A Surviving Facts blog
I’m late for this week’s posting. It’s been busy. My house is now on the market, I prepped for and had a colonoscopy (TMI? I’m all good), and recovered from what seemed to be a mega dose of anesthesia- hence this post will be short. My recovery time has included a rare moment of catching up on the news. Here’s what caught me: Marjorie Taylor Greene has learned to listen.
After years of unwavering Trump support— she said recently, “I put my life and my fortune on the line fighting to get that man [Trump] elected”— Greene has suddenly become one of the strongest supporters of releasing the Epstein files. In fact, she has stated boldly that she personally will read out loud on the floor of Congress the names of every person implicated in the files. These statements align her with democrats, public critics and a growing cadre of dissenting republicans seeking to expose the files.
Go MTG?
Well, reluctantly, yes. Greene’s outspoken defense of Epstein’s victims has come from one source: herself. She has said in an interview I watched on CNN, MSNBC and other stations that she “listened” to the women and decided they were earnestly telling the truth. “This is not a hoax,” Greene said, responding to Trump’s claim of the Epstein files now being a “Democratic hoax.” Greene also echoes the victims themselves. These victims have been speaking out, underscoring the horrors experienced as underage girls in Epstein’s and Maxwell’s perverse clutches. In a press conference earlier this week, the survivors thanked Greene for her unexpected support. They also honored Virginia Guilfre, who took her own life in July, for being the first survivor to come forward and share her experience.
Listening is a magical thing. When any person stops to listen to victims’ voices, to hear their stories and weigh the preponderance of their evidence, truth’s golden thread shines through. As an SA survivor, also once accused of lying, I’ve personally experienced the pain of automatic denial. Automatic denial happens when people shut down critical thought before listening to victims’ stories or listening only to reported counter opinions. When this happens, breaking through can be impossible. Victims are shouting into the wind.
My situation changed because my perpetrator came forward, forcing a new level of listening. For Epstein’s survivors, their shared experience is corroborating evidence valid in courts of law and in public arenas. Survivors have nothing to gain from exposure. Nothing. Sharing alienates friends, emboldens enemies and shuts down new opportunities. I know this from my own experience. When victims step to the mic they risk all- careers, relationships, networks, associations, reputations. Being a survivor is an alienating endeavor.
MTG deciding to listen is a good first step. It’s a generous step. Truly, it’s an easy step. I’m putting aside a lot of personal criticism of Greene to say this. She has perpetuated numerous hoaxes and widened the democrat-republican divide of the past 15 years. But, by pausing to listen, MTG has acted with self-determination (rather than cult allegiance) and courage. It’s a first step in deprogramming and deconstructing. For only by listening can one challenge one’s own notions and perspectives. All mind shift begins with listening.
Here’s the way I see it: MTG splitting from Trump and her party to validate the survivor’s lived experiences is a first step in breaking from the hegemony, the patriarchy, the social forces that have pushed far right dissidence and conspiracy theories. It’s the chink in the mortar of anti-thinking conspiracies. It is the ear worm that plays a new song: by listening I hear; by hearing, I see. Listening truly is critical thinking.
Standing with survivors begins with listening. Listening leads to understanding. Understanding leads to believing. Believing leads to validation. Validation leads to truth.
So, thanks MTG for listening, understanding, believing. Now, listen some more. Perhaps, you can lead your party out of their current darkness keeping their eyes and ears closed.
I would love to hear from you, even if, especially if, you disagree. Perhaps we can bring back the American tradition of debate. Please like and share this blog with others. Subscribe to receive it by email and go directly to the Walk the Moon website (www.walk-the-moon.com) to peruse the full collection of articles and updates. You can email me from the Walk the Moon website as well.
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