“At no other time than autumn does the earth let itself be inhaled in one smell, the ripe earth; in a smell that is in no way inferior to the smell of the sea, bitter where it borders on taste, and more honeysweet where you feel it touching the first sounds. Containing depth within itself, darkness, something of the grave almost.”
i feel like why the aziz ansari case is polarising and why so many men as well as women (many of whom have previously been supportive of #metoo) are adamant that it wasn’t sexual assault is because if you accept that coercion is not consent, then a lot of men have to accept that they have inflicted non consensual sex acts upon women/people. and if women admit that coercion isn’t consent than they have to accept that they had non consensual sexual acts inflicted upon them.
and whilst explicit and repeated consent is important, the focus on “no means no” has left some people acting like ten no’s and a single defeated yes means yes. also that due to societal conditioning or pressure, women or more vulnerable people may not say a clear and firm “no” but rather a quiet and placating “i’d rather not” or “if you don’t mind can we do something else”
Her mother Cheryl, 66, remains behind, a diminutive woman with dark hair pulled up in a bun. She chooses her words carefully. “It’s never left her. Every day, she lives it,” she says. “There were times when she would call me and his – he would be on a billboard or whatever, and she would just completely disintegrate. Having to walk into a store to get a pint of milk, and you’ve got his picture everywhere. (…) He’s the soccer god that everybody thinks is just perfect and flawless. (…) And she can’t even get out of bed some days.” Cheryl Mayorga shakes her head. “It’s just wrong. We’re behind her 100 percent.”
I believe Kathryn Mayorga. Do you?
I know this is scooting very close to the “omg why is no one reblogging this” territory, but the fact how little waves this is making in the football fandom is honestly terrifying to me.
People here make social justice issues out of every single thing, from bad interview quotes to that time someone thought Pulisic was dating a Trump supporter (he wasn’t) to “is it racist to say you don’t want your club to promote inhumane regimes overseas?”
But now one of if not the most famous player of this sport gets accused of rape and there is almost nothing. This story has been out for days. It’s not some vague, easily dismissed “he said she said” situation.
One of the leading investigative newspapers of Europe has published an article making very credible claims that accuse him of rape. At least 20 people were involved with the fact-checking over multiple weeks, according to Spiegel. The victim herself and multiple family members are quoted verbatim, Her story matches the results of a rape kit taken at the time (which is quoted in the article) as well as the original police report (which Spiegel also posted), filed one day after the assault, where she accuses a world famous athlete of raping her but doesn’t want to disclose his name because she was scared of the repercussions. Photos exist of her with Ronaldo from the day of the rape. A forensic psychiatrist’s evaluation is quoted that confirms she suffers from PTSD due to the rape.
Spiegel has, thanks to Football Leaks, papers proving that Ronaldo hired a team of “Reputation Specialists” that followed her and her family around in order to make her appear unstable and to dissuade her from pressing charges. Spiegel also has E-Mails from Ronaldo to his lawyer where freely admits she said “no” and told him to stop multiple times before and during the rape.
Honestly this is the clearest and best researched rape accusation that I have ever come across. And I see so many fangirls on here keep posting Ronaldo pics and ignoring this because it’s inconvient for them when it’s their fave.
countervisuality 