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Dear Senator Xenophon,
You are an incredible human being. You - I don't have words for my respect and gratefulness for your continued presence in the political discourse of this country, and your fearless, tireless representation of your electorate and of victims of a range of things (paedophilia and Scientology for starters). You are inspiring, and you give me hope for the world. Thank you.
<3,
N.
~~*~~
So. Senator Nick Xenophon has made the news. He named, under Parliamentary Privilege, the man responsible for raping Anglican Archbishop John Hepworth around 40 years ago. He had said some days ago that unless the Catholic Church ordered the man in question (Monsignor Ian Dempsey) was stood down as It's a less than ideal way to seek justice in this world, but do you know what? It is fucking well necessary. It was a gutsy move of Senator Xenophon to do what he did. He was starkly illustrating that there is NO JUSTICE for the victims of the Catholic Church.
There's a constitutional lawyer on ABC radio (720 Perth) bemoaning the accused man's situation, that it's against human rights and infringes on the accused man's human rights and his rights to good reputation, blah blah fuckity blah. It's also absolutely no surprise that Fuckstain Barnaby Joyce is also faffing on about civil liberties in regards to this situation, which is the hugest case of hypocritcal bullshit that I've seen today.
How about the victim's civil liberties? What about their right to live their lives WITHOUT the fuckery of PTSD, of the self-hatred and the utter life-destroying BULLSHIT that being a victim of sexual assault brings?
Sure, in an ideal world, Nick Xenophon wouldn't have done what he did. But do you know what he saw? A man being protected who most likely hurt a great number of people who trusted him as a member of the church. A man being protected who doesn't deserve protection, and his victims in pain. A man protected who will MOST LIKELY DO IT AGAIN.
That's what people don't seem to understand. A rapist, a paedophile, they are not inert. They are not actionless beings who cease their behaviour as soon as they offend once. Repeat offenders CONTINUE TO REPEAT THEIR OFFENSES. And this man that was named, you can bet every cell in your body that he will keep doing what he likes to do as long as he can continue to do it. Because that's what craven, pathetic, ugly-hearted attackers do.
So Senator Xenophon brought his game face to the fucking table. He laid down his intentions, the Catholic Church, comfortable with getting away with everything including murder for thousands of years, didn't do shit and then they were SO surprised when Xenophon did what he'd said he'd do. I'm sorry, Catholic Church. Did you not see how he dealt with the Church of Scientology? Did you think that Senator Xenophon WOULDN'T do what he said he would? You are so WRONG.
But there is some truth to what the detractors of Senator Xenophon's actions. What happened in Parliament shouldn't have happened, because those that were hurt and reported the crimes of these priests to the Catholic Church should have been LISTENED TO FROM THE GET GO. The Catholic Church should have stood those priests down, the same friggin' day. They should have helped the Police bring justice to the victims. If that had happened, if the Catholic Church wasn't such a Fuckery Factory, then Senator Nick Xenophon wouldn't have had to use his Parliamentary privilege this way.
I maintain that Senator Nick Xenophon did a good thing. Nobody will ever trust Monsignor Ian Dempsey again. The chances of him re-offending are thusly greatly reduced. It's not ideal. It's not official. But at this moment in time, it's the only avenue that sexual assault victims and their allies have.
You are an incredible human being. You - I don't have words for my respect and gratefulness for your continued presence in the political discourse of this country, and your fearless, tireless representation of your electorate and of victims of a range of things (paedophilia and Scientology for starters). You are inspiring, and you give me hope for the world. Thank you.
<3,
N.
~~*~~
So. Senator Nick Xenophon has made the news. He named, under Parliamentary Privilege, the man responsible for raping Anglican Archbishop John Hepworth around 40 years ago. He had said some days ago that unless the Catholic Church ordered the man in question (Monsignor Ian Dempsey) was stood down as It's a less than ideal way to seek justice in this world, but do you know what? It is fucking well necessary. It was a gutsy move of Senator Xenophon to do what he did. He was starkly illustrating that there is NO JUSTICE for the victims of the Catholic Church.
There's a constitutional lawyer on ABC radio (720 Perth) bemoaning the accused man's situation, that it's against human rights and infringes on the accused man's human rights and his rights to good reputation, blah blah fuckity blah. It's also absolutely no surprise that Fuckstain Barnaby Joyce is also faffing on about civil liberties in regards to this situation, which is the hugest case of hypocritcal bullshit that I've seen today.
How about the victim's civil liberties? What about their right to live their lives WITHOUT the fuckery of PTSD, of the self-hatred and the utter life-destroying BULLSHIT that being a victim of sexual assault brings?
Sure, in an ideal world, Nick Xenophon wouldn't have done what he did. But do you know what he saw? A man being protected who most likely hurt a great number of people who trusted him as a member of the church. A man being protected who doesn't deserve protection, and his victims in pain. A man protected who will MOST LIKELY DO IT AGAIN.
That's what people don't seem to understand. A rapist, a paedophile, they are not inert. They are not actionless beings who cease their behaviour as soon as they offend once. Repeat offenders CONTINUE TO REPEAT THEIR OFFENSES. And this man that was named, you can bet every cell in your body that he will keep doing what he likes to do as long as he can continue to do it. Because that's what craven, pathetic, ugly-hearted attackers do.
So Senator Xenophon brought his game face to the fucking table. He laid down his intentions, the Catholic Church, comfortable with getting away with everything including murder for thousands of years, didn't do shit and then they were SO surprised when Xenophon did what he'd said he'd do. I'm sorry, Catholic Church. Did you not see how he dealt with the Church of Scientology? Did you think that Senator Xenophon WOULDN'T do what he said he would? You are so WRONG.
But there is some truth to what the detractors of Senator Xenophon's actions. What happened in Parliament shouldn't have happened, because those that were hurt and reported the crimes of these priests to the Catholic Church should have been LISTENED TO FROM THE GET GO. The Catholic Church should have stood those priests down, the same friggin' day. They should have helped the Police bring justice to the victims. If that had happened, if the Catholic Church wasn't such a Fuckery Factory, then Senator Nick Xenophon wouldn't have had to use his Parliamentary privilege this way.
I maintain that Senator Nick Xenophon did a good thing. Nobody will ever trust Monsignor Ian Dempsey again. The chances of him re-offending are thusly greatly reduced. It's not ideal. It's not official. But at this moment in time, it's the only avenue that sexual assault victims and their allies have.
