"Contempt everywhere. From Jeffrey Epstein's email exchanges to the scandal of Peter Mandelson's appointment, contempt radiates. Contempt for women and girls, for the law, for the public. A continuum of disdain runs from Epstein on the one end to our political establishment on the other. The other thing that joins them is a restless pursuit of power. Contempt is not a byproduct of that power, it is the point of it."
"Procuring, trading, objectifying and violating women and girls is the summit of potency for those who already have everything else: money, status, respect. To subordinate another human being to your urges, to reduce her in all ways, is to be initiated into a club of super-predators who are above the law. The Epstein emails are a demonstration of how misogyny there really should be a stronger word for it in this context is a currency, lavishly spent to show how much power you have."
Contempt radiates from Jeffrey Epstein's email exchanges to the scandal over Peter Mandelson's appointment. Contempt targets women and girls, the law, and the public, forming a continuum from private predation to public office. A restless pursuit of power unites elite offenders, with contempt framed as the point of power rather than a byproduct. Procuring, trading, objectifying and violating women and girls becomes an expression of potency and club membership. Casual sexual references in correspondence operate as status signalling. A wider climate of scorn and impunity sustained friendships and appointments despite conviction, and those implicated offered excuses of ignorance or deception, now replaced by public regret and resignations.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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