After being accused of sexual assault, the mayor of Seoul is found dead

[frauenfelder]

Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/07/09/after-being-accused-of-sexual.html

…

[fuzzyfungus]

If this is in fact as suicide-ish as it appears; does the former mayor count as a particularly extreme member of cancel culture or as a victim of cancel culture for the inevitable pious concern trolling about the horrific impact on people who matter of their victims not remaining silent?

[Bemopolis]

I don’t know enough about this case to rule on the level of his guilt, but boy do I wish our politicians had this level of shame.

[adamrice]

Even an observable fraction of this level of shame.

[semiotix]

@fuzzyfungus

cancel culture

I don’t think those words have any place here. More and more it feels like “antifa” to me—something most people agree with in principle, but which rarely manifests itself in any concrete form.

People generally frown on sexual assault, and people accused of it tend to [EDIT:] sometimes lose status. That status loss might not always be deserved, but then neither is the status people had in the first place always fairly won.

Not fussing at you; I just think that term is suddenly morphing beyond usefulness.

[llamaspit]

@semiotix

I just think that term is suddenly morphing beyond usefulness.

Totally agree. When a term which has a specific meaning in a specific instance begins to be used by a group which adopts it as part of an ideological argument, it no longer generates discussion, but is instead used as a talisman to close off discussion. It’s a verbal get-out-of-jail-free card. It also becomes a signal to those who share a specific grievance, that their group is right and all other groups are wrong.

Neo-liberal is another word that morphed from a specific meaning to carrying negatively weighted baggage separate from the original meaning. These words get employed in bad faith discussions where there is no intention of trying to reach understanding.

[hngr]

So many facets to this event that complicates things. He was well-liked in his three terms as Mayor, and made a lot of advances in economic justice and civil rights in continuity with the struggle for democracy. He was virtually unknown when he became a surprise candidate 10 years ago, but ranked 3rd as a presidential candidate for 2022 and was a gentle, quiet, empathic face for progressives. It’s feared that the recent changes he’s been pushing will lose steam, such as the Green New Deal just announced a day before.

1. This mayor had been vocal and active in protection of victims of sexual harrassment, as a lawyer and in policy both in his own office and for the city. No one suspected anything and this news came as a shock and skepticism. He never gave off a creepy vibe. However, he apparently called a meeting the very evening of the allegations were filed, and agreed that he would resign. It was said that he looked a little tired, but no one suspected that he would then take his life.
2. All investigation into the allegations cease upon death of the accused under current prosecution law, providing a certain incentive for high-profile figures to end their life before the allegations come to light.
3. His funeral is held in honor by the city, and people in both sides of the aisle had been critical of this in light of the allegations.
4. Online, there had been calls to dox the victim of harrassment. The police said it would offer protection upon request.
5. The police said there was no evidence of foul play, but he had staunchly stood in the way of many high-rise luxury developments, and kept the “green belt” from being released to be developed. The elite 1% conservatives residing in Gangnam considered the mayor the Antichrist, an easy target to rile up opposition among those 60 and over because he’s the first mayor to guarantee Gay Pride parades right in front of City Hall after years of being chased around by conservative Christian groups.
6. In his very short, note written in a calligraphy pen in large letters, he started with “I am sorry to everyone.” No specific mention of the allegation or the victim. If he had acknowledged his guilt, it may have been only to his senior staff, and perhaps his own family.

There had been a spate of high-profile progressives being accused (and tried) for sexual-harrassment (and even rape). Conservatives have pointed this out as the hypocrisy and moral-bankruptcy of the left, but one wonders if it’s just better hidden under much stronger threats in the conservative side.