Content Warning: Rape Culture, The Cornell 7

One news story has so clearly defined the national discourse of the moment that writing about anything other than the so-called Cornell 7 this week feels wrong, misguided, out of touch

But the thing is actually writing about this topic feels… maybe impossible

I’ve sat down to organize my thoughts around this horrifying account, and set fingertips to keyboard countless times over the last several days, but I keep failing. Because it’s really hard to fill your day with ugly truths. And because where do I even begin when my heart feels so heavy with rage, and contempt, and grief — and with absolute, soul-crushing weariness

I am so f***ing tired

And I know I’m not alone in that. So many of us are exhausted. Because this attack¹ is not unique. Because rape culture, perhaps the most repugnant branch of Patriarchy, is (to paraphrase my own self) the soup we are swimming in, and sometimes it feels like it’s all upstream

Every day, it seems, we learn a new statistic, we hear another infuriating report. All in a world that already feels so broken

And yet, I’m grateful that this story has garnered the attention it has. Despite the revenant victim blaming, and the predictable not-all-men sophistry slop,² I feel a sense of renewed hope & momentum. For victim’s rights, and women’s rights. For legal accountability. And for systemic change.

May we meet this moment in solidarity. And may we all keep speaking up

1. Alleged ↩︎
2. These 2 arguments are mutually exclusive, and combining them creates a logical fallacy ↩︎