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Certainly I'd like to think there's a special place in hell for those who accuse innocent people of sexual abuse; there's not much worse that one can be accused

Certainly I'd like to think there's a special place in hell for those who accuse innocent people of sexual abuse; there's not much worse that one can be accused of. Mental illness or not, there's no excuse for these kinds of false accusations. It's certainly understandable given Freddie's condition. But us understanding why it happened doesn't ethically justify their actions, and it also doesn't relieve the perpetrators from the consequences of their actions. "To those of you who are not people I harmed in my psychotic episode in August 2017… what is it you think I owe you?" - What I'd like is to simply not hear from this person in public again. I don't want them to have any sort of public social power, given their capability to totally ruin an innocent person's life. Get a job, like most of the rest of us, and stop being a public figure. That's what I'd like

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jck 5y ago
Full disclosure: I don't know who this guy is and hadn't heard of him before today. > Get a job, like most of the rest of us, and stop being a public figure. That's what I'd like This seems a bit harsh. Are you saying that anyone who has done something wrong should be permanently shunned and no longer deserves a voice in society? Should he also fully isolate himself and stop having friends and just not say anything ever again?
- beebmam 5y ago
  I'm saying if someone commits a violent act that ruins someone's life, like murdering someone or accusing someone of rape, that perpetrator should voluntarily choose to not publish thinkpieces, yes. And if that person doesn't voluntarily choose to not publish their words, people should shun that person.
watwut 5y ago
Unfair accusation of murder have people in jail for years. Unfair reputation that you unfairly accused someone of sexual harassment renders you unemplyable forever everywhere. My point here is that there are many life destroying accusations. And they have been used against variety of people.
chrsig 5y ago
I sincerely hope that you never find yourself having harmed someone as a result of a mental illness. > What I'd like is to simply not hear from this person in public again You're perfectly free to wear headphones in public, and stop reading anything authored by them. >Get a job, like most of the rest of us Nice ableism. Do you understand that severe mental illness can be a disability? Would you tell a person without legs to walk up the stairs like the rest of us? How nice it must be atop your pedestal.
- xondono 5y ago
  While I’d not put it like GP, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to not want him to have a big platform like the NYT. We don’t let people with severe mental disorders work with guns because they’re a risk to others. While I would not agree with having the law involved here, if he is really sorry, one would expect him to not place himself in a position where he can cause severe distress to others would he fail again to manage his illness. > Nice ableism. Do you understand that severe mental illness can be a disability? We are still talking about someone writing for the NYT, he is probably well able to write professionally in other fields like marketing.
- blindmute 5y ago
  Why does the mental illness part of this matter at all? He is at any time liable to go out of his mind and ruin people's lives, given a platform to do so. It doesn't make any difference about why that happens; he shouldn't have a platform. I don't care what's wrong with his brain, I care what's wrong with his actions and mitigating the effects of them. A blind person should not be driving, regardless of how "ableist" this opinion makes me. Likewise, a mentally ill man with a history of life altering slander should not be writing for a public platform.
  - chrsig 5y ago
    > Why does the mental illness part of this matter at all? Because as it turns out mental illness is part of a protected class, and that's a big deal in employment law. The solution here isn't limiting his freedom of speech, it's accommodating with a fact checker of some sort.
zajio1am 5y ago
> I don't want them to have any sort of public social power, given their capability to totally ruin an innocent person's life Who are ones that ruin an innncent person's live? It is one who falsely accused, or those who immediatey accept such accusations instead of wait for result of investigation? In some sense people of sound mind who uncritically accept such accusation and act on that have more responsibility for their actions than a person who did the false accusation during a psychotic break.
- beebmam 5y ago
  He's not innocent, by his own admission

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jck 5y ago

Full disclosure: I don't know who this guy is and hadn't heard of him before today. > Get a job, like most of the rest of us, and stop being a public figure. That's what I'd like This seems a bit harsh. Are you saying that anyone who has done something wrong should be permanently shunned and no longer deserves a voice in society? Should he also fully isolate himself and stop having friends and just not say anything ever again?

beebmam 5y ago
I'm saying if someone commits a violent act that ruins someone's life, like murdering someone or accusing someone of rape, that perpetrator should voluntarily choose to not publish thinkpieces, yes. And if that person doesn't voluntarily choose to not publish their words, people should shun that person.

watwut 5y ago

Unfair accusation of murder have people in jail for years. Unfair reputation that you unfairly accused someone of sexual harassment renders you unemplyable forever everywhere. My point here is that there are many life destroying accusations. And they have been used against variety of people.

chrsig 5y ago

I sincerely hope that you never find yourself having harmed someone as a result of a mental illness. > What I'd like is to simply not hear from this person in public again You're perfectly free to wear headphones in public, and stop reading anything authored by them. >Get a job, like most of the rest of us Nice ableism. Do you understand that severe mental illness can be a disability? Would you tell a person without legs to walk up the stairs like the rest of us? How nice it must be atop your pedestal.

xondono 5y ago
While I’d not put it like GP, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to not want him to have a big platform like the NYT. We don’t let people with severe mental disorders work with guns because they’re a risk to others. While I would not agree with having the law involved here, if he is really sorry, one would expect him to not place himself in a position where he can cause severe distress to others would he fail again to manage his illness. > Nice ableism. Do you understand that severe mental illness can be a disability? We are still talking about someone writing for the NYT, he is probably well able to write professionally in other fields like marketing.
blindmute 5y ago
Why does the mental illness part of this matter at all? He is at any time liable to go out of his mind and ruin people's lives, given a platform to do so. It doesn't make any difference about why that happens; he shouldn't have a platform. I don't care what's wrong with his brain, I care what's wrong with his actions and mitigating the effects of them. A blind person should not be driving, regardless of how "ableist" this opinion makes me. Likewise, a mentally ill man with a history of life altering slander should not be writing for a public platform.
- chrsig 5y ago
  > Why does the mental illness part of this matter at all? Because as it turns out mental illness is part of a protected class, and that's a big deal in employment law. The solution here isn't limiting his freedom of speech, it's accommodating with a fact checker of some sort.

zajio1am 5y ago

> I don't want them to have any sort of public social power, given their capability to totally ruin an innocent person's life Who are ones that ruin an innncent person's live? It is one who falsely accused, or those who immediatey accept such accusations instead of wait for result of investigation? In some sense people of sound mind who uncritically accept such accusation and act on that have more responsibility for their actions than a person who did the false accusation during a psychotic break.

beebmam 5y ago
He's not innocent, by his own admission