Political Memes

I mean, I'm not talking about if he should resign. It doesn't concern me.

The restorative justice example is extremely relevant because it shows the harm that is caused by being obsessed with punishment.

If stepping down can only be seen as punishment then he has no choice.

• If he steps down for whatever reason she will be blamed. If she doesn't make a police report, she will be accused of lying. If it goes to court and he's found not guilty, she gets accused of lying. If he pleas to a lesser charge or agrees to some other form of justice people will say "see, he didn't get convicted of what he was accused of! It didn't happen! She lied to harm him!". Isn't the idea that it's better to let 100 people free than one person be falsely convicted? But at the same time unless it is proven in court it didn't happen?
• If he runs, wins and later agrees the accusations are true and wants to repair the harm, is he safe to say that? Will people tell him to keep his mouth shut because winning is more important? What happens if it comes out later and it also comes out that people knew? How can the party be trusted to represent the public good?

If people were committed to figuring out the best path forward for everyone rather than being right or wrong I'm sure they could figure something out. But if him choosing to step down so that another candidate can be the offical nomine is seen as him being "punished" there is no way the situation can be discussed until after the election. So he runs and people get told you should report assault, but only in very specific ways and not if the accused has a chance to face consequences as a result.

I had a nice time with my flowers and thought about options. Here are two possible ways he can run while minimizing harm:

1. He can tell the party he is innocent and intends to run, and that it will be sorted out afterwards. They can't do anything about it, but he owes a duty of care to the party he is representing and should listen to their concerns. He can ask them to help with messaging and shutting down any speculation and accusations about the accuser(s). He can tell the public that he is innocent and intends to follow due process. He can remind everyone that accusations need to be taken seriously and that people need to be safe to speak up. It endangers people if they are tried in the court of public opinion and it does not reflect the values of the party. He can remind them that if the accusations are intended to discredit him, then this will be helped if his supporters attack the accuser or her credibility. They aren't going to sort this out immediately and we need to let the justice system take it's course (if that's what they are doing) because the american justice system is the best in the world or something.

2. It would be even better if they could agree to some sort of restorative justice, especially given she does not appear to want to involve the police. He can maintain his innocence, show that he wants to understand why he is being accused and that he wants people to feel safe coming forward. He can ask people to refrain from attacking the accused, and to let them go through the process. Doing this isn't saying he did these things, but trying to understand what happened and how two people can see it differently. It would be a great opportunity for a discussion about how complicated discussions around SA can be. It can be a jump off point for discussion on how we can make power dynamics safe, and the importance of making space for hard conversations. It if comes out she was lying to harm him, they need to condem that behavior and highlight that it's not just to discredit him but also to divide people. False accusations don't mean that people don't deserve to speak up and that we should be suspicious of accusations. Because that's what the bad guys want. They want you to hate women, and the woke because they are stronger when we are divided. Etc.