Andrew Torrez sucks
Feb. 22nd, 2023 04:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grinninfooleI started supporting the Opening Arguments podcast through Patreon on September 4 of 2018; over those four years I gave them a bit more than $3,000. It's been a mainstay of my media consumption for longer than that for several reasons. First, attorney P. Andrew Torrez has a knack for explaining legal principles and history and would routinely dive into extensive case law history to illustrate his points; second, Andrew had great chemistry with co-host Thomas Smith, a smart professional podcaster who asks really good questions; third, the show would often cover topics glossed over in the news, like what new laws would actually do and the regulations executive agencies were following (or proposing) and what that meant for what Trump or Biden's administrations could actually achieve; and fourth, it had attracted a community of secular progressives like myself.
I stopped my support last week, because it turns out that Andrew has been sexually harassing women for years, either fans at events or other podcaster folks interested in collaboration, and since then it's spiraled into a battle for control of the show and its revenue, which is considerable even if diminished. (The Patreon support has dwindled from about 4,300 to just over 1,300.)
This is bothering me less as it becomes clear that Andrew understood he was bothering people and crossing boundaries, but chose to do so anyway. One of my greatest fears is sexually harassing someone and not realizing it, or (worse) somehow not quite absorbing the information and acting upon it. The willful blindness that privilege instills is my constant dread, but I really don't think I'd act out of malice and power isn't much of an aphrodisiac for me. Sex is far too intimate to be messing with without consent, because I wouldn't feel safe and my empathy kills my boner when it seems someone is actually not into it.
I stopped my support last week, because it turns out that Andrew has been sexually harassing women for years, either fans at events or other podcaster folks interested in collaboration, and since then it's spiraled into a battle for control of the show and its revenue, which is considerable even if diminished. (The Patreon support has dwindled from about 4,300 to just over 1,300.)
This is bothering me less as it becomes clear that Andrew understood he was bothering people and crossing boundaries, but chose to do so anyway. One of my greatest fears is sexually harassing someone and not realizing it, or (worse) somehow not quite absorbing the information and acting upon it. The willful blindness that privilege instills is my constant dread, but I really don't think I'd act out of malice and power isn't much of an aphrodisiac for me. Sex is far too intimate to be messing with without consent, because I wouldn't feel safe and my empathy kills my boner when it seems someone is actually not into it.
