Katy, and Sarah Packman, I think you’ve seriously misunderstood what I am saying.
“Perpetrators may even have certain consciously held positive beliefs, but in the moment, act entirely differently from their stated values, particularly if they are tired or otherwise under stress. They are reflecting the implicit associations that they picked up on or were taught as young children or that are otherwise reinforced in their surroundings.
This does not absolve them of responsibility for their impact on others, but it does speak to how simply punishing individual perpetrators is not an effective way to change societal dynamics. Neither can we hope to address other kinds of problems with our culture one person at a time.”
It also doesn’t help people to have empathy for survivors and to treat them better if they have to choose between a perfect hero and a perfect villain. I care deeply about creating a safer world for women. It’s something that I write about all of the time. But I also don’t believe we are going to make any real headway on that by looking at it through a Black Hat/White Hat lens. It hasn’t worked so far. I don’t know why it suddenly would now. I care less about standing in my moral indignation and more about doing something that will actually make a difference.
