No one wants to say this out loud.
But as more details come out, it needs to be said.
Many, if not the majority, of alleged Epstein victims initially
participated in whatever they did voluntarily. Nobody forced them to become
pawns of Epstein. Not Epstein himself, Ghislaine, or those employed by him.
Only after they were already involved with him sexually did
they express regrets. And only when they felt they were being pressured to have
sex with his pals did they start – and that’s the right word: start – to realize
what they’d gotten into. But even then, many
of them didn’t do anything to get out of the mess they were in.
That does not negate, or pardon, the abuse to which they
were subjected to later. That was truly awful and certainly illegal.
But it’s important to remember in all this that no one was
kidnapped, held hostage, or physically beaten into submission. They were
clearly threatened, usually with the loss of whatever they were receiving as
pay.
Which was not always money. And yes, they were all paid in
one form or another. Some entered the Epstein web based on promises of modeling
jobs, acceptance into places like NYU and Columbia along with help with
tuition, and the opportunity to travel in the company of the rich and famous,
among other documented perks. Epstein paid
off some of their car loans, credit card debts, and even some college loans,
provided free housing, plus the promise
of a glamourous lifestyle, trips on his private jet and more.
That’s how they got sucked in. Not at the barrel of a gun. But with the smooth pitch of a con man and his
associate who knew all the right buttons to push.
It’s the same strategy pimps have employed since the
beginning of time. Epstein just had more to offer and didn’t have to resort to
violence or drugs to keep his victims in line. Now that years have passed, and
there’s unrelenting pressure to release all the Epstein files without redactions,
there’s the potential for more examination of precisely how each victim got
into the Epstein web in the first place.
If that’s done honestly that’s not going to be pretty.
However, there may be a lot of money to be paid out to
victims. That’s making some victims more willing to come forward. But I suspect
most will never tell what their part was in becoming ensnared – what actually
lured them in. And how they were
rewarded, which is intentionally the missing element in all this.
There’s little public appetite for blaming anyone but
Epstein, his associates, and his rich and powerful friends and clients. That’s
easier than addressing the whole truth.
Were there victims? Of course. Was what happened to them horrifying?
Yes. Should he have gone to prison for
life for what he did? Absolutely.
I’m not victim blaming. Or dismissing what happened to them. It was wrong. They didn't deserve what they went through. They were trafficked by a monster. No one deserves that.
Yet it's also true many of them made a conscious transaction upfront in
return for a reward. Did they fully grasp what might happen later? Perhaps not,
but they should have been wary. Still, making
that initial transaction voluntarily was the first step.
That’s the uncomfortable truth.
