Has anyone been keeping up on Vanessa Guillens story?

submitted by its1342 from self.GenderCritical

The hashtag IAmVanessaGuillen has gained a lot of attention, it’s something that hits very close to home and hearing the news updates and reading the tagged stories from other women yesterday had me crying most of the night. I feel so sick. I apologize if this turns into a rant, I just need a place that understands and GC has been the last sliver of sanity for me in this world.

(If you’re unfamiliar with the story, she was an Army soldier who disappeared. Her belongings and ID were found at her workplace, but nobody looked into it. Her superiors lied about her being present for attendance, and it took almost 2 months for them to begin seriously looking into it. Stories were changed and witnesses have only popped up after investigators have found a piece of evidence. The killer shot himself and there’s rumors of another suicide that isn’t official. The whole thing doesn’t add up.)

I don’t understand how this stuff keeps happening with no change, no progress. A young woman, only 20, was murdered and decapitated, the men responsible are sticking up and lying for each other. Her mother begged for months when Vanessa went missing, but they didn’t listen. Her sister even unknowingly met the killer once and he laughed in her face. These women were purposely being silenced. Vanessa was betrayed and not a single news outlet has dared mention the word sexism or the rampant misogyny problem throughout the military responsible for this. The General (?) who made a public statement even announced they had no evidence she was being sexually harassed and dropped it, despite her sharing fears and concerns with her family previously.

In the midst of this, during a time where women desperately need a platform for their voices to be heard, the biggest ones are silencing us.

It’s all the same shit, just repackaged- whether it’s Vanessas superiors covering each others tracks at the expense of her life, Reddit/Twitter/Facebook admins deliberately silencing women, petitions being removed, or crowdfunding being tampered with- this isn’t progress this is just straight up erasure and regression. Why aren’t women outraged? Since when did we go from organized protests to being content with being less than just because “thats the way it is, boys will be boys”.

I’ve experienced the sexual harassment, the inappropriate touches from superiors, seen the special treatment the abusers get first hand, the way they’re protected while the women are blamed and told they’re liars, Ive had friends who were raped and too afraid to report it. I have no doubt others are being hushed as a result of Vanessas story. I'm just so tired, and angry, and fearful for the other young girls/women who are being threatened and frightened. I feel like I’m in a nightmare where you try to scream but nobody around can hear you. I’m just so beaten down.

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[–][deleted] 10 insightful - 2 fun10 insightful - 1 fun11 insightful - 2 fun -  (3 children)

I read it in the news. Piece of scum killed himself, everyone who helped him should too. The army having this issue isn't anything new. This disregard for women's lives isn't anything new. Did you read the story about homeland security getting several "services" from trafficked Asian women in massage parlors to "save them" only to throw out the entire case because they refused to name the two officers involved? You're not alone.

[–]its1342[S] 8 insightful - 2 fun8 insightful - 1 fun9 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Just when I thought I couldn’t be more shocked and disgusted. How absolutely vile. I hope those women find safety, true safety and those men get revealed. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain they must be going through.

I saw YouTube comments of someone saying the “Commanding SgtMaj killed himself too but we cant find him”. Thought it was a troll since the comment got deleted within an hour... but then so did the Army's Chain of Command profile page of him so the whole thing seems deeper than they're letting on.

Thank you, I’m glad to hear there are other’s that have had enough.

[–][deleted] 5 insightful - 2 fun5 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

Last month, a story broke about a bunch of sailor stationed in bahrain trafficking Thai women in and keeping them captive and prostituting them out. There has always been a link between military and rape - I think Slavery, Inc. by Lydia Cacho has a really solid chapter on it (if I'm remembering correctly).

[–][deleted] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Sad to hear. The military for sure, not just within itself but also as an act of war and control. I read in the news that those brave, brave Kurdish women soldiers keep an extra bullet in case they're captured. Shame on the US for leaving them.

[–]christine_grab 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I have glanced at the story a little bit here and there as info came out, but have not read too in-depth because it is too upsetting. But I wanted to say something supportive. I feel like the silver lining of the lock-down is that each and every one of us had to change our lives in some way. For some it was drastic, for others, it was minor. But we've had to conscientiously think about our patterns and how to change them to fit the new guidelines. And now many of us spend our time and energy on different things than we would have normally.

Let's face it. Most of us live on a rat wheel. We just thoughtlessly run on the wheel. Yeah, we all have pivotal moments in our life where we make life decisions, ie, should I change my job?, but for most of us, the vast majority of days are programmed by school, work, or whatever. It's the first time we, as a world, have stopped to re-think what we are doing and why we are doing it. And with less distraction, like sports, it's been harder to keep blinders on to issues like this.

I know things are crazy and tumultuous and scary and bleak right now, but I have a lot of hope that society is at a turning point where we, as a society say we're not going to put up with this shit anymore. If enough of us demand an investigation and don't stop pressuring until we have accountability for her death and the cover-up, they'll have to comply. We should also demand they implement preventative measures to stop this type of thing happening again. Here is a post I wrote a while ago about how we, as an individual, can fight government corruption: https://saidit.net/s/conspiracy/comments/4c0u/some_tips_for_fighting_government_corruption/

Even though there are lots of types of corruption, it is the same broken system that keeps all the corruption going. I call it the fortress wall. I truly believe that if every one of us picks an area of corruption and starts pushing on that piece of wall, we'll take down the whole wall. We can do this!

Edit: Wanted to add this quote from Caitlin Johnstone: "The real revolution is an expansion of consciousness in all directions. Consciousness of oppression and exploitation, of corruption and imperialism, of propaganda and manipulation, of unjust social and economic dynamics, of our own egoic structures and unconscious mental habits. People can't change things they're unaware of. Once they're fully aware of them, change is inevitable."

[–]Veneficca 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

I've been following it on YouTube. People are willing to call Fort Hood shady or criticize the military, but they won't use the words "misogyny" or "rape culture."

The whole story is so disgusting. I don't buy the official story - it's impossible that he hammered her to death and cleaned up himself and all the blood in such a short time and the K-9s didn't pick up on any death smell. We'll never know what really happened or how many men were involved in the cover-up. How do they sleep at night? Because they don't consider women human. They think we're their property to use and dispose of as they please.