And People Wonder Why I Make Jokes about Alabama

I have no idea whether Roy Moore sexually assaulted teenage girls when he was a prosecutor in his early thirties. However, the reactions of his supporters are as politically tone deaf as refusing to remove a monument of the ten commandments from the state’s judicial building, or telling probate judges to ignore the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.

Moore sounds like a caricature of an early twentieth century Dixie demagogue, but the abuse of power by a prosecutor is no laughing matter. Nor is sexual assault. Thank goodness Moore lives on the other side of our state line.

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24 Responses to And People Wonder Why I Make Jokes about Alabama

  1. Alex Jones says:

    This is why I say we need an all pervasive government with cameras literally watching every inch of the entire world. This would decimate crime and cause everyone to be much much safer. If we have eyes everywhere, war would just vanish. Another thing we could use this for would be a one world government. This is my goal. Ushering in a world of peace and unity with an all seeing and all knowing government.

  2. Zion Hargro says:

    There is no excuse for sexual assault. According to The Washing Post, four women exposed Moore for being a pedophile. All four women, the youngest being 14, disclosed that Moore engaged or attempted to engage in sexual contact with them when he was in his early 30s. Considering this was almost 40 years ago, you have to ask yourself, “Why did they decide to come forward and tell this to the public now?” Regardless, a senator candidate being attracted to teenagers is rather disturbing. But let’s face it, if a scandal from your past just so happened to be revealed when you’re close enough to a seat on the senate bench that you can almost smell it, will you risk everything you worked so hard for? Or will you deny, deny, deny, until it blows over and pray to God you still can sit on the bench? You know what they say, what is done in the dark will always come to light.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/woman-says-roy-moore-initiated-sexual-encounter-when-she-was-14-he-was-32/2017/11/09/1f495878-c293-11e7-afe9-4f60b5a6c4a0_story.html?utm_term=.2412c54c4a3d

  3. Kaelon McNeece says:

    I had little knowledge of this topic until this article had peaked my interest into Moore’s history. The complete glossing over of potential sexual assault from Moore is absolutely baffling. Alabama state auditor Jim Zeigler’s statement that, “There’s just nothing immoral or illegal here. Maybe just a little bit unusual,” is deeply infuriating. Ziegler’s chooses to only focus on the age difference instead of the sexually explicit actions that Moore had not explicitly denied. Aside from his recent sex scandal, Moore’s other actions when placed into positions of political power are concerning enough on their own. Moore has demonstrated multiple instances of blatant disregard for political rulings in order to satisfy what he personally believes is right. Moore’s refusal to remove his installation of the Ten Commandments from the Heflin-Torbert Judicial Building that he didn’t consult with other justices for, which violated the Establishment Clause of the Constitution and removed Moore from the Alabama Supreme Court works as one instance. Another instance is his decision to oppose the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling by ordering judges to defy the ruling instead of enforcing it. I’m with Dr. E on this one, I’m happy this guy isn’t involved in our government.

    External Source:
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/national-republican-senatorial-committee-ends-joint-fundraising-agreement-with-roy-moore-campaign/2017/11/10/f393278c-c62e-11e7-84bc-5e285c7f4512_story.html?utm_term=.9e41e003d77c

  4. Alexz Carpenter says:

    Wow, that is scary.

  5. Aidan Warren says:

    Allow me to draw conclusions from nowhere. I’ve actually followed Moore a little for a while since I saw an article about the Alabama senate race and yes, he is exactly as awful as he seems, but might I suggest that his open bigotry towards homosexuality stems from insecurity about his own perversion. Of course that’s just a pet theory and I honestly am skeptical about the sexual abuse accusations, but, with so many women telling such similar stories I am inclined to believe it. I’m sure the grammar in that last section just earned me negative bonus points. Regardless the response to the allegations is just as worrying as the allegations themselves, particularly that of Jim Zeigler, a state auditor. He immediately jumped to a biblical justification and cited a number of times older men married younger women. This is a strange way to justify an older man taking advantage of a teenage girl sexually from a position of great authority. It’s utterly despicable.
    But, now, my real point on Roy Moore is this. Moore speaks time and time again about his campaign being a spiritual battle, and justifies his actions through Christianity again and again. How can someone who runs a campaign based on such a premise claim to represent all Alabamans (Alabamians? Alabams?)? There are a number of religious minorities and irreligious minorities that don’t agree with conservative christianity, and as the senator he hopefully never becomes Moore would be responsible for representing the interests of those Alabamans too. But with Moore treating homosexuality like bestiality and seemingly entirely disregarding the lines of the first amendment that prevent the government from respecting an establishment of religion, does it even appear that he intends to represent any but the conservative Christian majority? And does this at all reflect the values against faction and the persecution of minorities espoused in Federalist Paper #10? I say a resounding no. But with these allegations of statutory rape, hopefully that never becomes a relevant question.

  6. Gene Kloss says:

    While Moore’s sexual assault of a minor is clearly a terrible thing to have happened, this, along with other similar events coming to light, is sparking the outcry of many people to show what horrible deeds people have done. Unlike the allegations against Bill Cosby, people are now expressing their stories of sexual assault from other people. For instance, Terry Crews, a well-known TV star, recently filed a police report and went on GMA to discuss his story of being sexually assaulted by a high-profile Hollywood agent. Louis CK has had multiple accusations of sexual misconduct thrown his way, to which he stated, “these stories are true.” Granted, Louis CK is showing severe remorse and acknowledges that his actions were terrible and damaging, so I am biased to be lenient towards his case. These recent cases of sexual assault, as awful as they are, are empowering victims to come out of their “POW camps”, as Crews described it, and bring justice to all.

  7. Samantha Anderson says:

    The reaction, all though quite disappointing, is not shocking to me. At this point in my life, I have seen the South produce so many ridiculous claims with so much illogical reasoning behind them that I would be lying to say it’s not expected. The reactions from Moore’s supporters made no since. They used the Bible to justify a fact that wasn’t in question: his marriage. I have no discrimination in ages in marriages that are legal (at least within about a 15 year age gap), but I do discriminate against those who commit sexual assault. Not to say that Moore definitely did assault those girls, but the issue of whether or not he did should still be addressed by his supporters and non-supporters. Then to use the Bible to justify this is absolutely disgusting.

  8. Roy Moore’s name has been dragged through the mud, and for good reason too considering he refuses to support homosexual relations and his views portray him as a bigot. Even our president, Donald Trump, has chosen to support Moore’s position by stating that he “totally denies it.” This endorsement has sparked a flame in many who claim to have been assaulted by Roy Moore. Moore pushes his beliefs onto others by refusing to support their views but expecting them to be compliant with his. Maybe in the future, he will be cleared and receive a change of heart.

  9. Indu Nandula says:

    Sexual assault is an abominable crime. Perpetrators of such acts are the basest of people, scraping the hypothetical sewers of society. Even in prison, sexual predators are frowned upon, and are often targeted by fellow inmates. This goes to show how horrible of a crime it is. But it is only worse for the victims. Often times, when victims come forward and share their stories, they are often called liars, especially when the culprit is a political figure or a celebrity. That said, the least a victim can get from the entire ordeal is the benefit of the doubt. But when hard-headed stone heads blindly support said perpetrator, there is nothing more hurtful to the victims.
    However, after all is said and done, this blind support that Moore received from the South, though despicable, is not surprising. The same trend of Republican support, regardless of past actions, can be seen in recent years. One example is the election of President Trump. Similar to Moore, Trump has been at the receiving end of several similar allegations, which he has expressed denial towards, despite the numerous testimonies from his alleged victims. Despite this, many Southerners blindly supported his rise to power. In such cases as these, more knowledge should be utilized on the part of the people, so that only good and right are promoted in our society.

  10. Anonymous says:

    I don’t understand why people kept supporting him. They knew what he was doing because it was in the news. Did they just not care? Maybe people thought that because he would not take down the 10 commandments that made up for the terrible things he had done. Nothing should make up for sexually assaulting anyone; it is a crime. Why wasn’t he thrown in jail? Being a political figure does not excuse someone for the crimes they commit.
    Honestly, this does not surprise me. The south is very hypocritical. They say that someone should be thrown in jail for sexual assault, but when one of the people they like is running for office commits the crime, they excuse it. It just does not make any sense.

  11. How can someone like that be supported so greatly? Moore was prosecutor who abused his powers for his own personal gain and sexually assaulted women. A person who abuses his or her power to manipulate others is not fit to have power in the first place. This happens so much nowadays that it is sickening every time I hear in the news some man sexually assaulted women. This needs to stop.

  12. Caitlin Jordan says:

    Men in power believe that because of their power they can get away with certain things. One of these things being sexual assault of women that tend to be younger and in a position of little power. Other people who are associated with the ones that abuse their power ignore the wrongdoings of the abusers because it could potentially hurt themselves or a brand/group. Unless the abusers are punished, they will continue to abuse their power until they fear the repercussions of their actions.

  13. Theresa Ho says:

    I understand why his supporters are a bit skeptical and in denial with the accusations dealing with his sexual assaults towards teenage girls because it happened years ago, but that does not excuse it. When given power, especially in politics, people will often take advantage of it. It is a shame to think how often political leaders will sexually assault young girls and not be punished for it.

  14. Sawyer Neal says:

    “With great power, comes great responsibility.” This quote is a bit overused, but it definitely fits this situation. Roy Moore completely abused the power that he had when he supposedly assaulted the teenage girls, but despite the atrocity this the act itself is, some of the reactions are just as bad. David Hall, Marion County GOP chairman, told CNN, “It was 40 years ago. I don’t really see the relevance of it. He was 32, she was 14. She’s not saying that anything happened other than they kissed.” Even if it was just kissing, that is still sexual assault with minors. Sexual assault is always going to be sexual assault, no matter how it is done.

    Source:

    http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/10/politics/roy-moore-alabama-reactions/index.html

  15. Sophia Pepper says:

    While the majority of the incidents he’s accused of are quite far in the past, that doesn’t change the fact that he did sexually assault multiple teenage girls and young women. As Sawyer said, even if he did just kiss them, that is still a crime, and unwanted kiss is still sexual assault and her being 14 merely increases the severity of the crime. The sheer idea that anyone, let alone the president. could possibly excuse his behavior, let alone defend him is almost impossible to believe. Although, considering how President Trump believes celebrities can do anything to women simply because of their celebrity, perhaps it shouldn’t come as such a shock

  16. Anonymous says:

    This absolutely sickening, sexual harassment is unacceptable no matter who you are.

  17. Kendra Bradley says:

    While it’s on the other side of the state line right now, I wouldn’t necessarily feel much superiority over the situation. I have heard many Mississipians that only care about the red ticket that defend Moore tooth and nail. The worst argument I think I’ve heard is “Doug Jones isn’t perfect. Someone’s past isn’t who they are.” I must say, that sentence pisses me off more than anything. I’m not sure what tells more about who someone is then the fact that they inappropriately touched a minor against the minor’s consent. And yet people support him. I think that says a lot about the people supporting them.

  18. Efingie says:

    The Republican politician Roy Moore has succeeded in disappointing and angering people all over the United States (many more people in areas other than Alabama of course). Honestly, I am just confused as to how people can continue to justify appalling behavior. Can people really support a bigot to the point where cognitive dissonance can actually justify his harassment?

    Sexual assault is widespread among powerful groups of people, and most definitely should not be tolerated. However, what I find most appalling is when people justify an abuser’s actions and essentially dismiss the victim’s claims. In Roy Moore’s case, many of his supporters claim that the allegations are likely from his political opponents, and some go so far as to argue that other should not let this one instance diminish Moore’s reputation because he is “great” politician.

    One of his supporters stated that “Judge roy Moore is winning with a double digit lead. So it is no surprise, with just over four weeks remaining, in a race for the US Senate with national implications, that the Democratic Party and the country’s most liberal newspaper would come up with a fabrication of this kind.”

    Interestingly, but not surprisingly, Trump decided to stick my Roy Moore, stating that ‘We don’t need a liberal person [to replace Moore], a Democrat.”

    This quote is the perfect example of the destructive power of ingroup bias and the two-party system in American politics. It is important to understand that sexual assault occurs everywhere, and Roy Moore is only one of many abusers. Take the occurances in Hollywood as an example. Victims should not have to risk everything just to step forward and say “me too.” And once they work up the courage to speak up, they should not be shot down and dismissed because their harasser has influence. This is a widespread issue that can only be remedied by persecuting the abusers and showing society that abuse should not be tolerated.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/27/us/politics/republican-senate-alabama-mcconnell.html
    http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/10/politics/roy-moore-alabama-reactions/index.html
    http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/huppke/ct-met-trump-roy-moore-huppke-20171121-story.html

  19. Sabrina Solomon says:

    Excuses, Excuses. Doesn’t mean he’s fit to be in office. I do not know much about him, but I do know that I heard an ad on the radio over the weekend advocating for people not to vote for him. Shoving biblical justifications down people’s throats does not solve the issues at hand. Sexual harassment does not go unnoticed. Roy running for office is even more noticeable. His morals do not meet what the people want in this position. Does anyone pay attention to what is going on in the White House and learn from it? Someone needs to tell these big heads that they can’t get anywhere just because they have some money and publicity. That is all. In as many nice words as possible.

  20. MaryRuth Pridmore says:

    I think that his supporters should not be backing him so strongly without truly knowing what happened. However, “innocent until proven guilty” is still a thing. Just because a girl said that she was sexually harassed does not mean that he did it and he should lose his entire career. That being said, it also should not be disregarded. Proper investigation should be done before anyone makes serious assumptions and accusations.

  21. Sophia Garcia says:

    Prior to reading this (and doing further research), I had never of Roy Moore’s name before. Maybe I am just out of touch with the news, but it is weird how we never hear about sexual assault accusations until people go digging. I feel that the history if each politician should be known and public. I would want someone in office to be up-front about their wrongs, and even if they are bad wrongs just to admit they were wrong and ask for forgiveness. Just because they ask for it does not mean they will get it, but at least they tried. I am not really into politics, so I will leave it at that. c:

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