Call me old fashioned, but what ever happened to "Innocent until Proven Guilty"? Is it too much to ask for media, personalities, and every talking point around to hold their judgement until it's determined if allegations hold a good amount of truth to them? Yes, victims need to give their story, but we have a legal system in place for a reason: To properly ascertain that crimes have or have not been committed. I don't think the answer is ever to go to Twitter or some other media outlet, throw out everything, and let the people carry the torch of justice on their own against someone who very may have well done nothing. If you think I'm pulling fears out of nowhere, may I remind you of Alec Holowka, creator of Night in the Woods. Zoe Quinn came along and posted her Twitlonger of his "History of Abuse" that he inflicted on her. Only it was bullshit. People investigated it, and sure enough, the dates don't add up, witnesses attest to no wrongdoing, and in fact, verifiable text strings from others involved point to Zoe abusing Alec! But by the time that was all figured out, it was too late. He was fired from the team, the game was mired in controversy, people were calling him out like crazy, and he committed suicide. Did Quinn ever face charges? No. Because the person they could get answers from is dead now. All this wouldn't have happened if people treated those allegations with the slightest shred of concern or reasoning. But no. Cancel culture needs to be canceled.

Hoo boy. Media accountability is important and the danger of false allegations is very real. As a mandated reporter, it's something that happens all too frequently around me and something I worry greatly about.

But (and this is a butt you can't spank only once) there has to be a culture that allows abused people to come forward and be believed. And that does mean false allegations will pop up (because scummy people will always exist) and that folks will believe them (which they should.)