- Joined
- Jun 18, 2018
- Messages
- 82,233
- Reaction score
- 87,288
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Progressive
"When did we know that the #MeToo moment was truly over? ...events in 2024 have told us loudly and clearly that the moment has passed.
Perhaps it was when reports emerged that Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s choice to be the next secretary of defense, had paid an accuser to settle a sexual assault claim. ...Perhaps it was when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who is married to the actress Cheryl Hines, allegedly had an improper “personal relationship” via smartphone with Olivia Nuzzi, a political reporter who is much younger, and she lost her job while he was picked to run the Department of Health and Human Services.
But I think it happened earlier, when a jury found Donald Trump responsible for sexual abuse, and he was ultimately re-elected to the presidency. After years of rightfully arguing that combating sexual assault and sexual abuse can’t override due process, many conservatives not only disregarded the jury verdict, they actually reveled in how little his voters cared about the scandal, or just dismissed it as another instance of “lawfare” against Trump.
When #MeToo became #ChurchToo, though, that was the beginning of the end. In a remarkably short period of time, the narrative changed. The Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, faced a sexual abuse “apocalypse,”...Liberty University, one of the largest Christian universities in the world, faced its own sexual scandals. ...I could go on and on with additional examples, but soon enough Christians realized that what they thought was a “them” problem was also an “us” problem. The moral high ground slid away. #ChurchToo exposed the right, and the right wasn’t ready to repent.
And so here we are, with the nation about to be led by a man found liable for sexual abuse, with key members of his chosen senior team beset by their own gross scandals, voted into office on the strength of overwhelming white evangelical support (according to 2024 exit polls, he won white evangelicals by 65 points and lost everyone else by 18 points). And all too many Christians still celebrate his victory — and their indispensable support — as a triumph of good over evil."
Link
Trump and the church come together in repellent harmony.
Perhaps it was when reports emerged that Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s choice to be the next secretary of defense, had paid an accuser to settle a sexual assault claim. ...Perhaps it was when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who is married to the actress Cheryl Hines, allegedly had an improper “personal relationship” via smartphone with Olivia Nuzzi, a political reporter who is much younger, and she lost her job while he was picked to run the Department of Health and Human Services.
But I think it happened earlier, when a jury found Donald Trump responsible for sexual abuse, and he was ultimately re-elected to the presidency. After years of rightfully arguing that combating sexual assault and sexual abuse can’t override due process, many conservatives not only disregarded the jury verdict, they actually reveled in how little his voters cared about the scandal, or just dismissed it as another instance of “lawfare” against Trump.
When #MeToo became #ChurchToo, though, that was the beginning of the end. In a remarkably short period of time, the narrative changed. The Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, faced a sexual abuse “apocalypse,”...Liberty University, one of the largest Christian universities in the world, faced its own sexual scandals. ...I could go on and on with additional examples, but soon enough Christians realized that what they thought was a “them” problem was also an “us” problem. The moral high ground slid away. #ChurchToo exposed the right, and the right wasn’t ready to repent.
And so here we are, with the nation about to be led by a man found liable for sexual abuse, with key members of his chosen senior team beset by their own gross scandals, voted into office on the strength of overwhelming white evangelical support (according to 2024 exit polls, he won white evangelicals by 65 points and lost everyone else by 18 points). And all too many Christians still celebrate his victory — and their indispensable support — as a triumph of good over evil."
Link
Trump and the church come together in repellent harmony.