or namecalling
Changing the subject instead
of answering straightforward questions
Twisting people’s words
Making mountains out of
molehills
I can’t help noticing also,
that whenever there’s a controversial case related to CSA, paedophile rings, ritual
abuse and murder cases, satanism etc., there are virulent “pro” and “anti”
groups on twitter and in the bloggosphere.
The “pro” and “anti” Meesham
lobbies remind me of the “pro” and “anti” McCann campaigns. I think at times
those who want to obscure the truth feed both sides of such campaigns, at the
same time discrediting and drowning out those who are not part of an “organised
effort”. Usefully, it’s often difficult to tell which is which. When people,
like me for example, are driven to point this out, we unwittingly play into the
hands of puppet-masters by helping to discredit lies and truths equally.
All it should mean when we
see these “pro” and “anti” campaings, I think, is that there’s a lot of vested
interest in hiding the truth. It should make us want to take a really good look
and use our own judgments, rather than be put off and run away.
I’d promised myself to stay
out of the “pro” and “anti” Meesham debacle, but I hate being taken for a ride.
I feel let down, and I know others do too, but perhaps we shouldn’t. It’s not
personal. I believe there are people driven by money, the desire for attention,
the need to protect their own murky pasts, or the desire to promote the agendas
of others, for reasons which can’t be fully understood at the moment.
In spite of everything I’ve
just said, we could just be looking at a bunch of self-promoters, riding rough-shod over the CSA agenda. I don’t think so anymore, but I could be wrong. I’ve been wrong about people before.
I will get over this, I’ll
stop taking it personally, I’ll re-saddle my horse and get back on. I’ve
learned a lot, and that can only be a good thing. I’ve even learned a new word
(sock-puppet) which always makes me laugh.
Twitter and the bloggosphere
is not so different from real life, i.e. notoriously difficult but not
impossible to navigate. It doesn’t matter if we get it wrong sometimes. It
doesn’t mean we’re naïve or stupid. It’s human to want to trust people and to
want them to take our sides.
We should be flattered that
so much effort is put into derailing us. We must be really powerful. We must be
really important.
Even sock-puppets and
attention seekers can be fun to talk to. I’m going to try to stop thinking that
they’re trying to steal my soul and just get on with it. I still think
#paedobritain was a great idea, no matter who came up with it and why.
Let’s keep talking!
