One of my mom’s favorite ways of harassing people is doing exactly what you’re saying can’t happen.
I’ve been in jail myself for this reason (and I had proof on hand to show she was lying).
In Oregon, if someone so much as claims to be the victim of domestic abuse, the police are required to follow up, even if the person withdraws their claim (because many women are bullied/threatened/much worse into backing down). And they must arrest the accused party if any violence has been claimed.
Maybe the laws have changed, but that’s the story in Oregon as I last knew it, and it’s a double edged sword. It goes the extra mile to protect the abused, but can also be used to harass/gaslight innocent people.
Maybe that will be her path. I’m certain that Joe Crowley believed her path should start with her local PTA, progress to the Board of Selectmen, and maybe finish up in the State Assembly. For that matter, who seriously thought that an ignorant septuagenarian racist with no prior political experience could become president? Sometimes people do things the way we expect them to, sometimes not.
Me? I’m trying out optimism. Not a lot, mind you, but after the last two and a half years of shouldering a leaky bucket full of despair and anger, it feels good to express a little hope. I recommend it.
I’m a little triggered that so many people are jumping in to doubt this woman, unable to even wait til morning.
If others want to discuss how obviously this is a merit less arrest maybe can you start a new thread so I’m not pinged?
I’m sorry for my tone earlier. I have a medical issue that had me in a lot of pain today - not an excuse but an explanation. I’ll be more mindful of my tone going forward
Thanks for “splainin” that aspect of domestic violence to me. I did make a rather general statement. I understand very well about gas lighting and other predator tactics.
I was commenting more on the idea that this person was already in the news as a know spin doctor, and in opposition to other parties known to be fast and loose with the truth. Everything about this story is likely to get a spin and exaggerated and the truth will suffer.
So to recap, the LA police have taken him into custody, but we don’t know who the alleged victim is? Apparently it’s not his estranged wife, and we already have a rapid response new member here* . Also the main source seems to be one that is notoriously hostile to Enemies of Trump. Which, you know, fits Trumps Razor (“when given multiple explanations, the stupidest ist the most likely”).
The only thing that could make this even weirder is if it was a proactive swatting by Avenatti himself, to short-circuit other attempts in the pipeline.
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*Hi, @Christopher_Malone and welcome to the Happy Mutant Clubhouse! Please be more than just a one-shot, as that would not be very interesting!
I really like that Avenatti is good at slinging shit at Trump. That doesn’t mean I’m going to blindly defend him against accusations like this.
But fuck, if the Jacob Wohl thing is true, it may be the only smart move he has ever made. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like Wohl, but in a fucked up way hitting Avenatti like this was a decent strategy. Avenatti has just the right public persona to make something like this seem reasonable to a lot of people. If it is Wohl, we will find out soon enough because there is no way in hell he did a good job covering his tracks.
Just to be clear, I hate everything about this. I hate it if Avenatti did it and I hate it if this was a frame job.
I feel like I’m taking crazy pills bringing this up, but until we know more this we are being asked to believe TMZ asking us to believe women. And Harvey Levin loves Trump.
I believe women, sources about something this grave to TMZ somewhat less so. It’s terrible that ratfucking and projection is so endemic to the GOP that this is even a thought in my mind. But this is all they know. We’ll find out shortly enough
With people like Jacob Wohl and James O’Keefe running around it can get confusing. The thing is, they aren’t just trying to discredit Trump’s enemies, they are trying to discredit the idea that men abuse women, or that women can be believed.
Plus rape apologists have poisoned language around “not jumping to conclusions” or “giving the benefit of the doubt.” Suggesting that you’ll keep an open mind has kind of become a dog whistle for being okay with treating women as property.
So it’s not that I’m not jumping to conclusions or that I’m giving Avenatti the benefit of the doubt. It’s that at this point I’m quite ready, 2-3 days from now, to either find out that a woman with a credible story did report Avenatti to the cops or that Jacob Wohl with a voice changer reported Avenatti to the cops and is under arrest himself. I’m not going to have my mind blown by either scenario.
