Recently, most everyone has noticed a plethora of new accounts supporting the defendant popping up on Twitter and other social media platforms. A large number of them were created between May and June of this year. It was an interesting thing to watch while the trial was ongoing because, during the first four weeks, there was an overwhelming surge of support for Johnny Depp washing over all platforms. Then, during and after the trial break, I started to notice a sudden influx of new accounts supporting the opposition. I recall even making a comment to Brian one day that it was suddenly surprising me considering how much support we had been seeing for JD in the previous weeks.
It’s difficult to say every account is inauthentic (or a bot, if you prefer). There have been a number of poorly informed, or just plain mad and willing to lie, self proclaimed “feminists” out ranting about what an injustice the whole thing is and parading around the UK Ruling like some kind of newly discovered Dead Sea Scroll. This in itself could be sending people to create fan accounts and repeat the lies across their posts because they prefer it to the truth. Of course bots are absolutely an option that can’t be overlooked.
What’s most concerning is watching otherwise smart people short-circuit over this verdict and make all kinds of proclamations that everything is terrible for women. I think what’s actually terrible for women is telling them it’s terrible. It’s fear mongering of the highest form and they are trying to scare people into not coming forward, when they absolutely should, so they can say, “see we told you so”. That’s disingenuous at best and a sinister use of their platform at worst.
Everyone should feel empowered by this verdict because justice was served. It showed that the truth matters no matter what a popular social movement and narrative might be trying to make you believe. The best thing for any #metoo or similar to do would be to absolutely denounce the defendant and keep on doing the work they set out to do. Let her know that frauds will not be tolerated because real people with real experiences need real help. But they aren’t doing this. Instead they are trying to force her onto the world and demanding that everyone believe her when her lies were just broadcast across the Earth in real time.
The number of lawyers, especially, parroting these ridiculous talking points is down right frightening. To purposely misconstrue the law and what the decision means because they simply don’t like it and have an agenda to uphold tempts me to actually label their efforts actual malice.
Watching tweets with blatant and outright lies get upwards of 30k likes while the comments are restricted has fried me one too many times lately. Claims such as the trial wasn’t about abuse, it was about whether she could speak on it have melted my brain from both the sheer desperation and the fact that people seem to believe this. Defamation is about which party is telling the truth. Truth is a defense to defamation. If someone is found to be lying about what they said about another person, that is defamation. In this case, Amber’s claims of abuse were the central issue behind her op-ed and she was found to have defamed Johnny Depp. She lied. She was found to have lied about the abuse. You can easily find the jury instruction sheets online and see all the questions they answered yes to in regard to this.
It was absolutely about the alleged abuse. One is not kept from speaking about experiences they have endured when they are true. Not one of the Harvey Weinstein victims have been stopped in speaking against him. To the contrary the douche is in jail because it was all true. That isn’t the case here. It took six years and certainly many millions of dollars for Johnny to be able to clear his name. The private conversations I have had recently with not only men but also women who consider him a hero because they feel vicariously vindicated through what he did are too many to count.
When you have a movement or a cause as big as what #metoo is and #timesup was, there are going to be bad actors involved. Speaking of #timesup, the whole organization was basically dissolved because of just how many there were acting in bad faith! See Roberta Kaplan for one of many examples. Instead of trying to cover up, rewrite, and bombard people with something and someone they know is wrong, these orgs need to admit when there’s a fraud, apologize, and move on.
Digging in heels when an obvious con has taken place will never end well and it will also alert other frauds and cons they are free to infiltrate your space because you don’t care. No number of Twitter threads can rewrite what happened in the Depp trial. It lives on the internet now forever and for all to see. Watching people try to rewrite it because of their personal agendas is embarrassing, and I especially hope those who may need legal advice are paying close attention to the lawyers who claim to support the law but are spouting off in complete indifference to it now.
She lied. We watched her lie. And we’ll keep talking about those lies for as long as is necessary.
I also do not understand it. You are speaking for many of us that agree with you. Standing behind your words all the way for as long that needs be!
Briefly, I’m old, I speak frequently in adages (old-timey sayings”) occasionally I’ll quote others. I only have quotes this go-round:
“There is nothing to fear but fear itself”
-Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)
American President
“If you’re going through hell, keep going”
-Winston Churchill
UK Prime Minister
“History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce”
-Karl Marx
German Philosopher
SUMMARY:
*Fear Not / *KEEP GOING / *Farce Phase
Footnote:
“Phasers on Stun”
-James Tiberius Kirk
Star Fleet Captain
USS Enterprise