I don’t want to believe anybody who ever knew Jeffrey Epstein was complicit in forcing minors into sex. But if the investigation survives his suicide and it turns out some or all of Epstein’s acquaintances and friends were complicit, well then let the guilty be named and judged.
What do I mean by complicit? I mean everything from accepting sexual favors from Epstein’s stable of teenaged girls to knowingly taking his money after 2008, when he was convicted of soliciting prostitution from underaged girls and became a registered sex offender. That’s not necessarily everyone who ever went to one of Epstein’s parties, stayed on his island or in one of his mansions, or accepted a ride on his airplane, but it’s a lot of people.
I don’t think I’ve ever met a pedophile. Have you? Sure, it happens (I mean, who didn’t know about Michael Jackson?), but it has to be uncommon. Or am I being hopelessly naive? Was there something behind that Tom Cruise movie, Eyes Wide Shut? Maybe I’ve been keeping my own eyes wide shut. My god, look at all the people being named as Epstein associates—royals, politicians, entertainers, society figures, businessmen, publishers, academics, scientists—it’s enough to make you think the elite, after all, really are different from you and me.
For a couple of years now, as a lark, I’ve been following QAnon lunatics on social media, those right-wing cultists who believe a gang of cannibalistic pedophiles led by Hillary and Bill Clinton, along with prominent left-leaning actors like Tom Hanks, have been running an international sex slave ring in plain sight, and that Donald Trump has been sent by Jesus to lock ’em all up. Never mind that of all the prominent people said to have had sex with one or more of Epstein’s teenagers, Trump is probably numero uno, and never mind that The Storm, the promised roundup of Democrat and leftist pedophiles, keeps being put off until next month, or the month after that. Trust the plan, they tell one another, and up until a month or so ago I thought their antics simply hilarious.
Now people on my side of the moral and political fence are saying pretty much the same thing, that there’s a huge international ring of pedophile sex-slave traders, and even though the rich and powerful usually get away with it, we should trust the plan: the investigation will continue and heads will roll.
Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it. I mentioned Trump a minute ago. He’s been more than credibly accused of raping a 13-year-old girl at one of Epstein’s New York City apartments. He has factually cheated on two wives. He’s on tape bragging about grabbing ’em by the pussy. Has any of this gotten him in the least bit of trouble?
With Trump in the White House and Bill Barr running Justice, it’s likely some form of Epstein prosecution will be pursued, but I think we all know it’ll be focused on Bill and Hillary Clinton. The day after the election in 2016 I predicted to my wife that Trump will never stop going after Hillary, that those mini-Nuremberg rally “lock her up” chants are deadly serious, that he’ll keep coming back to those fucking emails and obsessing over losing the popular vote to her … and by now I think any objective observer would say I was right. Maybe Hillary got wise and sneaked off to Greenland, leaving a stunt double behind with Bill in Chappaqua. That would explain a lot! There, QAnon, enjoy your new Clinton conspiracy and don’t say I never did anything for you.
No, I do not believe the Clintons were complicit in Epstein’s underage sex operation. Trump? Yes, absolutely; it fits with everything we know about him. Prince Andrew? Don’t know. Alan Dershowitz? No doubt. The academics and scientists who took money they should have known was dirty from a man they should have known was dirty? Well, that’s going to be hard, maybe impossible to prove, and so long as they weren’t personally involved with the nude massages and blow jobs, I’m not going to lose sleep over it … unlike Xeni Jardin, who this week has been leading a Twitter campaign against anyone who ever took Epstein money.
Will Epstein’s victims get any justice? That remains to be seen. A pessimist would point to Christine Blasey Ford and Anita Hill. An optimist would point to the American Olympic gymnastic girls who exposed Larry Nassar and saw him bundled off to prison. But I have to note that Nassar is no Trump. He isn’t Prince Andrew or Michael Jackson. So we’ll see.
Whether the investigation into Epstein’s activities goes on or sputters out now that he’s dead, new and shocking revelations will continue to emerge. I think there’s worse, far worse, to come.
The French had the right idea with those guillotines.
Yes, I have met a pedophile.
I was 4, and he was an old guy at a drugstore soda fountain. He called me over, and was pulling me against him. Luckily my mother saw, and called me back to her.
I’ve also met quite a lot of people who also, unfortunately, have had direct contact with pedophiles. Some of those pedophiles were family members or other trusted adults – uncles, fathers, priests, family friends. Some get caught; most don’t.
Soooo – you probably *have* met a pedophile – but you didn’t know it, because it was an un-caught one.
Maybe it’s a lot more common than I realized. I get the impression child protective services workers encounter incest and pedophilia often; as you say, committed by family members and trusted adults. Maybe there’s such a strong taboo against talking about it that a lot of us assume it’s rare.
Also, children are often too intimidated to tell anyone -I guess that’s part of a taboo? – they may feel it was somehow their fault & they’ll get in trouble, the assaulter may have groomed them not to tell, or threatened them – or it just feels too daunting to upset the whole family or community applecart. Many never tell anyone, or only years later.
It’s been in the news a lot here because of all the priests who have now been exposed, including Cardinal Pell, who not only apparently attacked young boys himself, but covered for many other priests by transferring them, silencing their accusers, and more.