In
less than ninety seconds, Mitch Albom proved he was no different than many
other guys you will meet – unable to imagine the emotional wreckage of being
raped and ignored by the people who get paid to help victims of rape and sexual
assault.
While
discussing the $950,000 settlement Florida State University paid to Erica Kinsman,
who accused Jameis Winston of raping her then sued the university over their
indifference to her case (because at the end of the day, what they demonstrated
was callous indifference and negligence), Albom said the following:
“I’d
feel a lot happier about this if the
woman took that money and gave it to charity and said, ‘That’s not what this is
about.’ I am always suspect when people
end up saying, ‘Well, I’m going to take it (the money)’.”
View
Albom’s comments on ESPN’s The Sports
Reporters HERE
Seriously
Mitch? That’s what you’ve got? Arrogance
and insensitivity to a woman who was raped, reported it immediately, watched
FSU AND the Tallahassee police AND the city of Tallahassee demonstrate repeated
incompetence and willful negligence in taking any steps to thoroughly/properly
investigate, then saw her rapist ride off into the NFL sunset with a $23.35
million contract? She did the only thing
possible to hold FSU responsible by suing to hold the university accountable. And Albom thinks the settlement – the largest
of its kind in a Title IX case – is suspect? I must have missed his same outrage when
Winston pocketed a guaranteed sum of $16 million from that contract and failed
to donate a single dollar to survivors of abuse or women’s shelters or
organizations that make meaningful contributions in the lives of victims.
Maybe
someday one of the five people Albom will meet in heaven will tell him that his
words were offensive to every survivor of sexual abuse. That he showed incredible insensitivity. That framing the discussion around his own
happiness is irrelevant. That he missed
an opportunity to stand up and speak out against an epidemic level of sexual
assaults on college campuses nationwide – a chance to truly make a difference
to survivors, woman, girls, feminists, and people with a soul – some undoubtedly
among the readers who have bought 35 million copies of his books. Instead, Mitch Albom becomes another guy
telling rape survivors what they should and shouldn’t do, without ever having
walked in their shoes or experiencing a moment of their pain. That the money in this settlement will not go
far in making a lifetime of horror and nightmares disappear.
By
opening his mouth, Albom proved that he was just one more guy telling rape
survivors to “get over it.”
The thing is, we
have enough of those guys- Mitch Albom shouldn’t have to wait until he gets to
heaven to find that out….
um, might be a good idea to, you know, get the whole story: https://audioboom.com/boos/4138215-the-correct-way-to-address-a-controversy
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ReplyDeleteUm, yes - nice broadcast and very nice to have this discussion after the fact. But the whole story is that someone skilled in public speaking - especially someone like Mitch Albom with a radio show- needs to be careful in what he says and how he says it. Own it and don't make excuses.
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