Patriarchy: 1 Women Who Attend Readercon: 0
Many of you are probably familiar with the current situation involving Readercon. For those of you who are not, a brief summary:
A man in attendance harassed a woman in attendance despite her repeated clear statements telling him to go away. She reported this to the con board. Readercon has a zero tolerance policy in the name of making the con a safe space.
Despite this, the board has decided to ban the offender, Rene Walling, for only two years, rather than the lifetime ban their policy would normally call for. Their reasoning as stated in their post, is that "he realized what he had done and was sincerely regretful of his actions" and, "If, as a community, we wish to educate others about harassment, we must also allow for the possibility of reform."
So, to boil this down, the education of one man is more important than the safety and sense of security not just of the woman who was harassed, but all the women who attend Readercon. Not just because the "gosh, I'm so sorry now that I'm actually being punished" is the kind of thing any parent could see through at ten paces, but because if they don't enforce this policy this time, there's nothing to say they won't in the future.
Others more familiar with Readercon are expressing dismay, and perhaps this is out of character for them. All I can think of is how many times I've read people expressing concern for the "poor boys" who committed one sex crime or another.
It's really always all about the men.
This entry was originally posted at http://cereta.dreamwidth.org/986716.html. If you can, please speak there.
have spoken there.
A man in attendance harassed a woman in attendance despite her repeated clear statements telling him to go away. She reported this to the con board. Readercon has a zero tolerance policy in the name of making the con a safe space.
Despite this, the board has decided to ban the offender, Rene Walling, for only two years, rather than the lifetime ban their policy would normally call for. Their reasoning as stated in their post, is that "he realized what he had done and was sincerely regretful of his actions" and, "If, as a community, we wish to educate others about harassment, we must also allow for the possibility of reform."
So, to boil this down, the education of one man is more important than the safety and sense of security not just of the woman who was harassed, but all the women who attend Readercon. Not just because the "gosh, I'm so sorry now that I'm actually being punished" is the kind of thing any parent could see through at ten paces, but because if they don't enforce this policy this time, there's nothing to say they won't in the future.
Others more familiar with Readercon are expressing dismay, and perhaps this is out of character for them. All I can think of is how many times I've read people expressing concern for the "poor boys" who committed one sex crime or another.
It's really always all about the men.
This entry was originally posted at http://cereta.dreamwidth.org/986716.html. If you can, please speak there.
have spoken there.