[snipped again]
The most upsetting thing I can realistically imagine coming out of all this isn’t John Green’s reputation being ruined (it won’t be), it’s that there are teenagers who are being harassed or creeped on or abused at all levels who are going to see this incident and think, “I’m probably overreacting and even if I’m not, I’d better not say anything because this is what will happen to me.” And they’ll be right. How can we tell any kid it will be different for them, especially if they dared to use scarier words than “creepy”? What happens to another kid talking about another adult, who might need to say “rape”? Well, we know what happens. We have so many stories that tell us the answer to that, and it’s a horrific answer. So it turns out now that even saying “creepy” gets you castigated on national news. God forbid you suggest anything worse.
[snipped again]
The most upsetting thing I can realistically imagine coming out of all this isn’t John Green’s reputation being ruined (it won’t be), it’s that there are teenagers who are being harassed or creeped on or abused at all levels who are going to see this incident and think, “I’m probably overreacting and even if I’m not, I’d better not say anything because this is what will happen to me.” And they’ll be right. How can we tell any kid it will be different for them, especially if they dared to use scarier words than “creepy”? What happens to another kid talking about another adult, who might need to say “rape”? Well, we know what happens. We have so many stories that tell us the answer to that, and it’s a horrific answer. So it turns out now that even saying “creepy” gets you castigated on national news. God forbid you suggest anything worse.