To many people’s dismay, Jian Ghomeshi was acquitted of several sexual assault charges laid against him. The judge even went as far as to include a nice snippet of proof that rape culture (doesn’t) exist. It was a triumph for douche bags and rapey assholes everywhere. Well fucking done. Your poster boy somehow beat the system, or rather, played it well. But how did he do it? I’m here to ponder that, but I’m quite sure the partial answer is capitalism.
You see, in case you’re unaware, capitalism is the fucked up system that defines a human being’s worth by their productivity. If you are an able-bodied, able-minded drone, you can do quite well in this system. You can do things like commit up to, or more than, half of your waking hours to an organization, and in return you receive currency, that has no literal value except for the one we assign, but everyone kind of believes it has value. That currency can then be exchanged for goods and services. The drive to obtain this currency varies from human to human. Some are highly driven, some couldn’t give two shits. However, those who do consider it important can be convinced into doing some severely fucked up things, all in the name of imaginary wealth.
Exhibit A: Marie Henein, Jian Ghomeshi’s lawyer. For all intents and purposes, I assume she is a cis woman, and will use grammar as such. If it turns out otherwise, I will edit my statements. Anyhow, this bitch was working for Jian Ghomeshi. Beyond that, in the capitalist world, she did her job well. Given the promise of currency, and more currency to come, she decided to throw survivors under the bus.
During the trial, three women gave testimonies. The events were not recent, but they did fucking happen. During questioning by the defense, Marie Henein focused in on breaking apart the details of their testimonies, thus negating them. Well fucking done *slow clap*. It’s a very smart strategy, given how our judicial system works. However, I want to ask Marie Henein, what the fuck happened in your life to turn you into a monster? Why would you do that to someone? Why would you do that to survivors? At what point does the promise of money overcome your desire for justice?
Like, I was beaten relentlessly by my brother growing up. My parents split and he decided it was his job to beat masculinity into me, joke’s on you buddy. While I may not be able to recount the stories with 100% accuracy, they happened. It happened. Nothing will change that. My inability to accurately describe exactly how he damaged me doesn’t make it any less true; to say otherwise is some gaslighting, abusive bullshit. But that was the foundation of Marie’s case, to twist the words of those survivors and undermine their credibility. All for what? Some fucking currency that, these days, you literally can’t wipe your ass with (it’s made of this weird plastic, trust).
So, I’m left wondering, yet again, at what point in your life do you decide to throw everything to the wind and say, “All I need is money, fuck women, fuck everything, give me money.” Maybe it’s a normal part of development, and I’m obviously dysfunctional, and I missed it…but I just can’t operate that way.
I hate what money does to people. I hate what people do for money. I hate capitalism. It allows assholes like Ghomeshi to walk free while so many are trapped in prisons of debt. Trapped in prisons of boredom. Trapped in prisons of self-hatred. Trapped in prisons of trauma. Fuck capitalism. Fuck society. There has to be a better way. Fuck this world.
Hi, this is a comment.
To get started with moderating, editing, and deleting comments, please visit the Comments screen in the dashboard.
Commenter avatars come from Gravatar.