Here’s the thing. Michael Moore has DEMONSTRATED an unwillingness to engage, or even to apologize, for what he did wrong that sparked #MooreandMe. The likelihood that he’ll donate $20K to an anti-sexual assault organization? It is very, very low. Because Michael Moore’s actions indicate that rape survivors just don’t mean as much to Michael Moore as Julian Assange getting bail. They just don’t. He has assigned a demonstrable, monetary value to these two causes, and as far as we know, Assange is worth $20,000 and providing necessary aid to sexual assault survivors is worth $0.
But sexual assault survivors mean something to me. And to you. Probably none of us have $20,000 — my average monthly income is less than a tenth of that amount. But I have enough money to support rape survivors. To assign them a demonstrable, monetary value, and go without the almond pear brioches from Bakeway (NOOO THEY’RE SO DELICIOUS) and make my own coffee instead of buying it from coffee shops, for a little while. Which is why I just donated $50 to RAINN.
We’re being accused of being far-right-wing operatives, of trying to build our own fame by attacking left-wing celebrities, of being bitches and cunts and liars and haters of freedom and the truth and the right of the people to engage in activism, and none of that matters, because we know who we are: We’re the people who stand in support of rape survivors against rape. And against the culture that smears rape survivors, harasses them, attacks them, threatens them, or treats them as expendable, especially when those rape survivors are socially marginalized, and especially when their rapists are powerful men.
This is why I’m asking everyone who cares about #MooreandMe to treat it, not as a spectator sport, not as a diversion, not just as something you do to put pressure on rape apologists, but as a way for you, you personally, to support organizations that provide aid to sexual assault survivors.
I chose to donate to RAINN, because they’re one of the largest and most wide-reaching sexual assault organizations, and because, until December 31, donations will be matched. Therefore, as I understand it, my $50 donation made $100 for the organization. A Twitter follower mentioned donating $20, which means we’ve already made $140 through #MooreandMe.
How much more can we raise? How much value can we demonstrably, actually, monetarily place on the aid and support of sexual assault survivors? Could we make $20,000 — the amount Moore posted for Assange’s bail? Could we make $315,000 — the total amount of Assange’s bail? I don’t know. Do the thousands of people who know about #MooreandMe care about rape survivors as much as Michael Moore and a handful of other extremely rich celebrities care about bailing out Assange?
No matter how much we can raise, it won’t be enough. But by donating, we demonstrate two things: First, that every rape survivor, every rape survivor, is exactly as important as this one WikiLeaks member (and keep in mind that the organization of WikiLeaks, no matter how you feel about it, could in fact keep going without Assange). Second, we communicate the same thing we’ve been saying all along, which is: If you are a rape survivor, we have your back. We care. We don’t care who comes at you, or how hostile the culture is to you, or who you are: We care about you, about your right to live in a world without rape culture or rape apologism, about dismantling rape culture and rape apologism, about providing you with the support and resources you need, about opposing those who would smear or endanger or hurt you, and just, basically, making sure that if you need a hand we will give it. We care about you.
We are going to keep pressuring Michael Moore (@MMFlint! #MooreandMe!) for an apology, an explanation, and a donation of $20,000. But we can help rape victims, too.
I’m asking everybody who supports #MooreandMe to donate to an anti-sexual-assault organization, as much as they can (and trust me, I get not having cash. But you probably have at least some cash. You probably have $5, or $10, or $20, or $50 — and maybe, like Michael Moore, you’re one of the lucky few who has more) and record how much they donated, publicly, so that we can see how much this one wacky fringe-dwelling man-hating Internet feminist protest has been able to raise, in terms of actual financial support for the organizations that help rape survivors.
The link to donate to RAINN is here. No matter how much harm Michael Moore or Keith Olbermann cause with their massive funds and massive influence, we can still do good. And as this whole thing has demonstrated, when we operate together, we are way more powerful than anyone expects.
166 Comments
“If you are a rape survivor, we have your back.”
I think that is the reason why I am not feeling like total shit despite reading many people’s accounts of being victimized and ignored today. Reading #Mooreandme is weirdly empowering for me because it is a big reminder that rape culture is total bullshit, and all the things my rapists told me about how no one would believe me were total bullshit, and famous people who make excuses for rape are total bullshit.
Thanks for telling your horror story on your tumblr blog, Sady. I hate that it is so hard to talk about rape and intimidation and threats. Internet, let’s keep having each other’s backs.
I will be donating to RAINN and to Tiger Beatdown as soon as it is feasibly possible for me to do so, for sure.
This, what you are doing here, is amazing and I have no idea how you are keeping up in the face of so much hostility. I am soooo irate on your behalf at the Salon commenters and every other douchebag who thinks feminists are just a bunch of whiners and WORSE and urgh. So, money.
And you can buy yourself a brioche. YOU DESERVE IT.
$100 from me.
Just made a donation and tweeted a link to this post. Thank you, Sady, for doing this.
I’m reading the #mooreandme tweets — who is this GoldenScepter clown? Gross me out the door.
This is an amazing idea. I only have six bucks on my paypal to give right now, but some friends have been asking what I want for Christmas. Hopefully I can encourage people I know to donate (and donate more myself, once I move some funds around).
Thank you for having this blog, and, you know, existing in general.
Just donated $100 to RAINN. I don’t tweet or tumble, so I hope this is enough of a public proclamation.
Also: thank you, thank you, thank you for your writing, for your activism, and for your courage.
$20 and I wish I could do more. As it turns out, RAINN really helped me this week, when I needed it most. I can’t tell you how invaluable they are to supporting survivors.
Donated $50
Thanks for the nudge, Sady. I just donated to RAINN. It’s much better than just sitting at my laptop, feeling righteous while reading blog posts. Which is saying a bit, since your blog posts are delicious.
$20, for what it’s worth.
$20 bucks. Keep it comin’ y’all…
I donated $10, which makes $20. Thank you for this very important nudge.
$100 done and done.
I’m not familiar with Michael Moore’s films (earnest documentary is not my favorite genre), so someone tell me: is he one of those people who can never, ever, ever, admit that he was wrong about anything ever? You meet so many “progressive” men like that.
My $100′s in. I don’t know if we’ll hit $20k, but I bet we’ll be putting up some good numbers before the night’s out.
I’ve donated as well.
I’m not on Twitter, but I donated $25.
I donated $20.00.
I donated $50.
$20 from me
I also added a link to my Amazon wishlist with the universal wishlist button asking people to donate instead of giving me gifts.
Donated $50.
$10–I wish it were more. @tiferet93
$36 from me. Props to nomadicat for the suggestion earlier today.
$20 to RAINN! Also, I was thinking it’d be nice to have some sort of donation tracker and maybe a website dedicated to #mooreandme.
Mooreand.me seems to be available, but I know next to nothing about website creation, etc. But Sady knows internet people, right?
$250 donated
Thank you Sady!
@Elysia: Thank you for giving the name! We got so many comments I couldn’t find the originator of the idea earlier. Will give credit on Twitter.
$20 from me.
It occurs to me that there is one aspect of the Sadylovfest that has been underplayed: her dedication in making this a safe space by moderating the comments and keeping out the hatred, abuse, and misogyny that are rife all over salon, etc. I can’t imagine what a toll it takes on her to read all that venomous garbage – you must take a lot of showers, S! – but I want to thank you for doing such a rigorous job, so that we have this space.
(On to RAINN with some $$)
I donate $20 to RAINN in Michael Moore’s honor and sent him an e-card, wishing him a happy holidays and telling him I was making up for his propagation of victim shaming and rape trivialization.
Considering how angry I have been about this issue for the past couple of days, I thought I did a good job of being composed and polite
I donated $50.
This is great, but apparently RAINN was sponsoring, well, this:
http://www.salon.com/life/internet_culture/index.html?story=/mwt/feature/2010/10/25/antoine_dodson_uneasy_fame
I’m shy about announcing donations, but this is a special circumstance. Sent $250 to RAINN.
$50 to RAINN from me. No matter how bad things get, when people like Sady and all the commenters here can use a shitty situation like this for something positive, it just gives me hope. Thanks, everybody.
*delurks*
$40.
$20
$10 from this unemployed person.
Had to comment to say I’ve been having the time of my life watching Sady tear Will Shetterly a new one on Twitter over misquoting Dworkin. I think having this much fun for free should be illegal. I’m going to see about donating some money to RAINN next time the manbeast gets paid.
$50
$50 to Shelter From The Storm, a Canadian fund for women’s shelters and violence prevention programs (including some that provide support for victims of sexual assault).
I couldn’t find anything that was closer in focus to RAINN; all the Canadian organizations I looked at either deal with a broader range of issues or are regional.
$10
Just donated $20.
$50 from me.
And yes, your exchange with Will Shetterly was a thing of beauty.
once I’m back in black, I will definitely be donating.
crap. I just got back from the emergency vet and signed a form committing me up to $2,200…that I don’t have to save my cat’s life.
And then I read this post.
crap. conscience.
$20
$30 from me
I gave $10
This might be a useful update to consider:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/dec/17/julian-assange-sweden?CMP=twt_gu
I would be very interested to see those who were declaring this to be an authoritarian conspiracy interviewed or further engaged concerning the new revelations.
$50. TBD had my back in bad times. Much love to everyone on this site
I’m not American, so I donated $100 to a local sexual assault crisis/education centre. Thank you for all your efforts, Sady.
$30.
I don’t know how you have the courage, good humor, and stubbornness to face all the crap that gets thrown at anyone who commits the crime of being pro-woman on the internet, but somehow you do, and I’ve never failed to come away anything other than exhilarated by what you write. It takes a true artist to recognize and dismantle sexist arguments as thoroughly, as hilariously, and with as much passion as you do. Thank you for fighting.
$100 to Rainn
I’ll be looking for something closer to home to donate to.
I donated $15.
$50 donated. Thank you for spreading the word about the donation-matching!
$10.
Delurking to say I donated $20 to RAINN.
I’m glad someone mentioned PayPal, I just so happened to have a few dollars in my account.
$10
$100 here.
I second the many thanks for mentioning the donation-matching through year’s end! And for starting this “frenzy,” natch.
$10 from me and I wish I could do more.
Another $10 here.
Thanks for fighting the good fight, Sady. Watching you take these people down – and Shetterly was particularly glorious – makes me feel just that much stronger.
Thank you so much for all of your posts and tweets today, Sady. This is important shit, and you are awesome. I just donated $40 to RAINN – thanks for the reminder, and the note about donation-matching.
$10 to RAINN, and I’ve decided to start coming out as a survivor a lot more whenever it’s relevant in conversations (which is often!) because of what a great job you’re doing at holding the standard that rape matters and backing up survivors is important. I love how you’re taking down the bullshit apologia at every fucking turn.
I’m not shutting up! Not shutting up, ever. Thanks for helping me find that courage.
Thank you for all your awesomeness, Sady, throughout all this. I’ve donated what little my broke ass can manage ($10). I’ll donate to the Beatdown soon, as well.
$100 (which for my current financial standing is not even a good idea, but I’ll manage somehow).
Sady, never stop doing what you do. You are an inspiration to us all.
Donated $10 to RAINN. Thank you Sady for organizing this campaign, and for generally being awesome. And for anyone who’s interested, that makes $2236 of donations reported in this thread so far.
Donated $50. Thank you for the call to action.
$100.
While I’m delurking, I want to add to the chorus of voices thanking you for what you do, Sady. It’s honest, thoughtful writing like yours that makes me proud to be a feminist.
50$ Thank you
$25. I wrote #mooreandme in the “note to RAINN” box.
I just donated 25 dollars, which is a small number but a large chunk of my grad student budget.
Just donated $20 to RAINN. Thanks for this exhortation!
$10
$50
$36 from me, and will be donating to a local org too. Thanks for everything you do. You are righteous.
$20 to RAINN. Thank you Sady.
$100.
The only comfort I ever get is from people like you reminding me that I’m not alone or the one responsible.
I can’t say thank you enough.
I donated $10- which I believe should be $20 because of the doubling.
I’ve been reading this blog for about a year but never commented. I’m glad that this was my first comment here.
Check out this article< which seems supportve of wikileaks but says:
Mr Assange was not arrested because he is suspected of "sex by surprise" or because his contraception failed mid-coitus. Sweden does not have a "broken condom" law. A 2010 report by Amnesty International notes that victim-blaming in rape cases is as alive in Sweden as in the United States. As a result, neither rapes within intimate relationships nor "date rapes" generally lead to legal action.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/he-chose-sweden-as-a-refuge-it-may-turn-out-to-be-his-undoing-2163675.html
Sady, thank you so much for spearheading this campaign, and inspiring so many people. Because of your encouragement, I just donated $25.00 (which = $50, thanks to the funds matching that’s happening. Awesome!)
$50
$10.00 to RAINN. Put the twitter hash tag in the comment with the donation.
$30 from me
thank you so much for putting into words what I cannot. it feels less lonely.
My family’s mostly doing charity instead of gifts for Christmas this year and I picked RAINN because of this metafilter post; I’m glad this is getting it some more support.
Folk in the UK who wanted to make a donation might consider Rape Crisis England & Wales or Rape Crisis Scotland. I’m not sure their remit is as broad as RAINN’s, but they’re right on the front line in the UK in terms of both support for survivors and awareness raising.
Rape Crisis E&W: http://www.rapecrisis.org.uk/makeadonation1.php
Rape Crisis Scotland: http://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/donate/
I donated £20 and put #mooreandme in the comment box. Gift aid (tax relief on charitable donations) means the charity will get another £5 on top of that.
£50 to Rape Crisis (England & Wales)
Thank you for what you’re doing, Sady.
$50 from me.
I’ve been reading you for months, but never commented before. Thank you for writing.
Another $20 this AM, hope that helps! I put #MooreandMe in the notes to as well.
I’m in for $100 to RAINN and $100 to my local YWCA.
And THANK YOU for taking on Michael Moore’s and Keith Olbermann’s rape apologia. THANK YOU.
$36 from me.
Keep on keepin’ on, Sady. You’re an inspiration.
$50 to RAINN from @kubasiak. A million billion thanks to Sady! #MooreandMe
$100.
$10.
I donated $20.00 to RAINN in honor of #mooreandme and Sady Doyle.
Is there a way of tracking which donations come from #mooreandme-ers?
Delurking to say $15 from me, and thank you for everything, Sady.
$50 (which, matched, makes $100).
I am normally very private about my donating habits. I don’t think it’s normally anyone’s business. But I have been watching the #MooreandMe saga with awe, and you deserve to know that, and to know the difference you are making. Thank you, Sady.
$20 of my unemployment just went into the kitty.
Making a difference is important.
£30 (which is, uh, $46.59 US, apparently) to Rape Crisis England & Wales.
This is some amazing stuff you’re coordinating, Sady. Best frenzy ever?
Donated $100 to RAINN.
Pledging $50 to RAINN, which I will pay first thing on 12/31, which will be the next time I get paid.
Delurking to say $35 from me, and I will be donating to Tiger Beatdown soon. Thank you so much Sady, for everything that you do.
Pledging $50 to my local rape crisis org as soon as my first paycheck at new job clears.
Thank you, Sady and everyone else involved in this whole thing. It’s wonderful to not feel quite as helpless about all of this.
$20 to Toronto Rape Crisis Centre/Multicultural Women Against Rape.
First comment – thanks for everything you’re doing.
$10
I have online cash on Amazon; does anyone know if this is legitimate or if there’s another way to donate on Amazon?
http://www.amazon.com/Ten-Dollar-Donation-Charity-registered/dp/B0014HYILA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292698446&sr=8-1
$50 from me. Thank you for the nudge and for all that you have been doing on this issue.
I’ve been reading & lurking about these parts for about a year now, & I just wanted to de-lurk to say that your writing and your actions inspire me. Thank you for your efforts to inform and mobilize. It means a lot to me, and to so many others. I’ve just donated $50 in your honour.
Donating to Rape Crisis on pay day.
You’re doing awesome work, Sady. Thank you.
$20 to RAINN from me. I don’t have a twitter or anything, so this will have to do.
And thanks, Sady, so much, for your writing and your activism and your honesty and for this Frenzy.
Off topic, but Brigitte, I hope your cat pulls through. I will send good thoughts your way.
$10 from me, which is all I can afford to give right now. Wish it could have been more.
Thank you for doing what you do.
Putting your money where your mouth is – super cool. But how about taking it to the next level: Ring up your local Rape Crisis/battered woman’s shelter etc. and say six words: “What can I do to help?” Because there’s always something meaningful and practical to be done on the front lines.
I have a friend who’s an accountant, who does the books for the local refuge. It adds up to a couple of days of her time a year, but it makes a real difference.
Donating $50 to RAINN on 12/24, which is my next payday.
Thank you for this. It’s easy to feel righteous (and I do) and easy to forget that there’s some tangible $ stuff that I can do to help, too.
$10 in Michael Moore’s honor to RAINN. He’ll be getting a nice little e-card with owls on it informing him of it. (I also tweeted about it @radlishra)
20 from me
$200 to a local women’s shelter.
Also delurking to say I donated $50.
$10. I’m already in the hole until February over Christmas, but I wanted my name on the list. Positive peer pressure win.
Donated $25 to RAINN. Thank you, Sady.
$10 to RAINN, yesterday.
Also, I just pitched $25 your way for the blog.
I just donated $10, and half of the many I’m making from my yarn sale will go to RAINN too.
Thank you for posting this.
@Brigitte: I hope everything goes well with your cat!
$60 to DC Rape Crisis Center.
Adding up all the donations on this comment thread plus my own donations plus those of my sister and mother, I come up with approximately 4,500 dollars donated to RAINN so far. Just those who commented here, not counting anyone who donated from seeing links and tweets. Doubled, that’s nearly 10,000 dollars. Little voices matter, Sady. You done good.
I just donated, which I wouldn’t have done without this reminder of the importance of this fight. My partner is matching me. As a survivor of sexual assault, thank you so much for standing up in the way that you do.
Donated $10 to RAINN
$25 to WCASA (Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault).
I hope you take some time off Sunday. Take a rest, walk away from this for a little bit at least.
Thank you so much for doing this though, and thank you so much for breaking this down. There are millions more out there who never report rape, or get the chance to, and usually because of the reasons you outlined here.
I never came out about my marital rape because I figured the system would not work for me, people would not believe me and odd as it may sound I didn’t want people to think poorly of my ex for things she did to me while drunk. I hope it’s understood that I’m bringing this up here…idk I guess just to share, but I understand this isn’t about me, and I don’t want to shift the conversation to “men get raped too” which I understand anon has started throwing about. It’s a non-sequitur as much as bringing up Dworkin is.
I donated $10.00 to RAINN today.
I donated £25 to Edinburgh Women’s Rape and Sexual Assault Centre (http://www.ewrasac.org.uk/), who work with all members of the transgender community.
$50 to RAINN.
matched, it makes $100.
on behalf of Sady Doyle.
xoxo
N
$50 from me.
I’m seriously in the hole this month, but as soon as my finances even out, I will be making donations.
$10. <3 to you Sady.
I donated $25 to RAINN.
$15. Thank you for giving a fuck.
I just chipped in $10 too. Thanks!
$10 to RAINN from me.
$50. Thank you so much.
$35 (so, $70) from me.
Donated.
Thanks for all you do, Sady.
Donated $20. Thank you for refusing to give up.
…Delurking…
Donated $150 to RAINN, so should be $300 with match.
…Relurking…
£10 to Rape Crisis, this month and every month.
Sady, you are fucking awesome. However hard this is (I’d imagine “quite hard”), just look here to see what a difference you’re making, and know that we’re all behind you.
$20 to RAINN
$20 to RAINN. Alas, forgot to donate it on behalf of Sady Doyle #MooreandMe.
$20 to RAINN and $20 to the to the Victoria Women’s Sexual Assault Centre Society here in BC, Canada.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Donated $50 to RAINN. Thank you so much for all you’re doing.
My husband and I don’t make a lot – but we donated $10 to RAINN. That’s $20.00 with the match. This is a great idea. If Moore won’t come down and answer, at least we can do some good.
I came over here from Shakesville today for the first time, and was wowed.
$50 for RAINN in your honor–and my grateful thanks for your courage.
@thefremen- your personal experience is not derailing. You matter too.
$100 from a lurker
Thank you, Sady. This is so important. I’m a fellow struggling freelancer, but I sent $25 each to you and RAINN.
FWIW, folks — I know Sady’s been busy, so I hope she won’t mind me popping in to note this — there’ve been reports that RAINN partners with anti-trans organizations in some areas, so until we hear some clarifications on their policies, Questioning Transphobia has been building a list of QUILTBAG-friendly rape crisis organizations: http://www.questioningtransphobia.com/?p=3512
$250 just donated.
I am so moved by what you have done. It is amazing that something good has come out of this horrible and disheartening attack of rape survivors. Instead of feeling hopeless, as I did when I first heard about all of this, I feel extremely hopeful and empowered by your truly inspiring words.
Oh, yeah, I forgot to clarify: I donated the $250 to RAINN.
$25 to RAINN.
Donated $50 to RAINN. Thank you so much for all you’re doing.
Donated $50 to RAINN, an organization I love dearly.
Scratch that, I just made it $100.
Scratch that, I just made it $100.
Thanks for all your writing on this subject, Sady, but especially for the ingenious positivity of this post.
Just wrote a cheque to Edinburgh Women’s Rape and Sexual Assault Centre (http://www.ewrasac.org.uk/), along with a note explaining that I picked them in part for being trans-friendly (plus citing this post). Thanks Clare upthread for pointing them out.
For the tallying-up people: cheque was for £15 (UK pounds) which in US dollars at the moment is just over $23.
Thank you for doing this.
Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed to Tiger Beatdown! Collectively, this campaign has raised upwards of $7,000 for RAINN. Because all donations in the month of December are being matched, this campaign will pay for over 4,000 calls to the National Sexual Assault Hotline! You all have made such a tremendous impact, THANK YOU!
Thanks for this post!! Thanks for everyone especially RAINN who help and aid in the fight against rape, abuse and violence against women. Thanks to you all we will win the fight against rape, abuse and sexual assault as well as all violence against women, Victoriously!! DBVictorious!