crickets
crickets's JournalSuch an incredibly articulate, heartfelt message.
What an amazing young man. Kudos to him for finally being able to stand up for his younger self and for having the courage and love for all of the kids growing up now to post this for them and for their parents. If only the people who needed to hear it would listen. Here's hoping their children do.
Where the real groomers are. Ugh.
No paywall link to Dispatch article about Pete Newman and Kanakuk mentioned in the above: https://archive.ph/dfosT
He was a camp director at Kanakuk Kamps, one of the largest Christian camps in the world. Kanakuk is an immense operation. Since its founding in 1926, it claims to have served more than 450,000 campers. Its main campus is located outside of Branson, Missouri, but it has international reach. Every summer approximately 20,000 kids pass through its gates, and the institution is particularly prominent with the Evangelical elite. [snip]
He was also a superpredator. He groomed and abused boys in their own homes. He groomed and abused boys at camp. In fact, he abused boys across the world. On June 9, 2010, he pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexually abusing boys. He received a sentence of two life terms, plus 30 years. His guilty plea was but the tip of a terrible iceberg. A civil complaint alleges that there were at least 57 victims, but the prosecutor in his case estimates that the real number could be in the hundreds.
The true dimensions of the worst Christian sex abuse scandal youve never heard of have long been largely unknown. Newmans initial arrest and sentencing received little media attention. Few reporters knew about the camps size or importance. They were unfamiliar with Joe White. Moreover, the limited scope of the guilty plea concealed the sheer scale of the abuse. The resulting civil lawsuits received little attention, and nondisclosure agreements silenced victims and kept evidence under seal.
Sickening beyond belief.
Colin Powell fooled so many for so long.
https://edwardrynearson.wordpress.com/behind-colin-powells-legend-the-my-lai-massacre/As the round-up continued, some Americans raped the girls. Then, under orders from junior officers on the ground, soldiers began emptying their M-16s into the terrified peasants. Some parents desperately used their bodies to try to shield their children from the bullets. Soldiers stepped among the corpses to finish off the wounded.
The slaughter raged for four hours. A total of 347 Vietnamese, including babies, died in the carnage that would stain the reputation of the U.S. Army. But there also were American heroes that day in My Lai. Some soldiers refused to obey the direct orders to kill.
A pilot named Hugh Clowers Thompson Jr. from Stone Mountain, Ga., was furious at the killings he saw happening on the ground. He landed his helicopter between one group of fleeing civilians and American soldiers in pursuit. Thompson ordered his helicopter door gunner to shoot the Americans if they tried to harm the Vietnamese. After a tense confrontation, the soldiers backed off. Later, two of Thompsons men climbed into one ditch filled with corpses and pulled out a three-year-old boy whom they flew to safety.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/21/colin-powell-faustian-bargains-service-of-war
There was a time when Colin Powell had me fooled. It didn't last, and I did find out about his role in the My Lai coverup before he lied about weapons of mass destruction in front of the UN.
If I could figure it out, there was no excuse for the whole world not knowing he was a big ol' liar.
Media (and many others) turned a blind eye because it was lucrative.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.
So, there was no damage done.
The protesters just wanted us to notice and talk about the real problem, which is climate change.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/may/21/rome-climate-protesters-turn-trevi-fountain-water-black
But in the media, the protest is talked about in terms of misbehavior and cleanup.
Meanwhile, climate change is ignored.
Let's blame the protesters for giving a damn.
Rah!
C jump.
Every time they claim this, perhaps the blood money amounts should be publicized.
That ought to shut them up.
The deaths? It's the GUNS. The lack of legislation? It's the MONEY.
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/issues/guns
Absolutely horrific.
Now imagine this in a grade school classroom. Every single representative should have to look at full color, full-sized scenes like this every single time this happens. If a scene like this from each shooting (blurred faces if need be) landed on TV every single time, there would be movement on this issue. Shit would get done.
I realize this image is upsetting, but images just like this one helped finally end Vietnam.
There is no reason any country should call itself civilized and suffer these repeated, senseless tragedies. None.
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