Reply to Atheism’s sexual misconduct problem

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[quote=Anonymous]Accusations of sexual misconduct[edit]
On August 8, 2013, PZ Myers posted a message on his Pharyngula blog at Freethought Blogs from an unnamed woman later identified as Alison Smith claiming that Michael Shermer had raped her.[20] Smith alleged, "at a conference, Mr. Shermer coerced me into a position where I could not consent, and then had sex with me." She also stated that "I reached out to one organization that was involved in the event at which I was raped, and they refused to take my concerns seriously," that "5 different people have directly told me they did the same to them," and that she was sharing this information in order to warn others. Myers later updated his blog entry with an account from another woman, who claimed that Shermer plied her with drink at an atheist event and "was very flirty."
Double standards[edit]
Assuming the above accusations are correct, did Michael Shermer need help to understand the distress involved?[21] Before the PZ Myers grenade exploded Shermer understood the harm rape and adultery causes. He wrote the following in Feb 2013.
“”How do we know that rape and adultery are wrong? We don’t need to ask God. We need to ask the affected moral agent—the rape victim in question, or our spouse or romantic partner who is being cuckolded. They will let you know instantly and forcefully precisely how they feel morally about that behavior.
—Michael Shermer[22]
Double standard suspected anywhere? Or perhaps the power of wishful thinking enticed him into the conviction that only forcible incidents count as rape.
Reactions[edit]
Bloggers in the atheist/skeptic/feminist community reacted quickly and took sides. It soon became the blogosphere's drama of the week, rehashing many of the divisions endemic in the atheist community since the "Elevatorgate" affair.[23][24][25][26][27]
Shermer denied any wrongdoing and issued a cease and desist order against Myers, threatening defamation action unless Myers removed the offending blog entry and issued a full retraction and apology.[28]
Shermer got legal funds without asking on a fundraiser page built by Emery Emery, the “Ardent Atheist”.[29] The fundraser included a rape joke with generous contributors offered a bottomless glass of wine, with Emery “who will not be drinking but keeping your glass full.” This was a reminder that one woman complained Shermer repeatedly refilled her glass. Myers also got an offer of legal help from Popehat who is experienced with online libel trouble.[30]
The fundraiser for Michael Shermer’s legal action raised a total of $8,289. Emery Emery stated that Shermer “has no choice” but to sue PZ because the post was still up. By August 9th, 2014 the statute of limitations in California ran out without Shermer suing Myers.[31] As of 2018 the rape allegation is still up.[20][note 2]
Things blew up after 11-Sept-2014, when NY Times contributor Mark Oppenheimer wrote a very long, detailed highlights-reel on the harassment campaigns being run within the atheist and skeptical movements, including naming three victims of Shermer’s alleged predations. This piece alone contains several bombshells which had not been public before Oppenheimer's article appeared, including:
The person in the “Grenade” post by Myers was Alison Smith, a known figure in the skeptical community.
Shermer has actively changed his story from what he reported at the time in his rebuttal statement:
Original statement: Two unknown people (one with “dreadlocks”) were upset that Shermer was talking with Smith and was preventing them from “getting into her pants”, so they started spreading rumors.
Later statement: Shermer and Smith had had sober consensual sex that night, initiated by a cold proposition by Smith in a bathroom.[32]
Ashley Miller apparently had a several-minute-long conversation with Shermer while he was actively massaging his thing through his jeans, and trying to arrange himself such that she had to see it and notice.
James Randi was aware of complaints, and because Shermer wasn’t violent, ignored them:
“”Shermer has been a bad boy on occasion — I do know that[.] I have told him that if I get many more complaints from people I have reason to believe, that I am going to have to limit his attendance at the conference. His reply, […] is he had a bit too much to drink and he doesn’t remember. I don’t know — I’ve never been drunk in my life. It’s an unfortunate thing … I haven’t seen him doing that. But I get the word from people in the organization that he has to be under better control. If he had gotten violent, I’d have him out of there immediately. I’ve just heard that he misbehaved himself with the women, wh

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Michael_Shermer

Michael Shermer was supported by the atheist community after he was accused of raping several women.

Shermer got legal funds without asking on a fundraiser page built by Emery Emery, the “Ardent Atheist”.[29] The fundraser included a rape joke with generous contributors offered a bottomless glass of wine, with Emery “who will not be drinking but keeping your glass full.” This was a reminder that one woman complained Shermer repeatedly refilled her glass. Myers also got an offer of legal help from Popehat who is experienced with online libel trouble.[30][/quote]

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