Neil Gaiman shouldn’t be treated like an extreme outlier. It’s not fame or following that enables men like Gaiman to act the way they do. It’s power. And power can be A-list celebrity status or it can be the head of any ordinary household or a leader in any local community.
Comments
"You were born a white man in mid 20th Century industrial society.
You came into the world armed to the teeth with an arsenal of weapons.
weapons of privilege,
sexual...,
racial privilege,
economic privilege.
...want to be a pacifist? ...give up the weapons of privilege..."
https://youtu.be/on8ANrX55ps
She was teeing these girls up
for him. Told him he “couldn’t have” one that she was having sex with. Like a game. She’s totally complicit.
She was told multiple times, by different people,that Gaiman has assaulted them.
I agree, she is not responsible for Gaiman's actions. 1/2
It is fair to bring up her actions and her failure to do anything becuase those responsibilities and actions absolutely helped Gamian.
It would be one thing if she didn't know but she did.
Thinking about it this way, the catholic church wouldn't have the scandal that it has if there wasn't a system in place that allows priests to assuly children.
https://gofund.me/c744955d
https://bsky.app/profile/kattenbarge.bsky.social/post/3lfpkea6wcc2y
As usual, they trounce a whole noble ideaology just because one bad apple supported it.
It makes me sick.
Their power is part of the problem.
Just like other power imbalance situations because power imbalance is a common aspect of abuse dynamics:
Parent/Child
Wife/Husband
Boss/Employee
Politician/Reporter
Celebrity/Fan
Billionaire/Everyone
So not more but definitely potentially more *often*
Non-famous people are exploiting the more vulnerable with less potential to overcome that vulnerability.
Or is it that this type of person will seek power so they can
I think of fame and following as amplifiers: they create many opportunities to act that way. Those with fame and following thus have an extra responsibility to *not* be a douchebag.
The key word in the above is 'enables'.
Abusive men don't become abusive 'because' they have power.
Abusive men *seek out* power in order to be *enabled* to abuse people without consequence.
(I am not diminishing what Gaiman is accused of, I'm addressing the fact that fans are feeling hurt by the news)
You dont need a real authority or relevance to justify the choice- crafting them is just an ego game, playing holier than thou in a rapist community. its simply chosen.
the mere illusion of control is all an evil person needs to choose it
I know B actors in tv shows that sleep with any fan they can.
It's the toxic culture of fandom and the desire for being close to "stardom"
How many groupies did Led Zeppelin ,Rolling stones ,Beatles etc sleep with?
How many were underage?
Pretty good insight on groupies and such
Are we going to pretend they didn't sleep with underage girls and boys ?
"it can be the head of any ordinary household or a leader in any local community."
Even if a male hasn’t done the assaulting, they know at least another person who has, and they have done and said nothing making them complicit in the crime.
That includes your favorite “not all men” male.
I think our plan was to take her to a relative, but honestly I didn't think it out too well.
"It is always dangerous when we make men powerful. Sexual assault, sexual control over women is one of the foundational ways to display you've finally become rich and powerful. people at the top do it because they can," (1/2)
And they can be protected and shielded, by the wife on up to the court system. It’s not absolute power that corrupts. It’s any power
The numbers of men who've pressured financially strapped young in house child carers is huge.
Because so many men can't resist abusing authority over women.
Did read the Vulture piece. What comes through loud and clear is that, underneath all the window dressing, the man hates women.
I honestly will trust nobody, ever, after this.
So here we are.
Just years and years of being beloved and using it as a hunting blind to predate.
I am not a victim here. I don't even have signed copies of American Gods under an accent light at my house.
I just saw the twee scruffy British guy in a pile of vulnerable people and wanted him to be good so badly that I didn't check whether he was.
Thank you though.
With Gaiman it feels as if all the art was designed to be part of the web 1/2
For me Ryan Adams falls into the same category. I can’t appreciate the art without feeling its purpose is to manipulate and catch more victims.