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A member of queer punk rock duo PWR BTTM was recently accused of sexual assault, news that has taken the music industry by surprise.On May 11 a person claiming to be part of Chicagos DIY scene and queer community wrote on Facebook that musician Ben Hopkins is a known sexual predator and perpetrator of multiple assaults. A band that was booked to tour with PWR BTTM tweeted they had been forewarned about Hopkins predatory behavior and Jezebel posted an anonymous interview with a woman who says she was sexually assaulted by the rock star.

The fallout was swift:PWR BTTM, which has recently garnered critical acclaim from The New York Times and just released a sophomore album, was dropped by their management as well as their label, which pulled the bands music from all streaming services.

The allegations have shocked fans, many of whom idolize PWR BTTM for being one of the few gender fluid role models in a heteronormative music industry. The band is part of the queercore movement, a small subculture of punk that eschews aggressive masculinity, and writes songs such asI Wanna Boi, and Sissy. The gender-neutral Hopkins, who wears thrift store dresses onstage and a face smeared with glittery makeup, has become a queer icon and thebands shows are known as safe spaces the musicians demand every venue have gender-neutral bathrooms, and in November gave audience members access to a back entrance when homophobic protestors showed up outside a concert.

But given the complexity of many sexual assault cases, these allegations should not be surprising. They should instead serve as an important reminder that abusers can also come in progressive packages.

Theres a societal tendency to think sexual violence predators fit one, misogynistic mold. That they are the type of people who anchor right-wing talk shows, leer at women on the street or brag about grabbing genitals. This limited definition makes the threat of sexual assault feel contained rather than omnipresent. The reality is that progressive politics dont preclude non-consensual sex.

When a queer person with enlightened gender values is accused of sexual assault it creates cognitive dissonance. Nobody expects a musician who champions safe spaces especially one who isnt a heterosexual man to face allegations of sexual assault. But you know what else we didnt expect? That Americas dads favorite pastime was allegedly drugging and raping women. There is no one-size-fits-all model of an abuser.

There are countless examples of people whose liberal values or artistic jobs have helped distract from their alleged criminal behavior. Bill Clinton, who signed the Violence Against Women Act, secured family leave, and lobbied for sexual orientation to be included in hate crime law, has been accused by three women of sexual misconduct and has infamously used his power to get sexual favors. Canadas Jian Ghomeshi used his high-profile status as a progressive radio host and renaissance man to allegedly sexually abuse 15 women (the court acquitted him of four charges). And lets not forget thelong list of celebrities, including Casey Affleck, Roman Polanski, Woody Allen and Nate Parker, whose artistic work is at seemingly odds with the accusations or charges of sexual violence against them. (To be fair, the problem isnt only with men. The female self-proclaimed feminist founder of Thinx underwear was recently accused of sexual harassment by current and former employees.)

We all likely know someone who waxes poetic about gender equality during the day and becomes a total creeper in dark bars. In the worst cases, perpetrators explicitly use their liberal ideals as bait. The term macktivistm refers to men who espouse progressive politics to lure in female victims. A Jezebel article describes one man who was fluent with womens issues such as body-image politics, female silencing and, most chillingly, consent, whom 20 women have accused of sexual assault and harassment.

Liberal values can also become a shield to help perpetrators defend themselves against allegations. Hopkins, who goes by the gender-neutral pronoun they, used progressive gender ideals to bolster their innocence in a statementreleasedThursday. Though they denied the allegations, they wrote: I am firmly committed to consent, to communication, and to mutual expression of sexual interest...I believe it is my responsibility to be accountable to this individuals perspective and to honor it accordingly. While theres no doubt PWR BTTMs values have improved the lives of many queer fans, these enlightened politics come across as hollow and manipulative when used to deny accusations of sexual assault.

While the PWR BTTM allegations will likely never be tried in court, they follow a well-known pattern: Theres a prominent figure within a community whose sexual abuse certain members claim is well-known.Eventually someone posts a blog or a tweet about the persons behavior, which seemingly permits others to share corroborative experiences. This phenomenon recently occurred with an editor who ended his public writing career after a womans blog post about his behavior led to multiple sexual assault accusations and with a music publicist who resigned after a woman tweeted an allegation of sexual harassment that prompted many other similar stories.

While these accusations are incredibly painful for PWR BTTM fans, they are a good reminder that sexual assault perpetrators dont fit into neat categories. Sometimes, they are the aggressive men who grab women at bars and yell sexist slurs. But they can also be queer role models who sing about progressive gender messages while covered in sparkles.

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Progressives Can Be Sexual Predators, Too | HuffPost - HuffPost

Red cards, signaling disagreement, often predominated at Sen. Dan Sullivans town hall May 20 in Anchorage. (Photo by Wesley Early/Alaska Public Media)

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan held a town hall meeting Saturday in Anchorage, one of only a few hes held on the road system since the election of President Donald Trump.

Hundreds packed into the Bartlett High School auditorium were frequently vocal.

This was not the kind of crowd Sullivan was used to.

I cant tell if those are boosor if those are Dont answer! Sullivan said at the start. You dont have to answer that.

When he spoke about rolling back federal regulation and turning control over to the states, lines that usually draw applause for him fell flat. Or worse.

The thrust of what we need to be doing is letting the states, who understand their (insurance) market much better, much better than bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., design a systemthat fits Alaska, Sullivan said, straining to continue over the chorus of booing.

Sullivan took questions for more thanan hour. Many were about proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act.

Health care worker Sarah Stevens asked the senator how he expects Alaskans to bear the cost of giving birth if Congress allows insurers to dropmaternity coverage.

Sullivan supports covering pregnancies, but flexibility would bring down insurance costs.

What I dont support is a federal government plan, like you have under the Affordable Care Act, that says to a 60-year-old male you have to have insurance that covers maternity, Sullivan said, amid sustainedbooing. It makes no sense, and thats why you have premiums spiking.

But isnt that just health insurance? Stevens asked, to hearty applause. I dont need prostate exams but I pay into a health care plan that provides prostate exams.

The booing continued, and the crowdheld up red cards to show their disagreement. A few people in the crowd started chants of single-payer.

Just to get it out of the system and get the biggest boo of the night, I am not supporting a single payer health system, Sullivan said, drawing the predicted response.

Red cards also went up when Sullivan spoke of defunding Planned Parenthood and mentioned Trumps more controversial cabinet secretaries.

Green cards appeared when Sullivan described Russia as an adversary and said Alaskas climate is changing.

(Sullivan, though, has disputed the scientific consensus on the cause of climate. He voted no to a Senate declarationthathuman activity contributes to climate change.)

The crowd chanted yes or no?when Sullivan did not give a simple answer to a question about his support for expanded Medicaid.

The senator saidhes focused on not pulling the rug out from under current enrollees.

Donna Marie is among the constituents who have been clamoring for months for a congressional town hall in Anchorage.

At his request, she introduced Sullivan on the Bartlett stage, and she took it on herself to ask people to be respectful and avoid booing. She wassurprised athow one-sided the audience was.

I thought the senator would have more conservative support in the crowd, and more support for his views, Marie said. I didnt see more than three or four ofwhat I would call Trump administration supporters, and the rest of the crowd seemed overwhelmingly progressive.

Sullivan responded with good grace and good humor to a fairly hostile audience,Marie said.

Were they rude? Perhaps a little bit, Marie said. But they werent out of control. Its not like they prevented the meeting from going on. They might have delayed (it) for a couple of moments, but otherwise I thought the audience reacted appropriately given the situation.

Marie said shes hoping U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski or U.S. Rep.Don Young will appear at a town hall shes organizing at the end of the month.

Sullivan, in a written statement Monday, said the Anchorage town hall was more raucous than his previous community outreach events. But he said he believes in listening to all Alaskans, regardless of theirideology.

Zachariah Hughes contributed to this story.

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Progressives make voices heard at Sullivan town hall - KTOO

Texas Sheriff Tracy Murphree harshly condemned the Manchester bombing, and didnt shy away from decrying Islamic terrorism and his thoughts that it was the root of the Manchester Arena massacre.

Murphree of Denton County,vented his frustrations on Facebook Monday night where he warned America not to make mistakes that could put the country in harms way.

Murphrees statement read:

Pay attention to what you see in Manchester England tonight. Pay attention to what is happening in Europe. This is what happens when you disarm your citizens. When you open your borders without the proper vetting. When you allow political correctness to dictate how you respond to an enemy that wants to kill you. When you allow these radicals to travel to Afghanistan and Iran and simply let them back in. When you give up your citys [sic] and your neighborhoods to a religious ideology that says you must convert or die. A ideology that treats women as property, kills gays and women and christians [sic] with complete impunity. The left tells us we must submit and accept these radical beliefs and bend over backwards to make sure we dont hurt anybodys feelings. The left wants to cater to the very group that would kill every group they claim to support. Folks this is an enemy hell bent on killing you. Committed to forcing you to convert or die. This enemy will strap bombs to their own body and blow themselves up killing children. Im sick of it. You better wake up America. While you are distracted by the media and the crying of the left, Islamic Jihadist are among us and want to kill you. What will it take? This happening at a concert in Dallas or a school in Denton County? If we dont do something quick this country will die of political correctness and the fear that someones feelings may be hurt. It may very well be to [sic] late for Europe.

Though Murphree was faced with some criticism for pulling the left into his well-versed diatribe, the support for the sheriff was overwhelmingly positive.

During a Tuesday interview with CBS11, Murphree doubled down on his comments.

He said, Im just sick and tired of kids dying around the world. When youre chastised and called names because you use the words radical Islamic terrorism. It baffles me. when I made that post I thought everyone knew that radical Islamic terrorism was a problem in the world.

Nearly 21,000 Ariana Grande fans were in Manchester Arena on Monday night for a stop on Grandes Dangerous Woman world tour when a home-made bomb was detonated after the show concluded.

After the concert ended, lights in the arena were turned back on and concertgoers began exiting the venue. At that time, suicide bomber Salman Abedi detonated his homemade explosive, killing at least 22 people and injuring scores more. The suicide bomber also died at the arena.

On Tuesday, ISIS took responsibility for the terror attack, saying, One of the soldiers of the caliphate placed explosive devices in a gathering of crusaders in the middle of the British city of Manchester.

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Texas Sheriff eviscerates liberals over Manchester bombing: 'Wake up, America' - TheBlaze.com

Intolerance, at times exploding into violence, is spreading throughout our society. And its coming from the political left.

Its happening on college campuses. Most recently, students walked out on Vice President Mike Pences commencement address at Notre Dame University.

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was interrupted by boos and jeers at her commencement address at historically black Bethune-Cookman University.

Conservative scholar Charles Murray was met with violent protests at Middlebury College. Another conservative scholar, Heather Mac Donald, was violently shut down in a presentation she was giving at Claremont McKenna College. These are just a couple examples.

Now its spreading off college campuses with reports of violence and threats toward Republican members of Congress and their families, as they hold town halls in their districts.

A column in The Hill newspaper bears the headline, Republicans fearing for their safety as anger, threats mount.

Whats happening?

A recent commentary in Forbes Magazine from a London School of Business professor calls this The Post-Truth World.

He describes a prevailing feeling of helplessness as individuals inhabit a world in which knowledge is, in general, exploding but each individual knows, relatively, less and less. And he points to a world in which business and politics are becoming increasingly interdependent.

New York University psychologist Jonathan Haidt attributes whats happening to a culture in which young people are not forced to deal with opposing viewpoints. This, says Haidt, is amplified by social media, which serves to reinforce existing biases.

But all this doesnt explain why the intolerance and violence is coming mainly from the political left.

A new survey from the Pew Research Center sheds light on this.

Sixty-six percent of Republicans compared to 29 percent of Democrats say that a person is rich because they worked harder than most people rather than because of having personal advantages in life. This 37 percent difference in attitudes of Republicans and Democrats about why some people are rich is 12 points larger today than where it stood just three years ago in 2014.

Seventy-one percent of Democrats compared to 32 percent of Republicans say someone is poor because of circumstances beyond a persons control, rather than because of lack of effort. This 37 percent difference between Republicans and Democrats in attitudes regarding why someone is poor is 19 points larger than where it stood three years ago in 2014.

The nation is becoming increasingly polarized on the very fundamental question regarding the extent to which individuals have control over their own life.

Across the nations whole population, 53 percent feel poverty is the result of circumstances beyond an individuals control compared to 34 percent who see poverty as the result of lack of effort.

What is the meaning of freedom in a country where more than half its citizens feel fate rather than choice governs their life?

Not surprisingly, for the first time in eight years, according to Pew, more Americans (48 percent) say they want bigger government than say they want smaller government (45 percent).

Conservatives are exposed to the same cultural and technological forces as liberals. But its not what comes from outside that determines human behavior. Its what comes from inside the individuals attitudes and approach to life.

Liberal mentality, increasingly dominated by moral relativism, produces a culture of victimhood. The victim sees life exclusively in political terms, seeing political power and government as the means to a better life, rather than freedom and personal responsibility.

With Republicans now in power, trying to restore economic vitality and fiscal balance by limiting government and expanding personal freedom, the left sees this as a threat, not an opportunity.

We all should be deeply troubled that, in the land of the free and home of the brave, some are turning to violence to battle the prospect of becoming freer.

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Liberals' violent fight against freedom - WND - WND.com

The most effective way to block an obvious attempt to bait you is to swim away. Dont petition. Dont attend. Dont enrich those who make a livelihood out of getting under your skin.

Rising to the bait is a fishing term. Anglers lure fish hiding in the deep by positioning bait on or near the surface. Fish that rise to the bait usually end up on someones dinner plate.

Conservative groups routinely try this technique on college liberals. Their lure is an inflammatory right-wing speaker. The catch comes in duping liberals to act badly as censors of free speech or, even better, violently. The protesters provide free entertainment on Fox News Channel. And the broader public sees them as spoiled college kids. Its painful to watch.

Why else would Berkeley College Republicans invite the likes of Milo Yiannopoulos to speak on their famously left-leaning University of California campus? A publicity freak trafficking in racist slurs, Yiannopoulos is currently best known for advocating sex between men and boys.

Taking their cue in a play their enemies wrote, the offended ones made a big deal out of this cartoonish character. The cameras caught protesters, some wearing masks, in full rampage. They trashed the campus before heading off into downtown Berkeley to smash some windows.

Over at the State University of New York at Buffalo, agitated students all but shut down a speech by Robert Spencer, an alleged Islamophobe. Spencers claim to fame is his controversial Jihad Watch website.

Behind many such speaking engagements is a group called Young Americas Foundation. And behind Young Americas Foundation are the Koch brothers, Richard and Helen DeVos and other very rich financiers of the right. Their agenda relies on discrediting anyone to their left.

Frankly, I dont care enough about Ann Coulter to even dislike her. Her political shock act ran its course long ago, and being ignored is probably her greatest fear. But the left seems determined to revive her career.

Coulters scheduled speech at Berkeley was canceled after protests raised security concerns. It should surprise no one that the foundation was picking up her $20,000 speaking fee. College Republicans and the foundation are now suing Berkeley for allegedly violating Coulters First Amendment rights.

What should smart lefties do? Three things.

One is develop a very thick skin. Many of you are unable to distinguish between merely provocative and totally offensive. You can simplify by dropping such distinctions. Both kinds of speech are protected. If right-wingers choose to invite promoters of disgusting views, let them own it.

Two is to understand this about the opinion business: Success can come from drawing a positive response or a negative one. Failure is no response. Thus, the most effective way to block an obvious attempt to bait you is to swim away. Dont petition. Dont attend. Dont enrich those who make a livelihood out of getting under your skin.

Wit, meanwhile, makes for a great offense. As the writers at Saturday Night Live have taught us, mockery is a more fearsome weapon than raw rage.

Three, when campus conservatives book speakers custom-designed to enrage you, try this clever tactic: Host a sensible conservative to give a talk at the same time. The growing ranks of anti-Trump conservatives offer a pool of highly promising candidates.

Such speakers would draw audience and attention away from the flamethrower across campus. Finding common ground is good for the civic culture, and joining forces enhances power. Importantly, you would come off as open-minded and also beopen-minded. Wed all do well to listen more to opinions contrary to our own.

Resist the flashing lures. The choice for campus liberals comes down to this: Either you frustrate those who would provoke you or you become their dinner.

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Campus liberals: resist the conservative bait | The Seattle Times - The Seattle Times