Make no mistake, gutting these programs will cause deaths, and that’s acceptable to far too many people in this country who seem to think that this complete antipathy toward killing other human beings will somehow skip them when the time comes.
It never does.
The world most people live in doesn’t afford them the time or money to keep up with all the self-improvement trends. Why would we shame them for doing what they can within the limitations they live with?
We talk about the importance of mental health, but our actions as a society send a completely different message.
Jeffrey Epstein was making people a lot of money and connecting them to power and influence. Surely whatever might have been happening was secondary to that, no?
That’s why we see more concern for the “friends” who might be hurt by being connected to Epstein than we see for the victims. They aren’t rich and powerful. They don’t matter. They should get over it and put it behind them.
I work with AI professionally. I use it to get things done and to support research, but I never trust or depend on it. It’s a tool. For mental health, it can also be a tool, and I’m sure many of you are finding it helpful. I would caution all of us to be careful, though. Mental health professionals have serious reservations; I would keep them in mind.
Maybe the most interesting aspect of meeting survivors is how many ways this happened to all of us. I’ve yet to meet a survivor who has said that they tell people about their trauma and are always believed, taken seriously, and encouraged to continue telling their story. It’s not that they don’t occasionally hear that from an individual, but it is always the exception instead of the rule.
