Another Country Heard From

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you have heard the news bombshell about George Morris and his lifetime ban from horse sports for 'sexual misconduct involving a minor'. The reactions were swift and furious.

While I am sure that another opinion on the internet is likely useless I'm going to do it anyway.  If you want to see some really awesome and informative posts on this you can find them here and here (I am sure there are more).

The rhetoric I am hearing on FB and other platforms is horrible. The accusers are being vilified, as is Safe Sport. There is a collective throwing up of hands saying that it will no longer be safe for trainers/coaches etc.

Does this sound familiar?
Because it should. We heard the same bullshit when the #metoo movement started.

I am not going to weigh on George's innocence or guilt. I wasn't part o the investigation and know nothing about it. If you think that you know that it was flawed and had no part of it then you are reacting without knowing the facts.

pretty pony to break up rant (PC Cindy McCullough)

Don't tell me that these teenage victims of 'sexual misconduct' are equally to blame. Because you are wrong.

When I was 15/16 I used to meet a friend at the roller skate rink for an evening. Yes, I am that old. We styled and hair sprayed our hair almost to death, strapped on big ass roller skates and skated to disco music.

not me. But it could have been

One night we ran into her cousin who was there. I was immediately smitten and he was clearly attracted to me. The problem was he was in his 20s. I tried to hide my age but when he found out he let me know (kindly) that he could not date a teenager. I was crushed. Could he not see how mature I was?  He could totally have taken advantage of me, but he didn't. And you know what? That shouldn't be viewed as fucking noble on his part. It should be standard.  I was young. My body and hormones were sending me all sort of weird and interesting signals and I didn't have enough maturity to really understand it.

All I wanted to do growing up was ride horses. If that dream had been realized in my teenage years I could easily have been a victim of an adult trainer/coach. We admire these individuals and can even worship them. These young people are vulnerable and they need to be protected. It is not unusual for young people to spend a long time at a barn unsupervised by parents.  

Don't tell me 'it was a different time'. It is not okay for adult men and women to have sex with teenagers. It has never been okay. The only thing that is different is that people didn't want to hear about it and vilified the victim. I've even heard the comment that it was legal in some states to marry underage girls. Whatever. There are still countries that do this. It doesn't make it fucking right. And if we're going to start quoting the laws-back then homosexual sex was illegal in many states. And that law was wrong too. 

It would be nice if we all knew and operated on this principle. But they don't. So organizations need to have things in place to protect everyone. It's not a court of law and does not function like one. So stop whining about them not following the law. It a set of regulations on what is deemed inappropriate conduct and determines what the consequences are. 

If you disagree with how it's done then get involved. But don't say that we don't need it. Because we clearly do. 

Stop assuming you know an investigation was flawed when you know nothing. (pro tip: not seeing something happen does not mean that it didn't happen). 

Stop assuming that the victims are lying because who would honestly put themselves out there for this type of reaction? I will remind you of Bill Cosby, Kevin Spacey, Harvey Weinstein. And it is not just limited to those who are 'famous'. Locally there is a case of a teacher/coach abusing over 20 children in the 80's. 

Stop acting all wounded like you can't coach anymore. Because if you think that sexual behaviour or any type of abuse is part of the sport then you can just fucking leave. 

Because we don't need you. And I don't care how good you are. 

me on my high horse (PC Cindy McCullough)