George Will, Rape Apologist

George Will is a conservative newspaper columnist. He's been writing a twice-weekly column for the Washington Post since 1974. His syndicated column runs in 475 newspapers. To put it another way, one in four daily newspapers in the United States features George Will. He has a huge platform. He's abused it repeatedly over the years, writing occasional racist, sexist, and homophobic commentary. Early this month, he took abusing his platform to a whole new level. 

On June 6, 2014, George Will's syndicated column was titled: Colleges Become the Victims of Progressivism.  It was a look at rape on college campuses. Will announced that "when they make victimhood a coveted status that confers privileges, victims proliferate." 

Where, oh where was George Will to tell my 16 year old self after being gang raped by Hell's Angels prospects, how coveted and privileged my new status was? If only I'd known - I might not have spent a big chunk of my life  trying to recover from the experience. If I'd only understood the PRIVILEGE  that had been conferred upon me, I might not have experienced so much fear, anger, and mistrust in intimate relationships. I would have been filled with pride at having been gifted with a lifetime of PTSD. 

He said this, too: Consider the supposed epidemic of campus rape, aka "sexual assault." 

Because the bitches are lying, amirite George Will? Because after all, it's such a privilege to be raped by one of you men. Every girl dreams of it. 

The Washington Post has said that Will's column was "well within the bounds of legitimate debate." Because rape,  dear readers, is apparently up for debate. Conservatives have been pretending for some time that the bitches are all lying. After all, we have ways of shutting that whole thing down, don't we? If you slutty McSlatterns weren't out at morning/noon/evening/night wearing whore clothes you wouldn't be getting raped, now would you? Well, except for when you're at home alone in bed, and an intruder comes in and beats and rapes you anyway - when you're 75 years old. I'm glad Florence Holway didn't have to hear about how privileged she was to have that experience. 

Whenever it happens, (and that's a big if, because we know you're all lying!) it's your own fault for being dressed slutty, going to his place, going out, going outside...breathing. 

It's also worth nothing that the editors on duty the day George Will turned in this masterpiece were all men. And that, friends, is a big fucking part of the problem.  It's men who think rape is up for debate. 

Two more things. The Union Leader - right here in NH - served up  George Will's column. One can only assume they share George Will's sentiments. I hope you will call them up and ask them. 

Here's the contact information for the managing editor:  John Toole  jtoole@unionleader.com. The phone # for the newsroom: (603) 668-4321 ext. 805  . The phone number for the publisher: Joe McQuaid, publisher, (603) 668-4321 ext. 559

Tell them to stop running Will's columns. 

That's what Tony Messenger did. Tony Messenger is the editor of the St. Louis Dispatch, a newspaper that USED to run George Will's column. On June 19, he announced that the paper was replacing George Will with conservative writer Michael Gerson:

The change has been under consideration for several months, but a column published June 5, in which Mr. Will suggested that sexual assault victims on college campuses enjoy a privileged status, made the decision easier. The column was offensive and inaccurate; we apologize for publishing it.

 Erik Wemple of WaPo interviewed Tony Messenger:

“Seeing the reaction and intensity of the hurt in some of social media and the reaction of women I know and talking to people who really were offended by the thought that sexual assault victims would seek some special victimhood — it helped seeing that response and it informed my opinion.”


Just like that, he fired George Will. Unlike rape, it wasn't up for debate.  

Front Group for the Free State Project

Since the Concord City Council Meeting on August 13, when the Free Staters gave full voice to their victimhood, they've been mighty quiet. Perhaps even they, as tone deaf as they are, finally understood that all of their thin skinned self pity was beginning to wear.... thin. 

Maybe the fine cartoons done by Mike Marland at the Concord Monitor (August 19, and again on August 21) had something to do with it. I'd link to them, but I can't. I've already gone through my freebies at the Monitor, and I can't afford a subscription. "Live Free and Overreact to Everything" was a thing of beauty. 

But that silence is misleading. The FSP has just created a front group, intended to be untainted by their name. The group that has claimed "we're all Free Staters now" seems to be coming to terms with the fact that they are about as welcome as herpes. 

The front group is called No More Bearcats . There's a petition for Concord residents to sign. Apparently the FSP learned that having a lot of out of towners testify to their victimhood at the Concord hearing wasn't the best strategy. 

The group doesn't identify who they are. An ordinary group of local concerned citizens would make a point of identifying well known opinion leaders in the group as a means of attracting others. This group does not. What it does do is link to 4 videos from the night of the August 13 hearing. All four videos have one very important thing in common. All were produced by a Free Stater named "Biker Bill." 

The site is very carefully designed to avoid any taint of Free Staterdom - but they blew it with the videos. And they blew it by having it be over designed and sanitized. 

The City Council will be voting on Sept. 9. 



For more about the poor victims of the Free State Project and the mean Concord PD:

The cult of perpetual victimhood

The non-aggression principle.

Free Staters and that Pesky First Amendment

The Cult of Perpetual Victimhood

Right now the Free Staters must be happier than pigs in poo. The City of Concord, NH gave them an opportunity to engage in the two things they love most: crying about what victims they are, and relentless media whoring. 

The City of Concord has applied to the Dept. of Homeland Security for a grant to purchase a Lenco Armored Bearcat, which is also described as a tank. From Mother Jones: 

In an application to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seeking more than $250,000 to purchase an armored police vehicle, the capital city of New Hampshire specified the local branch of the Occupy movement and the Free State Project, an effort to recruit "liberty-loving people" to relocate to the Granite State, as potential sources of terrorist action.

"The State of New Hampshire's experience with terrorism slants primarily towards the domestic type," the filing reads. "We are fortunate that our State has not been victimized from a mass casualty event from an international terrorism strike however on the domestic front, the threat is real and here. Groups such as the Sovereign Citizens, Free Staters and Occupy New Hampshire are active and present daily challenges."

The wailing, moaning, and gnashing of teeth from the FSP began immediately. FSP President Carla Gericke demanded an apology, in her trademark drama queen style, complete with the threat that her letter will be sent to all of their media contacts. It's surprising that she hasn't yet filed a lawsuit. Gericke is a lawyer, though she's no longer able to practice law in the state of California where she emigrated from. Regular readers will remember how the Free Staters crowed when they were able to influence the vote in the town of Weare to cut the police overtime budget. They were congratulating themselves on saving the town money. The very next day, Carla Gericke filed a 32 count lawsuit against the town, thereby negating any potential savings.

Now, to be clear, I am opposed to the town of Concord getting a tank. I'm concerned by the ongoing militarization of the police in this country. I'm also concerned that the Dept. of Homeland Security clearly has more money than it knows what to do with. DHS has only been around for about 8 years, yet they cannot pass an audit. Can't or won't. Given the kind of deals they're making with contractors it's likely that they wish to avoid public scrutiny. DHS has really put LENCO on the map, as The Equinox discovered, when the city of Keene was gearing up to purchase a Bearcat. On this much the Free Staters and I are in agreement. Sadly, now this whole issue is all about them. The Concord PD has given them the opportunity to nail themselves to the cross, and they're running with it. 

Occupy was cited as a potential threat. Occupy NH fell apart because of the Free State Project. Occupy was very specifically a non-violent movement. Free Staters who got involved refused to leave their guns at home. They insisted on wearing them at meetings, even when asked not to. It was "their right" - and when it comes to the FSP, their rights always trump the rights others. That they were making others uncomfortable didn't concern them, because FREEDUMB! Apparently one's cup of Libertea isn't served with a side dish of good manners. 

As for the Free Staters - it's true that they haven't engaged in any domestic terrorism, thus far. They claim to be a peaceful entity, though one wonders at how a group of armed colonizers can claim to have peaceful intent. (The white Europeans who colonized the west told the Indians the same thing.) I witnessed Free Staters at the near riot by gun nuts in Concord in June. They were part of the group that were shrieking at a group of unarmed people trying to have a solemn memorial vigil. They were bellowing at speakers and trying to drown them out. Is that how people intent on "peace and liberty" behave? 

So far, the answer is yes. That is how they behave, because their rights supersede those of others. Always. And the opportunity to cry victim is the very best gift that the City of Concord could have given them. When a NH State Rep aired some of her concerns about the FSP, they cried about it for months. For a good six months they flogged that horse until it was dead, had decomposed, and returned to the dust from whence it came. How dare anyone speak a word against them? OMG IT WAS THE WORST THING EVER! The poor victims of the FSP cannot tolerate Free Speech - not when it comes to anyone having the audacity to criticize them - or tell the truth about them. That they are affiliated with the John Birch Society (a known hate group), and a number of Koch Brothers funded entities is true - but they go into screaming banshee mode when it is pointed out. They are thin skinned and intolerant, as they've demonstrated time and time again. 

Thanks to the Concord PD, they have the opportunity to do it all over again. So, watch where you put your feet down, friends, because there are apt to be pearls all over the ground from all the clutching going on. 

Here's a group of Free Staters in front of the NH State House on July 4. One is reading a speech written by Adam Kokesh, a libertarian activist, who directed people around the country to read his speech in their state. The guy who is reading, clearly has the courage of his conviction, given the bandana he's wearing to obscure his face. Unfortunately, the bandana also makes him sound as if Charlie Brown's teacher is rather ineptly reading a speech from an iphone: 

It's a shame that the FSP lacks any ability for self reflection. They are an armed group coming to take over the state. Can they REALLY be surprised that some might consider them potential domestic terrorists?