Listen to Survivors not QAnon

Their stories are what you need to follow, not the hate

Dec 28, 2020

Trigger Warning Child abuse, rape culture

For all the people who are dismissing “conspiracy theories” around child sex abuse, have any of you actually listened to any survivors who speak on these stories?

Coming out with reactionary talking points about “QAnon” and the “right wing” instead of compassion for the actual people who’ve been oppressed is the first step in erasing any hope of healing.

Check yourself. Stop reacting to the right wing and actually open your hearts to survivors.

There will be people who read this who’ve been slamming QAnon and they will say: “But I’m a survivor! I have a right to critique them!”

To them I say: Study internalized oppression.

Has it not occurred to you that there are people within the QAnon community who are very likely survivors? Has it not occurred to you that lashing out with hate is a trauma response? Has it not occurred to you that many survivors are just trying to find someone who believes them? Has it not occurred to you how desperate it is to be a survivor and not be believed?

Derailing the conversation with “but these are right wing conspiracies” is akin to saying “this system of oppression doesn’t exist”.

Child abuse definitely exists. It is definitely a system of oppression. It is definitely a root cause of generational suffering.

Yes, there will be people who use this topic to push their own toxic agenda and they are not the point of the conversation. The point of the conversation is the children who are being abused. Focus.

Making the conversation about hateful people is exactly what they want. They want to be the center. They want to drive the conversation. But this is about survivors and by focusing on that conversation, we can actually bring this topic back to where it needs to be which is: Let’s defend children by dismantling rape culture and smashing the patriarchy.

Systems of oppression don’t disappear because you ignore them or mock them. They only grow, deepen, become even more entrenched.

Listen to survivors first. Hear their pain first. Believe them first. Then maybe we can have some hope for healing.

But honestly, the lack of compassion I’m seeing from so many is astounding me. I thought I’d seen it all.

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