Taking back some power by calling out victim-blamers and shamers I’ve personally encountered over the years. Obviously, this will be a triggering and upsetting collection. Feel free to share. People still say this doesn’t happen while simultaneously defending their friends who actively engage in similar behavior.
This particular quote was excerpted from a discussion thread on one of Hugo Schwyzer’s old blog posts here. Eventually, Terra reached out to me to try to explain her wack-ass, rape apologist comments. I’ve added her letter as a comment below. I chose not to respond to her at the time. There was no acceptable explanation for her rape apologist bullshit.
So, fuck that noise.
From: Terra MacLeod
Date: Thu 12/2/2010 2:51 PM
Mr. Landrith,
I thought I’d drop the anonymity to demonstrate my sincerity. I’d never criticize another rape victim. I’ve seen some pretty nasty things, myself. My apologies for not responding sooner. I didn’t see your comment until after Hugo closed the discussion thread.
Just to let you know, Schala defended you from the outset. It was me, alias Xena who wanted to hear your assailant’s side of the story. Discuss, criticize or ignore me as you see fit. I’ll do my best to answer any of your questions about my comment, if you have questions. I didn’t mean to offend you.
Peace,
Terra/Xena
From: James Landrith
Date: Thu 12/5/2019 9:22 AM
Hello Terra,
I still, nearly a decade later, don’t understand why on earth you would want to hear from a female rapist about what she did to me. I’ve spent the last 11 years in a variety of sexual violence related volunteer and now paid non-profit roles for the Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance, RAINN Speakers Bureau, Pandora’s Aquarium, Men Recovering from Military Sexual Trauma, Resurrection After Rape, TeamStrick and finally, at RAINN where I’ve worked the last 5 years as a hotline staffer, hotline assistant shift manager, hotline lead shift manager (equivalent to Program Manager) and now as the first official recruiter for all of RAINN’s hotlines (civilian, client and military).
As a trained victim advocate with over 5,000 victim-focused hours (hotline alone), I cannot possibly understand the rationale behind wanting to talk to my rapist to get her side of things. She raped me. She is a rapist.
What is there to discuss with her Terra?