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Some thoughts on this whole sad mess, and how it might be used as a moment for teaching and healing instead of ranks closing and scandal minimization (a thread!) https://twitter.com/MagnumPhotos/status/1346481685064388608
1: i stand with the women who came forward, who are incensed that the onus to push this far too late investigation to its obvious conclusion is on them. its a reach to expect them to have much trust in the agency or its investigators. true apologies would help bridge that gap.
2.I also do get that almost nothing Magnum can do at this point will land right. That's definitely on them, but im interested in how this could actually be a moment for change and growth for all of us and not the same old division, bad blood, and anticlimactic ending.
3. im glad they are investigating and i hope this isnt like when you get hit by a car and the driver's insurance lawyers decide you totally weren't injured. please do this right yall. please.
4. i think one of the most important elements of reconciliation we women of the industry are calling for is a reckoning about what we knew. what magnum knew. what was accepted, tolerated, laughed off, ignored.
5. this aspect- the many many people who had to remain silent or complicit from positions of power in order for this predator, and many others, to prey on women for so long, must be addressed, and that will require radical and painful honesty, and it could REALLY help
6. imagine if there was a bit of willingness on the part of people who knew something was off to come forward and say they were sorry and wanted to help build something better. imagine the healing. imagine the precedent for the industry.
7. the problem with the absence of people taking some responsibility for the culture that perpetuates abuse of women is that it sets up an impossible standoff. the victims get no closure. those working for change stay outraged. real healing starts with acknowledgement
8.the willingness to take that risk, and the constructive dialogue that it could create, is everything.
9. ill start. i knew about this guy and i never said anything. i perceived a lot of this behavior as normal because it was normalized. i believed that in order to surf in these waters we had to swim with sharks, so i tried to run the gauntlet without getting burned, and whispered
10. i wish i had stuck my neck out instead of keeping my head down. i wish i had spoken to the people i know with some pull over there and demanded that they do something. it shouldnt have been just direct victims who had to come forward about this. they've already lost plenty.
11. im writing all this because i want these women's labor and suffering to be worth something. they deserve more than the bare minimum, they are investing so much so that hopefully these patterns of abuse stop. not just from one man but from many.
12. just last night i heard more whispers, about other powerful men. this stuff is still out there. honestly twitter frustrates me as a space to work on this, but i'd like the titans of our industry to do this one right, if for no other reason because of the example it sets
13. so this statement is a pretty good first step, Magnum. But i'd love to see true transparent reckoning, leadership, and proactivity. its not just about heads rolling, its about culture change.
