Leslie Mac Profile picture
Sep 16, 2018 15 tweets 5 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
I see we've reached the "why didn't she tell an adult at the time" stage of the GOP response to #ChristineBlaseyFord - SIGH. Gather round & let's have a chat with some historical context to this convo.
I am 10 yrs younger than Ford & Kavanaugh - the first prominent study on the phenomenon called "Date Rape" was conducted in 1987... when I went to HS in the 90's "Date Rape" MOST people didn't consider it a true crime. #facts
Add to that the pure fact that sigmas & consequences of having BEEN raped are HORRIBLE NOW - they were down right unfathomable in the 80's & 90's. So no - a teenager that was just assaulted in a "date" scenario in the 80's would not have told an adult.
Now - let's talk about these "elite schools" - where adults routinely abused students with knowledge of staff and literally "Passed the Trash" around in the form of predatory teachers with no consequences for DECADES. bostonglobe.com/metro/2018/08/…
No really - it's happened at all of them, including the one I attended in the 90's. These elite schools are BREEDING grounds for powerful white men & women who learn to abuse power there - & yes lots of it happened while I was there timesunion.com/local/article/…
Kavanaugh's own school Georgetown Preparatory in MD - had it's own sex scandal where a priest/teacher was found guilty of fondling two students - he taught there from 1989-2003 - I just want to bring CONTEXT to this convo - washingtonpost.com/local/former-p…
And what is sadder still - all these dudes running to defend Kavanaugh KNOW what it was like in the 80's & 90's. They are fully aware of this because THEY benefitted from the ridiculously high bar that existed for something to be called rape.
So yes - I am EXTREMELY confident that in the 1980's/1990's if I had an encounter like #ChristineBlaseyFord had with Kavanaugh, I would not have reported it to anyone. I know because it did happen to me & I FOR SURE didn't admit that I was assaulted until years later.
For real - most men & boys TODAY don't understand consent and we've been talking about it openly for almost 20 years in this specific context. But you want to be skeptical b/c a teenager who wasn't penetrated in her assault didn't say something in the 80's? FOH.
I'm just typing these tweets shaking my head thinking back to my own state of mind during this period - how many times "what was she wearing" &"why did she let herself be along with him" ran through MY OWN head during that time? TOO MANY.
And let me be clear - not having the specific understanding of consent that exists today is NOT an excuse for assaulting someone at anytime. I KNOW for sure that at any time I knew what was happening was wrong, I just also knew I couldn't do anything about it.
The fact that the first time #ChristineBlaseyFord disclosed her assault was in couples therapy makes her VERY credible. SUPER common scenario for those of us that haven't disclosed our assaults. It gets in the way of a good relationship & as we seek to fix it - it all comes out.
Her timeline from assault to disclosure to public admission are lock & step with statistical data on the subject. nsvrc.org/sites/default/…
I was having a deep convo with some girlfriends recently and we were discussing how many of us counted an assault, trauma or non-consensual experience as our first sexual encounter (not even sex - just encounter). It was 80% of us.
TFW you wake up to see classmates of #ChristineBlaseyFord validating with this thread... “The women also say that what Ford is alleging “is all too consistent with stories we heard and lived while attending Holton. Many of us are survivors ourselves.”
m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_5b…

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More from @LeslieMac

Oct 7, 2018
I saw a quote this morning about how “things are not getting worse” - I’m not going to @ the person but I’ll be honest I’m offended. I’m all for positive thing but denying that things most def ARE getting worse is an insult.
We can’t fight effectively if we aren’t honest with ourselves & each other about the reality of what is happening & what is ahead of us. This is WORSE. That is HEALTHY & NORMAL to acknowledge.
This notion that we can “peace & love” our way to true revolution is ahistorical & terrible for our psychological health. It positions anger & rage as things we can’t & shouldn’t feel. It is HARMFUL.
Read 13 tweets
Sep 23, 2018
I am SICK to my stomach. This is white supremacy. This is fascism on the rise globally. independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…
And for those who do not know about the #WindrushGeneration - these were Black people from Caribbean nations (mostly from JA) who were INVITED by the British Gov't from 1948 - 1971 to help meet a labor shortage GB was having at the time.
GB 1971 Immigration Act gave all Commonwealth citizens who were already living in the UK the right to stay permanently. So what's going on now?? Well -as fascism is rising in the UK & "cracking down on immigrants" is not the order of the day...
Read 12 tweets
Sep 18, 2018
I’ve seen WAY too many white men talk about the so-called “slippery slope” of high school actions being held against people for 35 years. The entire criminal justice system is built on that act at its core. I’m tired.
One of my friends got married to the love of her life last month. He was jailed as a teen & because of his conviction they can’t adopt a child in the state they live in.
You know how many friends from my neighborhood were arrested for some weed in HS & now can’t vote among many other things... 30 yrs later? FOH.
Read 6 tweets
Sep 15, 2018
Insert side eye... so non-racist illustrations of Serena... they are PLENTIFUL. Lemme share a few
Current fave - which you can purchase a print of for just $20 - etsy.me/2ChjnRN
This one comes courtesy of @ColorOfChange #superheroSerena
Read 8 tweets
Sep 15, 2018
Today as I do every Sept 15th I honor the Fifth Little Girl & one of my sheroes Sarah Collins Rudolph - a civil rights icon & the sole survivor of the 9/15/63 Birmingham Church Bombing who has spent her life lifting up the memory of her sister Addie Mae & fighting for justice.
I know a lot of folks don’t know @SarahRudolp story - it’s something she has been working on telling for quite some time - al.com/news/birmingha…
She also has a book coming out later this year telling her truth - abc3340.com/news/local/boo…
Read 5 tweets
Sep 14, 2018
One of the strangest things about the hyper gentrification going on in #Flatbush RN is that while Caribbean ppl are being pushed out & priced out of their own neighborhood- there has also been this whole widespread “lifting up” of the culturally diverse nature of Flatbush.
I’ll visit home & hear my family and childhood friends tell me who was pushed out most recently & how it feels to suddenly be over-run by white people & their dogs (which they don’t pick up after BTW).
And then I’ll see an event hosted by the James Beard foundation touting #Flatbush as a “cultural & social hub for Caribbean artists, chefs, entrepreneurs & more”

This hyper-gentrification will lead to the destruction of the cultural & social hub they are so excited about.
Read 4 tweets

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