E. Jean Carroll No Longer Convinced Women Should Speak Out

[DonViejo]

By Ken MeyerJun 24th, 2019, 9:03 am

E. Jean Carroll said on Monday that she’s now hesitant about telling women to speak out against their sexual abusers.

The author and former Elle advice columnist joined CNN today to talk about her new book and her claim that President Donald Trump sexually assaulted her back in the 90s. Carroll said the purpose of her book was to help “change the culture” and encourage women to speak out against men who violate them.

Carroll told Alisyn Camerota that she decided to come forward amid the fallout of the #MeToo movement, saying “here I am advising the women what to do, and I myself thought it was my fault and had been quiet, so that’s changing.” As Carroll spoke of how Trump is just one of the “hideous men” she calls out in her book, Camerota asked her if she could confront the president “what do you want to say?”

“That terrifies me that you said that,” Carroll answered. “It terrifies me…That is a terrible situation — even the question just terrifies me. I can hardly talk now that you said that.”

When Camerota continued to ask Carroll why she seems surprised by the amount of attention she got because of her accusations against Trump, the latter insisted that she would continue to hold the president accountable even as he continues to deny her claims. Eventually, Camerota asked “What is the takeaway from all of this? What is the takeaway from women who have written to you and read your column and for women in 2019, what’s the message to them today?”

“I’m wary of giving advice that I gave yesterday to stand up and speak out,” Carroll said. “You get dragged through the muck and it’s not easy. So I am gonna stop saying ‘stand up and speak.’ I’m gonna stop saying that. It’s not fun.”

more + video
https://www.mediaite.com/tv/e-jean-carroll-no-longer-convinced-women-should-speak-out/

[superpatriotman]

1. That was an odd interview

She is a curious figure.

[hlthe2b]

2. I wish she had spoken with someone who could have advised her how best to present her story and

herself. She seems fragile to me and I was concerned about her ability to withstand what was about to come. Perhaps it is just that she has a bit of a quirky personality, but again, having a woman's advocate--perhaps an attorney--help her prepare would have been so beneficial IMO. Even though Lawrence O'Donnell tried very hard to be gentle with her when she was obviously unprepared for the questions and becoming flummoxed, it did not help.

I feel for her.

[ginnyinWI]

3. The day I read her article, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

I am a little younger than she is but I well remember how it was: the girl was responsible. It was up to her to not get herself into a situation like that. Boys will be boys, and all that. The girl had to set the limits.

Women blamed themselves if they got into trouble, and also held themselves responsible for the kind of relationships they had, whether they could hang onto a boyfriend, how well their marriages were doing, whether their husbands strayed. Women today might not realize how bad it was.

It was no wonder she didn't speak out. She felt stupid to be tricked into going into a private room with him. She was probably thinking that since he was a big shot, he's behave better than a common creep. She expected a little class. How wrong she was.

What haunts me is how she put the dress away in her closet. How she hasn't had sex with anyone since. That's telling the real story, and it is heartbreaking.

[3catwoman3]

9. "Women blamed themselves." I'm 68. My mother made it absolutely clear that not only...

...was I responsible for my own sexual behavior, I was responsible for the behavior of any guy I dated - males were easily aroused, and an erection not allowed to come to its natural physiological conclusion was unbearably painful, so it was cruel to engage in much physical contact if you weren't planning to "put out," (my words, not hers) which, of course, was a completely unacceptable choice.

I used to count kisses. Anything more than 5 or 6 and I was sure I was courting disaster.

It is quite enough to be expected to responsible for one's own actions.

[ginnyinWI]

11. I'm only a year younger than you.

My mother never bothered to council me at all. Just talked about these things among my friends and it was understood that guys were just going to do whatever they could, and I'm sure that was the ethic amongst themselves, too. Just "go for it".

[3catwoman3]

14. My mom, now 97 and still sharp as...

...a tack mentally, was a nurse. Long retired now. She used to take out her obstetric text book and show pictures of the various stages of fetal development and what eggs and sperm look like. Sometimes she told me things I might rather not have known, like keeping what she called “personal towels” nearby to clean up after what she always very formally referred to as “sexual intercourse” (never sex or making love), because “men ejaculate teaspoons of that stuff.”

TMI, Mom, TMI!

She was and is pro-choice.

[csziggy]

12. Hunh - my mother told me to be responsible but to also stand up for myself

I was lucky and was never in a situation like Carroll was in * - but Mom would have told me to fight like hell and never let the man get away with it, even if he overpowered me. She would have supported a decision to report the rape and push for prosecution.

Mom never put up with any shit and didn't want her four daughters to put up with it either.

What she counseled us to do is to never have to rely on any man for our support or well being. While we all married, we all were equal partners in our marriages, not subject to the whims of our husbands.

* One of the questions I have is why a man was allowed to go into a women's dressing room. No store I have ever been in has ever allowed that. Not once. I'd sort of like to know which store it was that allowed this entry by Trump - if I ever thought I would be shopping for lingerie in New York City.

[MaryMagdaline]

4. The rule was keep silent

Women were to protect men’s secrets at all cost. It is hard to break that rule. For the female conscience, rule-breaking is hard. Much harder sometimes than being a silent victim.

I don’t think young women and girls are into secret keeping anymore. They put their whole lives on social media. They’re not about to keep secrets for their abusers.

[hedda_foil]

5. I'm almost stunned that she didn't realize she would get blowback -- especially from Trump.

I'm a woman of her generation and it seems so obvious to me that she would be surprised by the rather sympathetic interview she's been asked, much less by the creep's predictable denials.

[ginnyinWI]

6. she probably did, but felt it was important anyway. nt

[Guilded Lilly]

7. She is a still-suffering victim of dibilitating abuse...

Women just are and have been abused for generations
and a large part of it is very socially hidden even with the MeToo movements and years of feminist causes.

The damage simple habitual misogyny can cause even a strong woman can run very deep. And often, silently.
Hideous abuse and physical violence is positively life altering.

I feel for her. I ache for her. For all women who have faced the same outrage and abuse at the whim of males.
I don’t know the answer to help her address the fear and pain.
And it bothers me, quietly and daily.

[Beringia]

8. She peeked out from the mountain of suppression of women

and is ambivalent. I think younger women are much more able to be upfront about defending themselves. Also I would think the interviewer has a few stories of her own about sexual predation, but she acts like she is above it all. I think she was pressured to include trump in her book but is trying to brave the storm.

[Vinca]

10. I can understand why she says that. I imagine she's suddenly the subject of death threats and all

sorts of nasty things since she dared tell her story about the orange criminal in the White House. I really wish someone would come forward with a prosecutable sex offense. I thought hers was, but apparently it falls under a previous Statute of Limitations and isn't. Trump is getting away with everything from theft to rape. It's sickening.

[sarabelle]

13. Don't speak out. Just carry scissors or a nutcracker. nt