Another great post Jo and I'm truly sorry you and so many others have had that happen to them. The covering up of all the Pedophiles by Trump, the DoJ, FBI and the GoP is beyond despicable and disgusting but history will not paint a pretty picture for those people. Their time is coming when the Trump Regime is done which can't happen soon enough. They won't be able to show their faces in public as normal people will not forget what they've done.
Jo, how beautifully written. In my mind I keep coming back to the idea that somewhere someone has intact, unredacted copies of all background materials. Everything. Is the only way out to leak the contents?
Child sex trafficking is one of the most horrific crimes imaginable. All of this points to the fact that privileged white men still matter more than anything else in our society. An entire ecosystem has been set up to protect them. Let the chips fall where they will. Every one of these abusive bastards belongs in prison for the rest of their lives.
I am so sorry…every child SHOULD FEEL SAFE! This story and all that it’s based on leaves me lightheaded and sick. I wish someone would just take these sick men out…period. Any woman voting to protect them is guilty too. Thank you for exposing this and expressing your feelings, it’s so important.
The complete disregard for the victims' suffering, for the unconscionable predation of these rich and powerful men, for the equally indefensible cover-up that is continuing this very minute, and the comprehensive and total evasion of justice is unbelievable. It is a stunning illustration of how, when connections, wealth, and privilege are pitted against morality and all that is good, evil has the advantage. But this story is not over. Despite the moral and ethical vacancies of Mike Johnson, Bondi, and all the minions who are protecting president piggy pedo predator, the truth will be heard and seen. Thanks, Jo.
what all this reveals about our country, about our society, about the real relationship between men and women, the haves and have-nots, money and power vs. everyone else is unbearable. i have been listening to Virginia Giuffre's book in very small doses as just a bit of it and i want to vomit. and the blistering truth is that we will never know the full extent of the assaults that took place because of Epstein, people like him, the rich that think it is ok, and that the world is their playground, and a society that continually views any female accuser with suspicion. the peek that we have had thus far makes you ill, but it is clear that we have only been exposed to a small fraction of it, and i am guessing the worst has probably been destroyed.. huge amounts of information is missing, the stuff that has been revealed has been blacked out, and yet, through all that, it reveals how sick our society is. this is the society that we have created, and that we teach our kids. Not all of us, but enough of us teach their boys to be aggressive, violent, physical, ignore emotions, dominate others... we teach our girls to be clean and neat and pretty and perfect to attract and please boys... we teach our girls to be independent, but only as independent as the men in their life will let them be, we teach them to recognize their positions as second class citizens. for the parents who do not indoctrinate their kids, society does a great job of filling in for them. look at popular culture, look at ads, look at how the justice system treats complaints from white men vs women vs people of color etc. look at how our marketing industry trains women to be painted up, dyed, revealing, enticing, etc. whereas men can have a beer gut, wear their stupid baseball caps backwards, and have their pants half way down their asses... and if you are rich... whether an industrialist, an entertainer, a sports figure, or a politician, the rules do not apply to you. the rules are to keep others in line so you feel safe to do what you want to do. what trump has done is brought this out to the forefront of our consciousness. he has paraded these social ills in front of us so that there is no denying it... if you are rich, grab women and do what you want with them.. its ok. steal and lie and cheat, because if you are rich and white, that is just business. he is holding up a mirror to what has been going on since time immemorial and brought it to the mainstream. were it not for people like trump, clinton, members of the royal family, Epstein may be alive today, continuing his depraved war on children and women. Epstein is a massive example, but there are baby Epsteins running around all over the place, committing these crimes daily to women, young women, young boys... and now the US government, in all its power and righteousness, especially this one that paints itself as the guardian of family values, morals, Godliness, etc. is Epstein's and his buddies (trump etc.) biggest enablers... disgusting... even whackjobs like MTG cannot deal with it...
You hit a lot of balls out of the park with that one Robert. Reminded me that not only have they abused women and girls, but by installing trump and their own actions of unbelievable greed, they have abused each and every citizen who isn't part of the pack. Billions to Argentina (for what no one will say) while the very people who gave the government that money can't afford health care, food, housing, clean air and water etc. etc. Coal mines open because profit! Native lands are stolen AGAIN! because oil profit, people of color, women, LGBQT+ people are again demeaned, the handicapped are almost told they deserve it and so much more.... I need to go throw up now....
I hear you... the money to Argentina was simple... it was so a buddy of his could make millions having speculated in the Argentinian currency which was depressed. with the US swapping pumping 40 bb dollars into Argentina, their currency went thru the roof, and his body sold and made millions if not billions of dollars. we lose 40 bb dollars so his friend can become rich. authoritarians need to have enemies to galvanize their followers.. hence people of color, gays, trans, etc. become a convenient focal point for anger and fear... keeps the average person from recognizing where their real problems are coming from. the republicans have been doing this for over 60 years, convincing rural white Americans that the people responsible for their plight are urban people of color, gays, etc. while the real source is big business... allowing them to continue to extract wealth from the land (as you mentioned...) from people, from other countries... all the while so many Americans are being convinced that immigrants, gays, trans, etc. are the source of their issues. like it or not, the economy of this country was built first on slavery, then on low wage workers, the first wave were the blacks in the 1920s and 30s, then Irish, Chinese, and now Hispanics... this is why they try to bury and whitewash our history. it is not debatable.. it is just math. so if it is ok to abuse workers for profit, they reason it is ok to abuse young women for their pleasure... we are outraged at the atrocities of the Japanese with their "comfort women" during WWII (as well we should be) but we have a cadre of elites (epstein et al) who are doing the same thing. and more and more often the courts and the judicial system are "green lighting" this behavior
Oh GOD Jo! A beautiful essay and I truly hope at least one of the survivors reads this and truly realizes she is not alone. I am horrified to say apparently my "innocence" is still intact. When I saw that soccer note, I thought: Trump went to one of his kid's soccer games? Must have been Ivanka. That apparently is the sort of of safety I grew up with, the sort every child should. My family talk frequently of what Wayne and the portion of it we grew up in (Pines Lake) was almost an Eden by today's standards and wonder if it is still that way today. I wait with an anxiety that makes my heart race when I think of whether this time (THIS TIME!) Congress will finally say too much and demand the files now and not when they've finished retracting everything. I mean, really, the total pages they blacked out...they were all victim's names written over and over again? Give. Me. A. Break.
I dunno, can we lie with impunity like they do? I also want to rip the eyes out of the Senators who feel there is no use in them trying to rein him in. Oh, how about we hire some machines to lift us up to remove the letters he added to the Kennedy Center....they were installed without permission, therefore breaking the law? I'm finding it increasingly difficult to not scream.
Wishing you and the kids the best Christmas ever. And, Lord help us, PEACE!
At bottom tears are anger. The t in PTSD isn't something that goes away. We can sand off the edges with time. A bit of understanding by others helps a lot. One strategy is to avoid possible reminders but that isn't always useful in the moment.
We are going to keep pressing for the complete and total release of the files. The very best indicators we have that there is something to hide is the incredible effort to cover up what we are asking - strike that - demanding be revealed.
Talk about trauma- this constant discussion of abuse in the headlines, with no end in sight. must be so difficult for so many women, being endlessly reminded of horrible events. I feel bad for so many, and incandescent anger at the perpetrators. If this issue doesn't bring down The Rapist, nothing ever will. His followers would follow him straight into hell.
A beacon of hope and justice.. a fierce voice for what is right!
Your childhood was beyond traumatic.. you were ROBBED of a childhood..a criminal act.. children should be allowed to grow in peace and safety.. all around the world…
I stand with you, from another country- Scotland..
I was that scared, abandoned child too.. No dad, an aggressive step dad…a broken grieving mother…
You ARE however, a beautiful person that sees both sides of domestic
violence and abuse..be it of children or adults..
May YOUR heart find peace and hope as we go forward 🌟❤️
Jo…firstly thank you for sharing. The monumental grief that these constant revelations trigger make us sick to our soul. These horrendous acts of violation and the destruction of innocence wrench us back to our own traumas. But this shared pain, intense empathy and suffering, is what will eventually bring us into the light. Not the shadows of guilt and self depreciation, but the light of healing, caring, recognition of all the victims suffering at the hands of predators. The women and girls…and children…should be in our hearts at this time of year, but more vital is our resolve to expose, prosecute and give closure to all that have been so abused, degraded and scarred by diabolical men. I normally make a resolution in the N year to cut down on alcohol, go to the gym more often etc, but this year, I resolve to give as much support to victims of sexual abuse as I possibly can. Secondly, to broadcast, with every fucking fibre of my being, to challenge and confront any sexist, racist, bigoted behaviour I may encounter. Jo, I admire your work, both as a writer and broadcaster and an author for all of us. Much love and respect.
Great post JoJo! Your words paint a picture of what you endured in life and it really sucks that you had to go through that. I'm sure it makes you feel everything from these survivors a little deeper than most.
The picture you posted of Epstein on the bed and the girl on the side. That picture got me too. She is a child and the shit blocked out on the table. WTF?! What these girls endured is way worse than we know and I pray they get their justice! Merry Christmas to you and your kids JoJo!
As a Gen X person I can recall dozens of incidents where grown men groped me and/ or said wildly inappropriate things to me when I was a child. You’re right, Jo, this sucks. The audacity of this administration.. I hope the truth seeps out and the disgusting pedophiles are all identified and held to account.
JoJo you are a treasure and you are speaking for so many. Trump and his supporters may well ruin this great nation if more people don't start seeing the depravity and greed this fuck has hoisted unto all of us. Why is fairness so hard for so many?
Another great post Jo and I'm truly sorry you and so many others have had that happen to them. The covering up of all the Pedophiles by Trump, the DoJ, FBI and the GoP is beyond despicable and disgusting but history will not paint a pretty picture for those people. Their time is coming when the Trump Regime is done which can't happen soon enough. They won't be able to show their faces in public as normal people will not forget what they've done.
Jo, how beautifully written. In my mind I keep coming back to the idea that somewhere someone has intact, unredacted copies of all background materials. Everything. Is the only way out to leak the contents?
Probably. The Epstein Papers will rival the Pentagon Papers for impact if there is anyone with the courage to publish them.
Child sex trafficking is one of the most horrific crimes imaginable. All of this points to the fact that privileged white men still matter more than anything else in our society. An entire ecosystem has been set up to protect them. Let the chips fall where they will. Every one of these abusive bastards belongs in prison for the rest of their lives.
I have tears. Not just for the survivors, but for you too Jo.
My wife of close to forty years is also a survivor so I have intimate knowledge of the pain.
Too many nights have I hade to hold her through the nightmares.
Consider yourself held in the arms of those who choose to care.
I am so sorry…every child SHOULD FEEL SAFE! This story and all that it’s based on leaves me lightheaded and sick. I wish someone would just take these sick men out…period. Any woman voting to protect them is guilty too. Thank you for exposing this and expressing your feelings, it’s so important.
Beautiful spoken and written JoJo.. from one survivor to another.. Hugs and Love 💕
The complete disregard for the victims' suffering, for the unconscionable predation of these rich and powerful men, for the equally indefensible cover-up that is continuing this very minute, and the comprehensive and total evasion of justice is unbelievable. It is a stunning illustration of how, when connections, wealth, and privilege are pitted against morality and all that is good, evil has the advantage. But this story is not over. Despite the moral and ethical vacancies of Mike Johnson, Bondi, and all the minions who are protecting president piggy pedo predator, the truth will be heard and seen. Thanks, Jo.
I am so sorry for you, JoJo, and everyone who had to endure suffering in childhood.
what all this reveals about our country, about our society, about the real relationship between men and women, the haves and have-nots, money and power vs. everyone else is unbearable. i have been listening to Virginia Giuffre's book in very small doses as just a bit of it and i want to vomit. and the blistering truth is that we will never know the full extent of the assaults that took place because of Epstein, people like him, the rich that think it is ok, and that the world is their playground, and a society that continually views any female accuser with suspicion. the peek that we have had thus far makes you ill, but it is clear that we have only been exposed to a small fraction of it, and i am guessing the worst has probably been destroyed.. huge amounts of information is missing, the stuff that has been revealed has been blacked out, and yet, through all that, it reveals how sick our society is. this is the society that we have created, and that we teach our kids. Not all of us, but enough of us teach their boys to be aggressive, violent, physical, ignore emotions, dominate others... we teach our girls to be clean and neat and pretty and perfect to attract and please boys... we teach our girls to be independent, but only as independent as the men in their life will let them be, we teach them to recognize their positions as second class citizens. for the parents who do not indoctrinate their kids, society does a great job of filling in for them. look at popular culture, look at ads, look at how the justice system treats complaints from white men vs women vs people of color etc. look at how our marketing industry trains women to be painted up, dyed, revealing, enticing, etc. whereas men can have a beer gut, wear their stupid baseball caps backwards, and have their pants half way down their asses... and if you are rich... whether an industrialist, an entertainer, a sports figure, or a politician, the rules do not apply to you. the rules are to keep others in line so you feel safe to do what you want to do. what trump has done is brought this out to the forefront of our consciousness. he has paraded these social ills in front of us so that there is no denying it... if you are rich, grab women and do what you want with them.. its ok. steal and lie and cheat, because if you are rich and white, that is just business. he is holding up a mirror to what has been going on since time immemorial and brought it to the mainstream. were it not for people like trump, clinton, members of the royal family, Epstein may be alive today, continuing his depraved war on children and women. Epstein is a massive example, but there are baby Epsteins running around all over the place, committing these crimes daily to women, young women, young boys... and now the US government, in all its power and righteousness, especially this one that paints itself as the guardian of family values, morals, Godliness, etc. is Epstein's and his buddies (trump etc.) biggest enablers... disgusting... even whackjobs like MTG cannot deal with it...
You hit a lot of balls out of the park with that one Robert. Reminded me that not only have they abused women and girls, but by installing trump and their own actions of unbelievable greed, they have abused each and every citizen who isn't part of the pack. Billions to Argentina (for what no one will say) while the very people who gave the government that money can't afford health care, food, housing, clean air and water etc. etc. Coal mines open because profit! Native lands are stolen AGAIN! because oil profit, people of color, women, LGBQT+ people are again demeaned, the handicapped are almost told they deserve it and so much more.... I need to go throw up now....
I hear you... the money to Argentina was simple... it was so a buddy of his could make millions having speculated in the Argentinian currency which was depressed. with the US swapping pumping 40 bb dollars into Argentina, their currency went thru the roof, and his body sold and made millions if not billions of dollars. we lose 40 bb dollars so his friend can become rich. authoritarians need to have enemies to galvanize their followers.. hence people of color, gays, trans, etc. become a convenient focal point for anger and fear... keeps the average person from recognizing where their real problems are coming from. the republicans have been doing this for over 60 years, convincing rural white Americans that the people responsible for their plight are urban people of color, gays, etc. while the real source is big business... allowing them to continue to extract wealth from the land (as you mentioned...) from people, from other countries... all the while so many Americans are being convinced that immigrants, gays, trans, etc. are the source of their issues. like it or not, the economy of this country was built first on slavery, then on low wage workers, the first wave were the blacks in the 1920s and 30s, then Irish, Chinese, and now Hispanics... this is why they try to bury and whitewash our history. it is not debatable.. it is just math. so if it is ok to abuse workers for profit, they reason it is ok to abuse young women for their pleasure... we are outraged at the atrocities of the Japanese with their "comfort women" during WWII (as well we should be) but we have a cadre of elites (epstein et al) who are doing the same thing. and more and more often the courts and the judicial system are "green lighting" this behavior
Oh GOD Jo! A beautiful essay and I truly hope at least one of the survivors reads this and truly realizes she is not alone. I am horrified to say apparently my "innocence" is still intact. When I saw that soccer note, I thought: Trump went to one of his kid's soccer games? Must have been Ivanka. That apparently is the sort of of safety I grew up with, the sort every child should. My family talk frequently of what Wayne and the portion of it we grew up in (Pines Lake) was almost an Eden by today's standards and wonder if it is still that way today. I wait with an anxiety that makes my heart race when I think of whether this time (THIS TIME!) Congress will finally say too much and demand the files now and not when they've finished retracting everything. I mean, really, the total pages they blacked out...they were all victim's names written over and over again? Give. Me. A. Break.
The events of today — the way Blanche just said he moved Maxwell to protect her —- HOLD ME BACK. 😡😡😡
I dunno, can we lie with impunity like they do? I also want to rip the eyes out of the Senators who feel there is no use in them trying to rein him in. Oh, how about we hire some machines to lift us up to remove the letters he added to the Kennedy Center....they were installed without permission, therefore breaking the law? I'm finding it increasingly difficult to not scream.
Wishing you and the kids the best Christmas ever. And, Lord help us, PEACE!
At bottom tears are anger. The t in PTSD isn't something that goes away. We can sand off the edges with time. A bit of understanding by others helps a lot. One strategy is to avoid possible reminders but that isn't always useful in the moment.
We are going to keep pressing for the complete and total release of the files. The very best indicators we have that there is something to hide is the incredible effort to cover up what we are asking - strike that - demanding be revealed.
Times up suckers. We're coming for you.
Talk about trauma- this constant discussion of abuse in the headlines, with no end in sight. must be so difficult for so many women, being endlessly reminded of horrible events. I feel bad for so many, and incandescent anger at the perpetrators. If this issue doesn't bring down The Rapist, nothing ever will. His followers would follow him straight into hell.
If there's nothing in the files-prove it.
You are so brave JoJo..
A beacon of hope and justice.. a fierce voice for what is right!
Your childhood was beyond traumatic.. you were ROBBED of a childhood..a criminal act.. children should be allowed to grow in peace and safety.. all around the world…
I stand with you, from another country- Scotland..
I was that scared, abandoned child too.. No dad, an aggressive step dad…a broken grieving mother…
You ARE however, a beautiful person that sees both sides of domestic
violence and abuse..be it of children or adults..
May YOUR heart find peace and hope as we go forward 🌟❤️
JoJo -I hope you are feeling ok…
The GOOD PEOPLE CAN, get through life together…
You are a deep thinker… it’s emotionally exhausting..
We got you….
🌟🙏💪❤️
Jo…firstly thank you for sharing. The monumental grief that these constant revelations trigger make us sick to our soul. These horrendous acts of violation and the destruction of innocence wrench us back to our own traumas. But this shared pain, intense empathy and suffering, is what will eventually bring us into the light. Not the shadows of guilt and self depreciation, but the light of healing, caring, recognition of all the victims suffering at the hands of predators. The women and girls…and children…should be in our hearts at this time of year, but more vital is our resolve to expose, prosecute and give closure to all that have been so abused, degraded and scarred by diabolical men. I normally make a resolution in the N year to cut down on alcohol, go to the gym more often etc, but this year, I resolve to give as much support to victims of sexual abuse as I possibly can. Secondly, to broadcast, with every fucking fibre of my being, to challenge and confront any sexist, racist, bigoted behaviour I may encounter. Jo, I admire your work, both as a writer and broadcaster and an author for all of us. Much love and respect.
Great post JoJo! Your words paint a picture of what you endured in life and it really sucks that you had to go through that. I'm sure it makes you feel everything from these survivors a little deeper than most.
The picture you posted of Epstein on the bed and the girl on the side. That picture got me too. She is a child and the shit blocked out on the table. WTF?! What these girls endured is way worse than we know and I pray they get their justice! Merry Christmas to you and your kids JoJo!
As a Gen X person I can recall dozens of incidents where grown men groped me and/ or said wildly inappropriate things to me when I was a child. You’re right, Jo, this sucks. The audacity of this administration.. I hope the truth seeps out and the disgusting pedophiles are all identified and held to account.
JoJo you are a treasure and you are speaking for so many. Trump and his supporters may well ruin this great nation if more people don't start seeing the depravity and greed this fuck has hoisted unto all of us. Why is fairness so hard for so many?