Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale has been used ad infinitum to symbolize the misogynistic, deplorable dirge of a woman-subjugating world that is the fantasy of Donald Trump and all who follow him.

Therefore, Margaret Atwood — the book’s author — should be a feminist saint. 

But not so fast — real feminists “believe all women,” apparently.

On Wednesday, courtesy of Twitter, angst against Atwood’s belief in due process reared its ugly head.

In November of 2016. Margaret signed an open letter in support of an independent investigation with regard to a sexual assault case. Professor Steven Galloway, of the University of British Columbia, had been fired after having been accused of assault and harassment by a student.

Here’s what the letter said:

In December 2015, the University commissioned former BC Supreme Court Judge Mary Ellen Boyd to undertake an independent investigation of the allegations against Professor Galloway. In June of 2016, subsequent to the investigation, the University terminated Professor Galloway’s employment without severance and without reference to the original allegations.

The University has refused to make the findings of Justice Boyd’s report public, and appears to have misrepresented the findings of the report in its public statement issued June 22, 2016. Both a statement from the UBC Faculty Association and the report of an independent journalist who had access to the Boyd report have since revealed that all but one of the allegations investigated, including the most serious one, were unsubstantiated.

The University then claimed that other allegations unrelated to the subject of Justice Boyd’s investigation were involved in its decision to terminate Professor Galloway’s employment. It has not, however, made a clear public statement to this effect, nor has it apologized for the harm its previous actions have done to Professor Galloway’s reputation.

Professor Galloway himself has been denied the right to speak publicly while his case is being grieved. The University’s willingness to allow the suspicions it has created to continue to circulate is surprising and appears to be contrary to the principles of fairness and justice that should guide any distinguished academic institution.

The University’s conduct in this matter is of great concern. We, the undersigned, respect the principle of protection for individuals who wish to bring complaints. We also respect the right of an accused to fair treatment. There is growing evidence that the University acted irresponsibly in Professor Galloway’s case. Because the case has received a great deal of public attention, the situation requires public clarification.

As a result of Atwood’s endorsement, in January, flare.com ran a piece accusing her of being an enemy to feminism:

Many women, myself included, had a hard time reconciling Atwood the author, who contextualizes the main character’s actions in Alias Grace with the circumstances of her life — abusive father, exploitative work and being “constantly forced to negotiate her own safety with little to trade,” as Sophie Gilbert writes in The Atlantic — with this Atwood, who couldn’t seem to understand how signing an open letter supporting a man accused of predatory behaviour could hurt survivors of sexual violence and deter other young women from coming forward.

So: It’s wrong to support a man accused, even though he has not been — so far as it can be seen — proven to have done that with which he has been charged?

This is where we are with modern feminism.

Andreas Schroeder, a colleague of Galloway’s at the school, also signed the letter. Subsequently, in March, four of his students were
featured in the University’s newspaper, claiming the blight prohibited their creative writing. One pupil lamented the fact that their entire class was emotionally demolished:

“It just took up so much emotional energy to deal with that that I took a step back from the creative writing work that I was doing. I just wasn’t interested in interacting in a community of people who weren’t interested in being accountable. … Having to be in that class with [Schroeder] a day or two days after I had found out that he had signed that letter was a tough class. A lot of students in that class, I could see, were having a tough time. People weren’t making eye contact with him, people weren’t answering his questions. It was just this elephant in the room that wasn’t being addressed — like everyone just looked pretty visibly upset. Especially the women and queer students.”

Back to Wednesday — “feminist tornado” Megan Cox tweeted the following:

“Margaret Atwood signed a deeply problematic open letter supporting a man accused of predatory behaviour against a STUDENT, so I’m not particularly inclined to be excited about a sequel for The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Deeply problematic.

This is where we are, thanks to the Left. Thanks to the anti-Trump, anti-Kavanaugh, anti-Republican, emotionally-unhinged rhetoric.

Justice was once a concept which most all of society embraced. And its definition involved fact, founded upon proof. Those across the aisle and on the extreme end, however, seem to have somewhat successfully changed the meaning of the word. Now, it simply seems to refer to the fact that all men are guilty, unless, perhaps, they are Democrats (here and here). Then, it’s a sliding scale (here and here). Otherwise, #BelieveAllLiars, which is subsumed by #BelieveAllWomen.

Hopefully, Megan read this response:

“what @MargaretAtwood did was demand due process for Steven Galloway, who was exonerated after being falsely accused of rape—even though Atwood knew she’d be targeted by the same insane witch hunt. if you think these actions *taint* Atwood as an artist, then you’re in a cult.”

https://twitter.com/jonkay/status/1068168145641328640

Thanks to Hank Berrien, for his piece in The Daily Wire.

Relevant RedState links in this article: here, here, here, and here.

See 3 more pieces from me: Dan Crenshaw, evil coats, climbing the fence.

Find all my RedState work here.

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