MY NEW HERO
Zerlina Maxwell
Zerlina Maxwell is an acquaintance who I’ve watched from a distance as she builds a media career as a progressive pundit and activist — succeeding to an amazing degree while also getting a law degree. I met her for I think only the second time in person at my birthday party last weekend. I just found out that since an appearance on Hannity on Tuesday she’s basically been under an escalating online assault filled with racist epithets and threats of rape all for stating what I think is a fairly straightforward opinion on the intersecting issues of guns and rape.
Perhaps my first mistake was thinking that it would be possible to have a rational, dispassionate debate on the Internet. Then, after thinking about it for a nanosecond, I realized that this is the Internet we’re talking about, where filters, while certainly appreciated, are by no means required. Indeed, being in possession of a functional filter and a sense of decency can often be like starting a 10K road race with a piano strapped to your back.
No reasonable person (except uber-naive sorts like me) expects the Internet to host reasonable and/or rational discussions. In a perfect world, we’d debate like adults, thank each other for their time, and go our merry way slightly better for having exposed ourselves to different ideas and perspectives.
Here in the real world, though, disagreeing with what a filterless troll believes the dominant narrative to be might just get you what Zerlina Maxwell is continuing to experience.
Some might object to the graphic and vulgar nature of the graphic at the top of this post…and that’s exactly why I chose to use it. I wanted to demonstrate what can happen when a Progressive African-American woman dares to question those who believe in the absolute power and dominion of the male of the species. What was Ms. Maxwell’s crime? She had the temerity to suggest that it’s the responsibility of men to not rape, not of women to carry a gun in order to prevent men from raping them.
Man, sometimes the human race can be a real cesspool, knowhutimean??
On the one hand, I have to applaud Maxwell for her willingness to subject herself to Hannity. I’m not certain I’d be willing to do the same, but I admire her for having the courage of her convictions, enough so that meeting Hannity on his turf didn’t deter her.
It takes someone with a large set of cojones to endure what Maxwell has with such grace. Of course, she recognizes that words can hurt only to the extent you allow them to. When you consider the source of the vitriol being directed her way, it’s not hard to understand why she an so easily ignore the subhuman trolls.
The question at issue is whether women should carry or have the right to carry firearms to protect themselves against rape and sexual violence. The gist of Zerlina’s argument was that it should be on men and the culture in general to make rape and sexual assault unacceptable rather than on women to arm themselves to not be raped. In other words, don’t put it on her to carry a gun any more than you tell her to dress a particular way or anything else. The underlying point of debate was whether rape is just something like murder or robbery — something that will always exist to some, hopefully limited, degree — or something that is bound up in and encouraged or discouraged by our culture. In other words, whether men can be taught not to rape.
As you’ll see if you watch it, Zerlina reveals in the segment that she is herself a rape survivor.
Just when you might have felt justified in thinking that racism and misogyny might be on the way to becoming a relic of bygone days…well, so much for harboring faith in humanity, eh?
I’ve been the target of this sort of vitriol before, though nothing nearly so vile and threatening. It’s not a nice feeling, but on one level they’re only words, and the people dealing in them are generally cowards. Words can be hurtful, but they’ll have only the power one allows them to have. Ms. Maxwell has no doubt considered the source of the ugliness thrown her way and to her credit has chosen to take the high road.
The SOBs can only win if you allow them to.
So, what’s the lesson to be drawn from this sorry display of rage, racism, and hatred of women? Well, let’s start with the sad reality that the Internet really can be a cesspool and the domain og ignorant knuckle draggers. The rest shouldn’t be too tough to figure out.
