re: #258 Barefoot Grin

After implicating Ken Starr, it would be irresponsible not to include:

Given my PTSD and my understanding of trauma, it’s very likely that my thinking would not necessarily be changing at this time had it not been for the #MeToo movement—not only because of the new lens it has provided but also because of how it has offered new avenues toward the safety that comes from solidarity. Just four years ago, in an essay for this magazine, I wrote the following: “Sure, my boss took advantage of me, but I will always remain firm on this point: it was a consensual relationship. Any ‘abuse’ came in the aftermath, when I was made a scapegoat in order to protect his powerful position.” I now see how problematic it was that the two of us even got to a place where there was a question of consent. Instead, the road that led there was littered with inappropriate abuse of authority, station, and privilege. (Full stop.)

Yep, Lewinsky was failed, manipulated and used by pretty much everyone around her from Bill Clinton to Linda Tripp to Ken Starr. At no point did any of them bother to contemplate how their actions would impact on her life.