Okay. You're not wrong, but I want to point out a few things.
1) I can't speak for what men experience in the OTO, so I won't. My post is about women so I will discuss women only. This post is specifically about misogyny, the hatred of women, so I would like to stick to that and not derail this conversation with "well it happens to men too" (though that I'm sure was not your intention). It's terrible this happens to anyone regardless of who they are, but we have to examine how the power structures and reasoning behind these evil actions differ.
With that being said, I hope these young men speak up and let their stories be heard. No one deserves sexual assault. I say that as a survivor myself.
2) Predators and misogyny have no politic, friend; let me be clear. I see this way too often--a rush to blame right wing sentiment instead of the actual problem, which is masculine culture and patriarchy as a whole. Maybe the top down facilitates the survival of bad behavior, but truly? By far the most insidious predators in my experience in OTO as a woman was not the obvious right winger with trad values. They were very easy to spot and avoid.
The most insidious predators were men who labeled themselves progressive and weaponized progressive ideology to invade women's spaces and manipulate their boundaries. Men who called themselves feminists solely so they could gain the trust and respect of others around them, then slowly poison the environment to their advantage. For real life examples:
Excusing unwarranted touching as simply being sexually libertine, a cherished value among Thelemic men,
Pushing someone's sexual boundaries as a kind of socio-political statement in the name of sexual freedom, with no regard to individual autonomy or individual comfort level,
Treating sexual attention like a special spiritual endowment, especially to young women/women with low self esteem,
Deflecting criticism of individual behavior by using social justice language, and hiding behind it ("I wouldn't do that! I'm a feminist! I voted for so-and-so!"),
Labeling women with strong sexual boundaries as "aggressive and belligerent" (something I was called when I reamed a dude out for the unwarranted touching), or labelling them "close-minded" or sexually unfree because of their personal choices, as a way to publicly degrade, humiliate and pressure them,
Abandoning feminist principles when it would have to apply to a woman they didn't like personally,
Playing women against each other by using social justice language to divide them, often over disagreements with men,
Performative feminism to gain the trust of younger women and girls, especially women and girls with low self esteem
These predators were smarter. They used language and ideology that is meant to protect women and instead used it as a cover and shield for their actions. They knew that being overtly sexual in a manner like Trump would not get them anywhere, so they instead manipulated progressive values to make women more sexually available to them and create an environment where vulnerable women were more accessible. I have seen far more toxic and snakelike behavior out of men that loudly yell at everyone how feminist they are than I have out of straight and openly misogynistic good ole boys. To this DAY I still look askance at men that say they have such huge stakes in feminism, or call themselves a feminist as opposed to a feminist ally. To me it has almost become a red flag for smoke screens, deception, and underhanded sexual manipulation.
While I agree Trump supporters are vile, I would really turn your eyes to some of these men inside the order that loudly declare themselves feminists to cover for their behavior. They are a much, much more cunning and deceptive bunch.
I met my rapist at an OTO lodge. And he was exactly that kind.
3) if you're ashamed to identify as a Thelemite....then maybe don't.
andulkaphoto
gummygunk
dededos
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turnnoffyourmind
