I guess we're just gonna completely ruin the word 'grooming' now.
It was ruined a long time ago but I didn't understand how ruined it was until Warren Ellis got cancelled a couple of years ago.
For the tourists, Warren Ellis is a British writer who made a name for himself writing comics (some of which, like
RED, got made into films).
He then started getting work as a script writer for TV, most notably the recent Castlevania series on Netflix. Right around the time that sweet Netflix money started coming in, he was accused of "sexual misconduct" by a group of women who frequented Ellis' personal message boards, identifying themselves by the cute team name "So Many of Us".
So Many of Us released a statement outlining the heinous crimes committed by Warren Ellis:
"From our accounts, and the others who have come forward, there is clear evidence of Warren Ellis using his celebrity status and vast public platform as catalyst and shield to manipulate and groom targets under false pretenses, and to coerce private pornography and sexual exchanges."
You can see the accusation of "grooming", but reading this statement it and translating it from womanese, it just sounds like the worst thing he did was tell some women whatever he felt he had to in order to see some titty pics or maybe some of that newfangled cybersexing. A man buttered up several women to get nudes.
Truly an unconscionable act requiring severe punishment.
"Over twenty years, femme-presenting people, often between the ages of 19 to 26, were impacted by this pathological behavior. We were all under an elaborate illusion, believing we had a friend, a mentor, a partner in this man."
This man was apparently allowed to talk to adult women in an adult manner for
OVER 20 YEARS before anyone felt safe enough to speak up and stop the bloodshed caused by this man casting "illusions" on these poor
children adult women. These women fantasized about Warren Ellis and it's his fault!
"Once the target thinks of him as their best friend or trusted confidant, he escalates the relationship into sexual territory, usually conducted online and through intense periods of communication"
This man's illusions were so realistic that even strong, educated, independent women with absolutely no capacity for self delusion or magical thinking were GROOMED into believing that a semi-famous writer living all the way over in England was their best friend. What an absolute bastard of a sorcerer he is.
They say that the Castlevania creator would end the relationship and cut off contact, leaving the women suffering from emotional trauma as a result.
And there it is. The real reason these ladies (and "femme presenting people") are so assmad is because the Gandalf of Grooming
stopped talking to them on the internet.
To summarize:
Insincerely telling a grown ass woman what she wants to hear? Groomin'.
Lie to see some tit pics? Groomin'.
Ghosted by your pretend internet boyfriend? That's a groomin'.
Imagine being a fucking grown woman art hoe and having so little going on in your life that you get absolutely Alpha Widowed by a goddamn bald, fat, middle aged, limey alcoholic with a bad leg, a wife, and a kid (who he dedicated both of his novels to, so they already knew he was not going to be their fucking boyfriend).
Now imagine he looks like this:
These women couldn't take the L for their solipsism, projection, and retardation and Ellis didn't do anything he could be arrested or formally punished for, so they broadcast their mongoloid soap opera starring their desperation and this dashing lump of British writer in order to shame him and ruin his career. And it worked. To my knowledge, Ellis hasn't had anything published since this happened.
In short, these women are like the guys who think the stripper likes them but when the illusion gets shattered, they actually get propped up by the culture instead of laughed at like the strip club dork.
As far as I'm aware, there aren't any statutes that I've seen that point to a legal definition of grooming, at least in the US. Before this kind of shit started happening, I think most people had a somewhat solid idea of what the concept was, and it involved some combination of kids, rape, human trafficking, prostitution, slavery, and serious shit like that because that's what they were being groomed for. But those things are capital crimes and charges exist for those crimes. One can't be charged with "grooming" which is why it's the perfect catch-all term for a "crime" that doesn't really exist, but women can be made to feel like it exists which is why a public accusation of grooming works extremely well on social media.
If you'd like to know what
actual grooming looks like, watch Drake Bell's story in that Nickelodeon doc that just came out. It's utterly horrifying and Ed Piskor's stupid DMs don't come anywhere near it. Warren Ellis consensually jerking off with gross tattooed adult art hoes over a webcam doesn't either.
