An important conversation

Cancel culture at its finest. And of course it’s to silence another woman. Dialogue is powerful, silence is dictatorship.

Stand with victims and pull the film The Cobra and the Heart. Shame on you REEL ROCK – Amanda (Woods) Escheman

Statistically, 1 in 3 women will experience sexual assault. Outdoor enthusiasts aren’t exempt from its prevalence, and it’s high time the community rallied to highlight these issues, improve conversation and strategies to make outdoor spaces safer for all.

What is troubling, however, is that the online bullying, slandering and disdain directed at Thomasina is clouding the objective and continuing a cycle of violence.

It’s apparent and even understandable that Thomasina’s apology letter didn’t land well for some. It’s hard to have compassion or forgiveness if the integrity and intent of her apology is in question.

My perspectives are nuanced, but I’ll be upfront with where they stem from: I have my own painful experiences with SA. I sometimes have a fear of speaking out (even now on platforms like this!) I am a mother of teenage boys who has a responsibility to be a good role model. I work with vulnerable populations as a midwife. The outdoors is my sanctuary and I want it to be safe… and Thomasina has been my friend for 17 years.

I can assure you, Thomo doesn’t bend to social pressure, criticism or bullying. She certainly wouldn’t fracture her own values for a PR stunt. No, I truly believe that her apology was – and is – genuine, heartfelt and reflective. I saw it in her actions, thoughtful conversations, deep introspection, tears and regret following a realization she had been wrong, that her letter hurt SA survivors, and that she was betrayed and manipulated. It’s a humbling experience to write a public apology with an expectation that it will be met with unforgiving scrutiny.

For some, her apology came “a little too late” and perhaps for them, there is nothing Thomo will be able to say or do that will inspire their forgiveness. For others, it may have part of the path to healing. I was so touched by a public post written by Lenore (one of CB’s victims) about why she believes Thomo “deserves our loving forgiveness”. Both Thomo’s apology and Lenore’s statement reminded me of the good and beauty in this sometimes cruel and complicated world.

Boycott Thomo and Reel Rock if you must, though consider taking a moment to reflect if your outrage and anger is directed fairly. Ironically, Thomo is all about petitions and actions of resistance for a good cause. She is also humble and open enough to see things from differing perspectives. Nothing is completely black and white.

As far as the Reel Rock film, I am looking forward to a raw, behind the scenes story of Thomo. Spoiler alert …they clearly did not choose a character without controversy. They chose to tell a story of a fascinating woman – who may have passed her prime of the world class climbing arena – and dove into an insightful human experience that explorers a complex childhood, dedication, pride, abandonment, heart-break, solo parenting, home-schooling, motherhood, van living, financial hardship, advocacy for marginalized communities, activism, grief, loss, unlikely reunification, cancer, forgiveness, resilience, love and family. It is an imperfect story with imperfect characters.

I certainly hope the outdoor community responds with kindness, understanding, compassion and love in its endeavors to build a safer and supportive culture for all. We can achieve great things without casting stones.

It is very disappointing and incredibly telling that you say you want to have an important conversation and then delete the conversation being had and block multiple survivors who are trying to engage with you about accountability and amends.

It’s okay to disagree or have a different opinion but maybe don’t pretend you care about survivors or want to have an open conversation just to block anyone who says that they have been harmed and feel unsafe.

All of this confirms that both apologies were disingenuous and would not have occurred had people not been speaking about this publically. You don’t care about survivors, you only care about survivors who agree with you and will stay silent about how to make amends and build safe community.

Real healing requires action and uncomfortable conversations.

“We see how this could be deeply upsetting, offensive, and traumatizing to many people in our community. However, we have chosen not to care.”

Absolute garbage statement, Reel Rock.

We usually host a an event centred around the viewing of Reel Rock – we sell tickets, give out prizes, get the community stoked for climbing. Safe to say we will not be purchasing or showing Reel Rock in light of their absolutely spineless response to this ‘controversy’. This apologist behaviour is exactly how sports culture became so toxic in the first place. It screams profit over profit. An embarrassment to the climbing community.

I am writing to give my perspective on Thomasina Pidgeon’s appearance in Reel Rock 19, as a victim of Charlie Barrett’s crimes, manipulation, and intimidation, and also as someone who testified for the investigation that ultimately put him behind bars. The controversy I would like to address is that surrounding Thomasina’s decision to write a “character letter” to the court to support him in the sentencing, and her defensive reaction to being called out after that. Here is why I believe Thomasina now deserves our loving forgiveness.
First, I am not speaking for all victims and survivors, I am only speaking for myself. Each victim has had a unique and damaging experience throughout this saga, some for decades, and I am speaking from my own horrible encounter. My heart goes out to all of Charlie’s victims, the communities he has negatively impacted, and to all who feel the reverberations of his crimes and cruelty all over the globe. What I am about to say is triggering, and will cause some victims anger, and I am sorry. I am sorry for all who have been harmed by Charlie and for those in similar situations.
I believe that Thomasina is also a victim of Charlie’s, and has been deceived and manipulated. She has since realized herself that she was wrong about Charlie and that it was a mistake to write a character reference. She has apologized both publicly and to me personally and requested the judge to rescind her letter because she now absolutely knows he was guilty and received a fair trial, counter to what he so steadfastly deceived her into thinking. She made a mistake, but I believe she does not deserve to be sidelined and crucified for her actions, especially after apologizing.
I do not believe she meant to hurt us intentionally or with malice, whilst Charlie clearly did. Charlie deserves to be silenced, forever. When we blame other people, particularly women, for the harm Charlie has inflicted on members of our community, we are giving him further voice and power, and we are perpetuating his violence.
Charlie intentionally hurt people. He raped people, assaulted people, metally abused and manipulated everyone around him, and he was cruel and vindictive. He hit women. He raped me on multiple occassions (by means of unprovoked nonconsensual choking to the point of unconsciousness), physically assaulted me (punched me), and relentlessly mentally abused and emotionally tortured me. Worst of all, he convinced me that I deserved all of this abuse, that he was a great guy, and that I was lucky to have been able to be with such a fantastic person as him. I was brainwashed and manipulated. He is masterful in this craft. This is why it took me a year to come forward and why people like Thomasina wrote him a character letter.
I now have to go through the daunting process of forgiving myself and trying to heal. And because I know that Thomasina (who was in a vulnerable place of being an abandoned single mother) was manipulated and brainwashed by this monster, I want to forgive her too. I forgive others who have written letters and later apologized. Otherwise, I won’t be able to forgive myself. I would be a hypocrite, stifle my healing, and not rise above Charlie’s terror.
I am offering my story to be a voice in a sea of controversy swirling around Charlie, and the people left drowning in the wake of his crimes. I’m a regular person who has a drab office job, likes dogs, my friends, skateboarding, and climbing. I’ve made awful mistakes, I’ve hurt people. But I’ve also been kind and supportive. I’m just human. I’m flawed but growing everyday. I am here to make a plea to the community as a survivor of Charlie’s crimes to open your hearts and minds to the reality of the terror he has inflicted and to heal through forgiveness, understanding, and most of all, love. Retribution, relentless shaming, and condemnation are tools that Charlie used to irrevocably hurt people and destroy lives.
Ironically, these exact behaviors are being subjugated on the letter writers, thus continuing the cycle of violence. I want to state very clearly that castigating dissident voices, sidelining opposing opinions, and intimidating witnesses is contrary to a democratic justice system and I find this horrific. The people who wrote the letters had every right to do so, whether I agree with them or not. I fully agree with Bonnie that people should have done their homework, and canceled him years ago. Perhaps some did, and even if they poured over public records and witness accounts, he would manipulate his way back in, change the story to fit his narrative of innocence, and convince people that he was a “changed man” and ask for leniency. He burned and rebuilt bridges countless times in Bishop, and sold books by the thousands even to people who were aware of his criminal behavior. This is the reality, however grim.
We need to put the blame 100% where it belongs: on CHARLIE. Blame for violent crime doesn’t belong on people who wrote letters, on Reel Rock, on each other or ourselves. I would like to bring to light that no one has been convicted of abetting him in these crimes. Not Thomasina, no one. Charlie, a convicted violent sex offender, is solely responsible for this mess. The more we take down and name call each other, his legacy and desire to cause harm in the community continues. He would love nothing more than to be elevated like this. He is a narcissist and this would fuel his vindictive ego like no other. Publicly canceling Thomasina? Providing a massive public audience to talk about him at every Reel Rock festival? He would love that! Why? Because he is a raging narcissist and vindictive and now that Thomasina is no longer an ally, she is an enemy to him.
Please don’t continue to fuel his ego. Choose forgiveness and love for all of his victims and let Charlie rot in his cell in obscurity. I will be joining Thomasina at the RR19 opening night in Boulder to show my commitment to my pledge of healing, forgiveness, and love.

I would like to respond to the above comment by Trevor McDonald respectfully , and provide some clarification of my personal intention.

While no doubt there are some, I certainly do not fit the description of an “armchair judge.”
There are far too many of us who lived through this horrific , tragic situation. I come to the table with a well rounded understanding of the facts.
I will only speak for myself here, in hope that maybe you can try to understand the bigger picture, as I see it.

ON SUPPORTERS OF VIOLENT CRIMINALS-
If at some point, any of the supporters recognize the truth, offer an apology and take accountability, that’s a step in the right direction. In a sense, the first step towards healing for all of us . However, it does not negate the damage done.
Despite a significant body of evidence, accumulated since 2005 , including witness statements, documented reports to authorities in court records, the narrative perpetuated by supporters sought to discredit victims, completely disregarding the extensive proof of the damage he caused. The failure of supporters to investigate the public record and the relevant court documents is not an honest mistake. It is a form of negligence with severe consequences, both for those directly affected and the larger community.
Their silence, or worse, their willingness to brush the truth under the rug has left scars that will take far longer to heal.

ON REELROCK-
I hold a higher level of expectation for the media, sponsors and the outdoor industry.
In an era where stories are carefully curated and athletes are positioned as role models. There must be an ethical responsibility to vet those who are lifted up. If there is a troubling and complicated history, don’t sweep it under the rug. Don’t pretend that serious issues like sexual assault, sexual harassment, and domestic violence don’t exist in this arena. These are not “taboo” topics to avoid. They are real and their consequences ripple through the lives of many, often in ways that are too painful to ignore. I asked that if a story like this arises, you approach it with transparency and honesty .Dont minimize it for the sake of maintaining an image. Let the truth be heard and let accountability take center stage. The lives of real people are impacted by these stories and the community deserves better than to have those voices ignored or suppressed.
I hope we can look back on this moment as a turning point on how we hold ourselves accountable. Not just in the climbing arena, but in all walks of life.

Just shameless. If you really care about portraying real human experiences on your films, then you would Include the discussion on the complicity in SA. I’m sure this would make the story more complex and potentially more profitable for you.. just more evidence that the problematic surrounding SA is just irrelevant for reel rock.. Sad you’re wasting so much effort on defending this decision.

I’m confused as to why we should boycott this movie. What is the involvement of Barrett in this movie? Or is he being featured in it? The petition says that by featuring this movie Reel Rock is sending the message that “The experience of survivors is less important than the climbing ability of famous athletes.” What athlete are we talking about? Are Barrett’s achievement portrayed?

I 100% agree that in general, in the climbing community, “The experience of survivors is less important than the climbing ability of famous athletes.” And not just about sexual assault; elite climbers are allowed to act in ways that other climbers aren’t (being rude, being violent, not respecting rules and regulations in climbing areas, etc.) I just fail to see how showing this movie sends this message. Is it something about Berthod?

I am also confused as to why Pidgeon is not seen as some type of victim of Barrett – I don’t think her story is unique and it is a recognised phenomenon of women being gaslight/manipulated into believing rapists/assaulters, etc. What is the lesson we are trying to learn by boycotting the movie? Be less gullible, don’t fall to gaslighting, or you will be canceled?

Hey y’all,

Some serious/silly thoughts/ideas to keep moving:

1. Okay, I do think Canadian Tuxedos and clown noses would be fun attire for all. Who doesn’t like Kendrick? And last year I met someone professionally and we spent the first 45 mins talking about the Seva Foundation which Wavy Gravy, Grateful Dead, Steve Jobs, Larry Brilliant started in the 70’s in Berkeley. They wear clown noses and Wavy Gravy tells jokes the first 15 mins of their board meetings and I think that’s great. Life is serious AF and the climbing community seems to be very serious so maybe just have some fun here?
2. I’m going to start a GoFundMe and can we just all contribute what we can for the CB victims and let them split it and have a break? Whatever they desire but they really deserve to just get something for themselves and to pretend none of us MF’ers exist for a bit.
3. I’d love to talk with Didier and Thomasina more and discuss ways to keep talks open on the CB items and GBV in general. The victims in the case always get to feel however the fuck they want. However, to everyone else, Thomasina’s letter for CB in the sentencing wasn’t out of the norm and she didn’t go against victims in it. Hey it took me a long time to read understand and learn to the point I was here. I’ve heard there were things after she said which I hope we can talk through but please stop your self-righteous attitude on something you don’t know about but you assume you do. If you have been through being a victim and dealing with the letters, that would be helpful. I recently dealt with someone adjacent to my second case who shit on my opinion after I’d had a really good discussion and way forward with someone who wrote a letter and it just was demoralizing.

I’m gonna post in multiple pieces so bear with me as I formulate the next piece, please.

I’ve been friends with Thomasina for over 20 years. She is a very caring woman. She has coached my daughter and is very community orientated. Seeing her and Cedar reunited with Didier has been beautiful to witness. Everybody is on a journey and their little family has worked it out. With love. To me that is strength. I understand that this issue brings a lot of pain to victims, but don’t get misdirected. They are not guilty. People often think they can instantly put themselves in someone’s shoes and think that they would make a different decision, but that is not how life works. For everybody, judging from an armchair, hopefully life is crystal clear for you, and you do not have to be judged by people who quite frankly do not know you.

I’m pretty disappointed in this “apology” honestly, but I feel like other comments have pointed out how toothless it is, so I won’t say anything else about that specifically. However, it may be worth thinking about this – what if Thomasina was a man? Would he be forgiven because he was just lied to and that’s it? Would an apology months later (say, right before the screenings were about to start like January 15th or something) just make that go away? Or would that man simply be seen as an apologist for a rapist?

So I think plenty of folks tend to see Thomasina, a woman, as someone who was just hoodwinked by Charlie, because women “could never support rape culture”. But she did. And I feel like Thomasina had plenty of time, opportunity, and space to actually apologize to the victims and publicly retract her letter. She never did. In fact, it seems like she never intended to say anything until this film was coming out. That feels really gross to me, and seems like nothing was actually learned/heard from the survivors. So if this film makes it into ReelRock 19, I certainly won’t attend the premier and I can’t say I’ll ever watch it online either. To support “The Cobra and the Heart” feels like the opposite of progress.

What would make you look best, most compassionate, & caring would be to bite the bullet & take the story out of the tour. Then you don’t need to explain anything. Everyone will hear you loud & clear.

As a survivor of sexual abuse and rape this as most have stated is dismissive of what one goes through after these experiences. Very few know and by posting I publicly expose myself to the potential for more harm. I dont know this story well, however, the above isnt an apology it’s that you care more about your profits or image than what fractures a survivors life. This type of violation changes have even mundane things are perceived and varies from person to person. Exploiting another is wrong, exploiting a person’s perhaps most devastating moments is as vile as being the one to cause them. As Dolly Parton said of changing the name of Dixie stampede to just stampede “when you know better you do better- this (dixie) was offensive because of its history so I removed it from the name”. Do better- you say you know better now prove it and put those violated first.

As long as we are defending ourselves, we are not learning, reel rock.
A defensive position is always a sign of healing that still needs to happen, of fragility. On the opposite side is an embodied strength of a leader in the community who LEARNS from their mistakes, and not only apologizes but also ACTS from the place of humility and love.
I’d like to ask that you seize the opportunity to be a thought leader in the climbing community, own up to your ignorance, examine the patriarchal bs that’s still running in your company and take appropriate action to repair.
If you so, you’ll become an inspiration for the whole industry. This is your chance.

As one of the victims who testified at Charles Barrett’s 2024 trial, I feel compelled to address Reel Rock’s blog post. Not only does it fail to acknowledge the real harm they are perpetuating, but it also serves as an example of exactly what not to do when responding to a crisis involving survivors of sexual violence.

Let’s be clear: The outrage over Reel Rock’s decision to feature Thomasina Pidgeon in The Cobra and the Heart is not due to concern about “complex human stories” or “themes of fallibility and forgiveness.” This is about accountability.

It’s about understanding how platforming someone who publicly defended a convicted serial sexual abuser after his conviction sends a message to survivors. And that message is loud and clear: Your pain is secondary to our film.

This isn’t a matter of a “gradual and painful process” of realization for Pidgeon. She wrote a character reference for Barrett, not before his trial but after he was convicted of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse and one count of abusive sexual contact.

This wasn’t an abstract accusation. It wasn’t a case of “he said, she said.” It was a conviction in a court of law based on overwhelming evidence and survivor testimony—including mine.

And yet, despite everything, she used her voice to advocate for him. She told people she believed Barrett’s victims weren’t credible.

Only after public outrage did Pidgeon issue an apology on Instagram. Her response appears more about saving face than taking real accountability. Yet Reel Rock has chosen to amplify her voice while the voices of those she discredited, the real victims, remain ignored.

Now, Reel Rock is using its platform to rehabilitate her image while the victims she undermined are left to deal with the consequences.

In this response, Reel Rock sidesteps responsibility, cloaking it in vague language about “growth” and “learning” while avoiding the fundamental issue: why did you choose to elevate someone who actively undermined victims of sexual violence?

As a PR professional with nearly 30 years of experience, I am stunned at how poorly Reel Rock has handled this. If their goal was to engage in an “important conversation,” they have failed at every turn. Here’s why:

🛑 They center their discomfort rather than survivor impact. Phrases like “It pains us to know…” and “We take these concerns seriously” are performative.

Pain is losing your safety, your livelihood, and your peace of mind after being sexually assaulted and then publicly harassed and repeatedly threatened by your abuser. Pain is reliving trauma while watching a major platform uplift someone who defended your abuser.

Reel Rock’s “pain” is a PR crisis of their own making.

🛑 They absolve themselves of responsibility. By saying, “Our film does not involve Charlie Barrett or address issues of abuse in any way,” they attempt to distance themselves from the reality that they are amplifying someone who publicly defended a convicted sexual abuser.

That is addressing issues of abuse—just in the worst way possible.

🛑 They frame Pidgeon’s actions as a “mistake” rather than a choice. Writing a character reference for someone convicted of aggravated sexual abuse and abusive sexual contact and whose decades of terrorizing and abusing women were outlined in a 12,000-word investigative piece isn’t an innocent misstep—it’s a conscious decision that has real-world consequences for survivors.

LET ME BE VERY CLEAR: She wasn’t deceived; she actively dismissed the voices of those Barrett harmed.

🛑 Reel Rock refuses to take action. A real commitment to accountability would mean acknowledging their mistake and making changes—not just releasing a statement full of vague platitudes. If Reel Rock really “stands with survivors,” they must show it. That means either removing Pidgeon from the film or explaining why they think featuring her is worth further harming survivors.

At the end of their statement, Reel Rock thanks survivors for “making them more aware” and “demanding change.” But what change are they actually making? So far, none. Instead, they ask survivors to accept harm in the name of “complex storytelling.”

I refuse to accept that. And any platform that supports survivors should refuse it, too.

I had to read this statement multiple times and am still in shock at how astounding it is. I cannot believe anyone would publish this – you either have an absolutely awful crisis PR firm (that last paragraph reads crisis PR firm BS) or you are incredibly callous and do not even recognize it.

At a bare minimum, this should be signed by the co-founders specifically and if there are others involved, it should absolutely list out who is signing off on this and not “The Reel Rock team” – If there weren’t so many disturbing things in this statement, I would be shocked at how cowardly this is but oh man, this is a real doozy.

Welp, let’s start from the top “Over the past few weeks, an important conversation has been taking place in the climbing community around sexual abuse, safety, and accountability.” The past few weeks? I am not even in the climbing community and know discussions have been pretty clear for almost 2 years at least. Where and between who are all these conversations? You say outward conversations, then talk about internal things – It sounds like most of you should go internally back into the womb and cook a little longer.

I am fucking deceased at the the audacity you have in saying the the film doesn’t deal with abuse in any way.

LOL – “So anyway, bruh, the plot is that this French-Swiss white boy who sounds like he has one of the Cluster B anti-social personality disorders and/or is the Antichrist gets a bad boo boo and packs a sad and is a coward and too stupid to wrap it up. So instead he abandons his pregnant girlfriend and joins a fraternal cult related to the Catholic Church or something (are Swiss cults neutral with the whole abuse thing or what? You know like they were during The Holocaust? LOL on riding for Palestine too – girl, just sit the fuck down). Then after 10 years, Swiss Diddy, is still self-absorbed and decides he should just go fuck with his baby momma who has no concept of who is dangerous to trust and thinks she is super radical but rides harder for white supremacy and loves violent men and cannot see she is in the cycle of abuse and this dude is fucking manipulative."

How about all of you maybe take a break from social media until you’ve gotten professional help from those who are qualified experts and who are licensed to diagnose you and help you understand why you have such a God-complex and think anyone gives a shit what you think about anything or that you’re interesting in any way.

Stop assuming you know what is good for victims-survivors or that you are helping by doing whatever you think is helpful without getting CONSENT or advice from experts and posting shit publicly unless the victim-survivors want you to to do that. It is up to the victim-survivors on what they want done here and I can serve as the intermediary between Reel Rock and bring in some other experts, the board (I assume there is one?), victim-survivors, other allies, Pigeon lady, etc.

Why don’t you start by someone making a GoFundMe and you can all donate and raise money for the victim-survivors so they can do whatever the fuck they want with it. Some want to go to the EVAWI conference, some may want to do some spa days and get away from this all, whatever they want.

I personally think the film is important for viewers as it sounds like a really good example of how fucked up some folks in this community are and sounds like it shows what abuse really looks like. I do not think either of two lovebirds should be in attendance (for sure not Swiss Diddy) and I would be so mortified if I was a co-founder or in an Executive position that I would be working on my resignation.

I do think those who attend should think about wearing Canadian Tuxedos and clown noses to show support for victim-survivors IF you actually do care. Just like Kendrick did at the Grammy’s when he won 5 Grammy’s for “Not Like Us” – everyone involved in this should be shamed and feel like the clowns that they are and give the victim-survivors a much needed laugh and support that is LONG overdue from so many in this community. Honk, honk, bozos.

Thomasina, stick to bird law, and leave US law to the rest of us. Maybe check your website and the “About” section – girl, embarrassing. Also, your writing is cringe- I would get more intellectually out of and also prefer listening to the grass grow than having to hear your stream of consciousness.

DO NOT reach out to any victim-survivors and stop posting about this if you’re not really knowledgeable enough to do that. It is the year anniversary of the trial this week and no one needs you knob jobs causing more shitshows to clean up.

I am very familiar with the trial and was in attendance for parts of it and have read everything though am not familiar with the climbing community as much (I’ve learned a lot in the last 2 years) but could use some help with knowing more about the other letter writers.

As for me – I was one of many victims in a criminal legal trial that took place in 2007 the summer after I graduated and my offender was a 23 YO track coach who is absolutely a sociopath and was sexually abusing multiple 16 year-olds, “dated” a 14 year-old and was grooming multiple 12-13 YO’s. In 2020, our head track coach and his boss and a PE teacher that had been there for 25 years was arrested for CSAM distribution and possession for 100K pictures and 40 videos of kids as young as 6. Turns out my Athletic Department was basically USA Gymnastics. I have dealt with the state’s/districts attorney before, federal prosecutors, the FBI, private investigators, my offender’s crazy mom who helped him flee the country to Russia before the verdict in 2007, appeals processes, public defenders, private defense attorneys, court reporters, blind experts, appeals, clemency petitions, and character references in both federal and state court, etc. I promise, I am much more of an expert than probably any of you.

Victim-survivors are all unique and do not all think the same about what is considered “justice” (I don’t think it is even a real concept), what terms they prefer, their experiences, what they need or want that is helpful to them after GBV, if they want to report or how they want to report, how they engage with the process, if they want to discuss their experiences, if they want to engage with other victim-survivors or advocacy work in the GBV space and what that looks like.

Let me correct some things for you all, the character reference letters are requested by the defense attorney and those who are typically asked to write them are usually asked only to describe what they knew of the person and not to say anything about the crimes themselves or what they think the sentencing should be. It is up to the judge’s discretion and to be clear, they did not influence the sentencing, but what they do show is who has either been groomed/manipulated and is vulnerable but also means well – life is extremely messy and my personal goal is to extend people grace as most of us are good and mean well but make mistakes.

My experience was that I have forgiven 3 people who wrote letters for the second offender because they have genuinely apologized and come to the table to help, have extreme humility, and who have been like rocks to me helping me (2 are Boomer, liberal white men and the other is a Boomer, conservative white man). Personally, I don’t want to be raging fucking mad all the time. It is fatiguing and I would rather reserve my energy for going after the enablers and other offenders who really need to meet the devil.

Unlike Swiss Diddy who I assume is the Cobra (he sure sounds like a fucking snake), many parents love their kids and it is hard to understand that the best thing for their children as sex offenders is yes, therapy and mental health care (all offenders DO need therapy) but many of them also need to be in prison. And the way they support them is to hold their children accountable and support them through that. If you do care about CB and know his family, you can help talk to them about not bothering victim-survivors and coming around to talking to some experts here to help them come around to this and actually help their son.

The US federal prosecutors are the most prestigious positions for criminal attorneys in the United States. And they have more resources than many state/district attorney’s offices so they can are able to bring in the best of the best as far as experts and they do not spend a ton of time prosecuting and prepping and putting the victim-survivors through this AND what bothers police and attorneys a ton is to falsely accuse or prosecute someone innocent especially of sex crimes. That trial was an absolute masterclass and CB received very effective counsel and reasonable doubt is a huge bar to prove and it should be if we are going to put people in prison. That jury was very diverse and they convicted on all counts and the judge sentenced him to life in prison because he followed the federal sentencing guidelines and did not find any of the letters to be something to consider in the sentencing.

If Thomasina and others want to run their mouths about the trial, let them, they all look so unbelievably stupid and no one fucking cares and their opinion doesn’t mean anything. I feel compassion for Thomasina and I hope she will really take this to heart but sometimes you need to get called out and embarrassed to understand what you’ve done. For her sake, I do hope she’s able to get professional help and experience what it is like to have an opinion that is correct at least once in her life. The letters are always a matter of public record though they redact the contact information for those that write them.

I really don’t know if I feel the same hope for whoever was involved in this statement – maybe you can get there but you’ve got a lot of work to do. You might consider a lobotomy or just you know getting lost at sea.

I grew up with an extremely violent father and also a lot of empathy and love and support and I am extremely empathetic but I can do scorched earth and be ruthless which I consider a great skill:

10 Silver Linings of Having an Asshole Father | mathbabe

That last paragraph is so fucking cheesy of this statement. The victim-survivors are more badass than you could ever even hope to be and they don’t owe you shit.

Try this instead, in the words of Kendrick, “Bitch, be HUMBLE. Bitch, SIT DOWN.” Get off your faux intellectualism BS and let the real organizers and radicals take over and give you a clinic here.

If I hear about anyone messing with a victim or doing anything to them especially if the victim asks them for boundaries and you are rude to them or completely disregard them and decide you know what is best you are going to understand what fuck around and find out is all about.

I can connect folks with Dr. Jim Tanner who is in Boulder and semi-retired but an expert on sex offenders and grooming:

Resources

If you aren’t a victim, who have absolutely ZERO obligations here to anyone ever to do fucking anything, and actually give a shit about Thomasina, her apology is for sure genuine and she is clearly a victim of the cycle of abuse and DARVO from Swiss Diddy at the very least.

I think she is going to continue to need support and probably some help really continuing to get there. She definitely needs to be accountable and I hope she will actually continue to learn and move forward here but she doesn’t need to continuously just be shit on here by a bunch of hypocrites.

GBV is EVERYWHERE in this world. It is really difficult to reconcile someone who has been kind and there to you whether it was genuine or to groom the environment (my personal read is CB has severe mental health issues, psychosis, disassociating, etc.) during some of the most traumatic times of your life. It is actually very typical for things like this to happen to folks like Thomasina.

Unfortunately, there are tons of enablers who didn’t hold him accountable or get him the help he needed before so now instead of maybe a shorter jail sentence and treatment, he has to spend life in prison because he has shown time and time again that he is too dangerous to be in society. So maybe think about your role as enablers and bystanders instead of trying to do some “gotcha” BS on stuff you do not understand.

“It pains us to know that discussions around one of our films that is currently in production have stirred up trauma and anger among some SA survivors and advocates” – Unbelievable – do you think some “survivors and advocates” are the only people who care about gender based violence (GBV)?

Peace,
Annabelle

Conversations with individuals with strong opinions has me concerned, that a boycott feels like targeting TP, when she may be coming to realize she was groomed, and thus another of Barrett’s victims. That case had nothing to do with this film, and if circumstances were inverted, “cancelling” looks a lot like how victims are dismissed. It might serve the community better, to offer some sort of open forum/panel conversation after film presentations, to focus on the broader aspects of harassment, abuse, assaults, how to mitigate them, how to bear witness, how to safety intervene, how to protect each other, and more – especially with the “validation” of the worst behaviors, by too many at the highest positions in our ‘Great’ nation.

Reel Rock has been reflecting, engaging and communicating. That’s good.
You hear us, believe us and stand with us. Thank you.
However, there’s something very important missing here.
How do you plan to do better in the future?
Will you vet athletes before highlighting them?
Will you donate a percentage of the proceeds of this film to RAINN.org?

I’d appreciate hearing real actions you are going to take to combat this happening again.

As an acquaintance of one of Charlie’s victims I find this ‘sorry not sorry’ statement very offensive. You really couldn’t find another ‘complex human story rooted in climbing’? The sad reality is that his victims were part of the climbing community, and that was taken away from them. Releasing this film just excludes them again while glossing over an important and pervasive issue. Shame on you , and your BS ‘apology.’