Note to readers: I’m experimenting for the next few weeks or months with a hew format. Benjamin Life, a politically and spiritually astute friend of mine who has been working with me, will conduct a series of interviews/conversations asking me questions about everything from current events to esoteric philosophical issues. Then we will transcribe and lightly edit the results. Here is a short one we did a couple nights ago. Another will follow shortly.
Russell claims he has reformed and healed from sex and drug addiction. It certainly looks that way to me. Perhaps he still has some work to do about his attitudes to women - there are few men in our patriarchal society who don't need to do that - maybe none. Bottom line, in a sane culture, would be the acknowledgment of the healing Russell has already done and support for the women who suffered at his hands to engage in healing - which might involve a 'truth and forgiveness' process with Russell himself. Retribution in the form of a jail term or whatever, seems absurd when the man is living a good family life now. But we're an insane, retributive culture which takes vengeance, especially against 'outsiders', and which would willfully destroy a man (and his family) because, although he appears to no longer be a danger to women, he challenges the prevailing establishment narrative and power. May goodness prevail!
Regardless of how much is amiss with Russell Brand's behavior, when criminals start accusing their critics of crimes, one has to suspect that something unholy is afoot. Regardless of Russell Brand's culpability for the alleged crimes, it doesn't undo the good he does in exposing the globalist criminal and in fighting for justice. Nor does it minimize the evil the globalists are doing. Whether the allegations are true or not, the attack is a deflection.
Thanks for addressing the Russell Brand situation in a larger perspective. We don't know of course what he may have done; but it is clear as you say, that when folks like Biden are accused of these things; they don't stick cuz the PTB's who control the media don't want them to stick. Brand on the other hand is a very juicy target indeed since he has been a voice for so many who are pushing back against the toxic system. If it were up to me, the history of Edward Bernays, the nephew of Freud, would be required reading for all with re-reading every year or so just as a reminder. Folks like Bernays have managed to deliberately manipulate public opinion forever ( for our own supposed good) and yet even when we know it is happening we seem to be so very gullible.
You both seem to be blissfully unaware of any facts relating to Russell Brand, his accusers, or sexual offending and the law -- in the UK at least: and Brand was brought up and lived in the UK before relocating in the US.
FIrst, the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) informed by the police and judicial system, show that 99% of sex offenders are male, and 88% of victims are female.
However the Crime Survey of England & Wales (CSEW) reports (from thousands of confidential interviews) that less than 50% of sex offences are even reported to the police.
This is because victims of sexual assault (mainly girls and women) think the police will do nothing, because they will not be believed. And that even if they are believed, they will be blamed (and shamed) as "asking for it" (victim-blaming is the most common excuse by sex offenders and perpetrators of violent domestic abuse). And that they will be treated in court as if they, not their atrackers, were on trial.
The expected humiliation of not being believed and nothing being done or, at best, of being treated as the accused, not the victim, in court, stops over 50% of women from reporting rape and other sexual assaults to the police at all.
And for those who do report sex crimes: because of the (now recognised) systemic misogyny of the police, charges are brought against alleged male sex offenders in less than 5% of cases.
Of these, only 1% result in successful prosecutions.
This means that effectively, rape has been legalised in the UK. Violent sex offenders know they have a 99% chance of getting away with it.
Russell Brand has been telling the world for 20 years, from centre stage, that he is a "sex addict": ie that he objectifies "hundreds" of women -- "five a day" -- simply as a means to satisfying his sexual appetite.
And his repeated "confessions" of promiscuity are still male pattern boasting: in adolescent / womaniser / Don Juan fashion: of having more notches on his bedpost than any other man. Only Brand doesn't bother with beds: much more exciting to pin a woman against his house wall to rape her.
After all, if women are stupid enough to go into his house after he's told the world who he is from centre stage, why would they expect special treatment? From such a famous man? with so much money? Raping them is doing them a favour. He's RUSSELL BRAND, after all.
And this is the nature of addiction: addicts become tolerant of their drug. They need ever larger, stronger quantities to get the same kicks.
It beats me how many people, women included, are not prepared to believe the women who have at last spoken out about their (horrible) experiences with Brand: gaining courage from each other to admit to what each dares not admit to alone. (I can only assume the kneejerk disbelievers are ignorant of the wider picture of male sex offending and, if female, have never been sexually assaulted themselves.)
This is typically how prolific sex predators are eventually caught.
The mob instinct is one thing, but let's not forget there is agency.
Matt Gaetz, Julian Assange, Daniel Ellsberg, what's his name Gore's? VP candidate, Salvadore Allende... there are a lot more and I've been meaning to make a list.
And 10+ years after the facts, 5 women somehow connect? and there are text messages? And there are no criminal charges, only civil charges.
When I wrote "agency", yes, this is an agency playbook. Some agency searched his text messages. Who'd a thunk it??? THAT is the big crime.
Oh, and only a couple of weeks after a powerful interview with RFKJr, and a second one with Jimmy Dore about Pfizer. Just a coincidence. Move along, nothing to see here.
This is the Deep State taking Brand out and the women are tools.
I've been an IT/Internet pro since 80's; I don't use a cell phone and don't even let people onto my property with one. PERIOD. [If you must use one, get a burn phone and burn it regularly; it only takes 3 calls to identify most people.] And don't think that if you delete a text it's deleted. But that warning is way too late for virtually everyone.
The mob mentality surrounding accusations in this day and age is disturbing. If someone is credibly proven to have done something terrible, the law has mechanisms to dole out justice. The social aspects of being ostracized are much more sinister. I have been ostracized from social groups because of a difference of opinion with a group member who was the defacto "group leader" and felt the sting of every other group member, shunning me to stay in the leader's good graces. I go through a period of defiance, followed by a recognition that I don't want to be involved with people who are so cavalier in the treatment of people who were, at one point, supposedly a friend. However, no matter how much you rationalize the process, it is a sad and disappointing experience. I can only imagine how that is amplified when you are in the public eye and are ostracized by an entire industry. Why is it that those who claim to be compassionate are quick to choose sides and emotionally devastate someone at the first mention of impropriety? Not that anyone cares, but I am increasingly disappointed in the average person's behavior, even more so in those who identify with mob ideology.
I'm confident he did many such acts (I haven't read them either, why now?), he admits it freely, he spoke of wanking off an old man for drugs, it's in the past. I feel confident that if he sexually assaulted (how to define rape, being 16 doesn't cut it) young women, if he knew their names (not all that likely given the number he had relations with), he sought forgiveness. Even if only to his god and himself, he's contrite. If they're head hunting ( why or why now??) he needs not offer apologies.
There's nothing natural about this story. It was packaged and timed before release and the reactions were also pre prepared and played on a tight schedule. If a city explodes, the news coverage takes days to saturate and the reactions take weeks. This drops every where on a day and the overwhelming mob reaction took minutes.
Plus, I'm so tired of hearing all the excuses for going along with the mob. If your are unwilling to draw and face the crowd for what you believe is right, you don't deserve the breath in your lungs or the blood in your veins. Apathy and cowardice got us here. We know how to correct one of those traits.
Charles, if you’ve barely got a whiff of the story, then you might decline to comment. What you’re doing in the absence of information--raising questions about the women’s credibility, accusing those who believe them of stirring up a mob--is textbook rape apologia. Don’t rush to defend Brand. Don’t assume that his accusers are tools of a shadowy power. What if we gave the women the benefit of the doubt, as we do with white men who are victims of alleged crimes? What if we listened to them before rushing in to defend Brand? The investigation is a four-year joint effort between three media organizations and includes over 100 interviews. Why not listen instead of talk?
I don’t know if he is guilty or not but he certainly played the character of someone who would do these things. What’s also important is that while he’s not part of the mainstream media he was in the past and has greatly benefited from being part of the mainstream for expressing characteristics in line with being the exact person he is now accused of being. (Whether he’s guilty or not this is a pretty damning indictment of the media companies who gave him a platform to begin with.)
If guilty, perhaps he’s changed and gone through some personal transformation, maybe it’s an act. People who do bad things still have meaningful things to say, however you probably are not going to and shouldn’t have an audience of multiple millions of people following you if you’ve truly atoned and necessarily humbled yourself after coming to terms with the fact that you are a serial abuser. If you don’t apologize, don’t relinquish power, and don’t inform your audience of who you truly are so as to not suffer consequences but decide you are the one to now be a popular truth teller feels deeply narcissistic. and if that’s the case can a narcissist fully empathize with others to understand what they have done?
(Mind you rape is a crime.)
Lastly, I don’t understand the above comment that suggests “he need not offer apologies” while focusing only on the supposed relationship with a 16 year old while ignoring the woman who has also accused him of raping her against a wall. According to the report it wasn’t just bad sex, she said no repeatedly and reported it at the time as a rape and exchanged texts with Brand to tell him she had said no and that he had raped her. How many women over how many decades accused Bill Cosby and were demonized for doing so before it became clear he had serially drugged and raped women of all walks of life? This is why women don’t come forward until later.
On a personal note, learning of these allegations was devastating. To me, RB is a profound and deep mind, exquisitely capable of breaking down, synthesizing, and making accessible that which needs to be exposed and broadly known. I am a grateful listener and greatly appreciate his leadership.
And…I squirmed while reading this piece. It feels premature and like it has a subterranean agenda or secret subtext (despite going to great lengths to allow for the unknowns).
What I want to hear from moral leaders right now is a message from the heart. How devastating this feels to those of us that *rely* on RB’s leadership, that the fear of the loss of his voice and platform is terrifying, and then to give this profound grief and fear it’s place, honor it, and let it move through us.
And to simultaneously hold space for the pain of his actions, for the real people that carry that pain.
To resist and underplay the emotional processing part of the process, to jump to intellectualizing and ‘understanding,’ does not serve...it’s too soon.
This situation needs spiritual healing, which you are so uniquely qualified to bring. Please do so.
Love this interview style format. Great to be introduced to Benjamin Life. Thank you for speaking on this so soon. The attack on RB was inevitable but far more gruesome than I expected. It has been fascinating watching it all unfold. You expressed everything I've been thinking this week so eloquently, as usual. Sign me up for the island of sanity cult.
Wow Charles, as a fan of your writing, and even someone who has bought your coursework, it feels egregious to me that you would comment on something you have “only had a whiff off”. How do you feel at ease pontificating about ideas like “cults” and “mob mentality”, without actually reading and researching the stories of these women? There are a loads of people, like myself, who are big fans of Russel Brand, and that is what makes these stories very painful to read/watch. The reason there is a massive reaction, “a mob mentality” as you refer to it, is because millions of people admire him as a thought leader and a zeitgeist figure, so it is hard not to have feelings about these very strong allegations. His story illuminates more about what society enabled, and chose to turn a blind eye to, than just another story of a charismatic narcissist that used his power for abuse. If you watch the doccie you will see much of it is the media’s own self-reflection and self criticism for their part in this. The only mob mentality of this story is that so many of us were too charmed by his intoxicating personality to see the dangerous behaviour he so obviously displayed (and not so long ago). If you did actually do your own research, you will find out that loads of journalists have been looking into this story for over a decade, this particular expose took four years… why? Because people don’t believe women, especially when it’s so disappointing and reveals someone we love as a selfish predator. There have been payoffs and gag orders and stories killed. These journalists have been meticulous and are constantly at financial risk through litigation. Same for victims. It is not easy to go up against society’s most beloved figure, even if he raped you. Remember Bill Cosby? Russel may be speaking truth to power, but so are these women.
We should be able to hold even those we love accountable to criminal acts. He must be held accountable and punished like all other rapists and abusers, should these women even bring charges against him (which they haven’t yet, because society has failed victims with only 2% of sexual offenders ever receive judicial charge). And Benjamin Life, not sure what “me too” is, the term is #MeToo. Please show some reverence for this movement that has required immense courage by millions of women.
It's looking pretty bad for Brand--meaning the allegations look credible and damning. I don't like the media feeding frenzy anymore than anyone else, and the self-righteous mob-mentality is disgusting. Charles gets this right in the interview. I don't agree with some other commenters that charges don't stick to Joe Biden because he's of the establishement and to Brand because he's an outsider (supposedly) though. They are sticking because it was apparently an open secret. The comparitor might be Jimmy Saville, not Joe Biden.
Russell claims he has reformed and healed from sex and drug addiction. It certainly looks that way to me. Perhaps he still has some work to do about his attitudes to women - there are few men in our patriarchal society who don't need to do that - maybe none. Bottom line, in a sane culture, would be the acknowledgment of the healing Russell has already done and support for the women who suffered at his hands to engage in healing - which might involve a 'truth and forgiveness' process with Russell himself. Retribution in the form of a jail term or whatever, seems absurd when the man is living a good family life now. But we're an insane, retributive culture which takes vengeance, especially against 'outsiders', and which would willfully destroy a man (and his family) because, although he appears to no longer be a danger to women, he challenges the prevailing establishment narrative and power. May goodness prevail!
Regardless of how much is amiss with Russell Brand's behavior, when criminals start accusing their critics of crimes, one has to suspect that something unholy is afoot. Regardless of Russell Brand's culpability for the alleged crimes, it doesn't undo the good he does in exposing the globalist criminal and in fighting for justice. Nor does it minimize the evil the globalists are doing. Whether the allegations are true or not, the attack is a deflection.
Thanks for addressing the Russell Brand situation in a larger perspective. We don't know of course what he may have done; but it is clear as you say, that when folks like Biden are accused of these things; they don't stick cuz the PTB's who control the media don't want them to stick. Brand on the other hand is a very juicy target indeed since he has been a voice for so many who are pushing back against the toxic system. If it were up to me, the history of Edward Bernays, the nephew of Freud, would be required reading for all with re-reading every year or so just as a reminder. Folks like Bernays have managed to deliberately manipulate public opinion forever ( for our own supposed good) and yet even when we know it is happening we seem to be so very gullible.
I noticed that this format pulled me in and kept me reading and concentrating.
Thank you for your examples of observational thinking/expression and balance. i love you! sandrabeing
You both seem to be blissfully unaware of any facts relating to Russell Brand, his accusers, or sexual offending and the law -- in the UK at least: and Brand was brought up and lived in the UK before relocating in the US.
FIrst, the UK's Office for National Statistics (ONS) informed by the police and judicial system, show that 99% of sex offenders are male, and 88% of victims are female.
However the Crime Survey of England & Wales (CSEW) reports (from thousands of confidential interviews) that less than 50% of sex offences are even reported to the police.
This is because victims of sexual assault (mainly girls and women) think the police will do nothing, because they will not be believed. And that even if they are believed, they will be blamed (and shamed) as "asking for it" (victim-blaming is the most common excuse by sex offenders and perpetrators of violent domestic abuse). And that they will be treated in court as if they, not their atrackers, were on trial.
The expected humiliation of not being believed and nothing being done or, at best, of being treated as the accused, not the victim, in court, stops over 50% of women from reporting rape and other sexual assaults to the police at all.
And for those who do report sex crimes: because of the (now recognised) systemic misogyny of the police, charges are brought against alleged male sex offenders in less than 5% of cases.
Of these, only 1% result in successful prosecutions.
This means that effectively, rape has been legalised in the UK. Violent sex offenders know they have a 99% chance of getting away with it.
Russell Brand has been telling the world for 20 years, from centre stage, that he is a "sex addict": ie that he objectifies "hundreds" of women -- "five a day" -- simply as a means to satisfying his sexual appetite.
And his repeated "confessions" of promiscuity are still male pattern boasting: in adolescent / womaniser / Don Juan fashion: of having more notches on his bedpost than any other man. Only Brand doesn't bother with beds: much more exciting to pin a woman against his house wall to rape her.
After all, if women are stupid enough to go into his house after he's told the world who he is from centre stage, why would they expect special treatment? From such a famous man? with so much money? Raping them is doing them a favour. He's RUSSELL BRAND, after all.
And this is the nature of addiction: addicts become tolerant of their drug. They need ever larger, stronger quantities to get the same kicks.
It beats me how many people, women included, are not prepared to believe the women who have at last spoken out about their (horrible) experiences with Brand: gaining courage from each other to admit to what each dares not admit to alone. (I can only assume the kneejerk disbelievers are ignorant of the wider picture of male sex offending and, if female, have never been sexually assaulted themselves.)
This is typically how prolific sex predators are eventually caught.
The mob instinct is one thing, but let's not forget there is agency.
Matt Gaetz, Julian Assange, Daniel Ellsberg, what's his name Gore's? VP candidate, Salvadore Allende... there are a lot more and I've been meaning to make a list.
And 10+ years after the facts, 5 women somehow connect? and there are text messages? And there are no criminal charges, only civil charges.
When I wrote "agency", yes, this is an agency playbook. Some agency searched his text messages. Who'd a thunk it??? THAT is the big crime.
Oh, and only a couple of weeks after a powerful interview with RFKJr, and a second one with Jimmy Dore about Pfizer. Just a coincidence. Move along, nothing to see here.
This is the Deep State taking Brand out and the women are tools.
I've been an IT/Internet pro since 80's; I don't use a cell phone and don't even let people onto my property with one. PERIOD. [If you must use one, get a burn phone and burn it regularly; it only takes 3 calls to identify most people.] And don't think that if you delete a text it's deleted. But that warning is way too late for virtually everyone.
The mob mentality surrounding accusations in this day and age is disturbing. If someone is credibly proven to have done something terrible, the law has mechanisms to dole out justice. The social aspects of being ostracized are much more sinister. I have been ostracized from social groups because of a difference of opinion with a group member who was the defacto "group leader" and felt the sting of every other group member, shunning me to stay in the leader's good graces. I go through a period of defiance, followed by a recognition that I don't want to be involved with people who are so cavalier in the treatment of people who were, at one point, supposedly a friend. However, no matter how much you rationalize the process, it is a sad and disappointing experience. I can only imagine how that is amplified when you are in the public eye and are ostracized by an entire industry. Why is it that those who claim to be compassionate are quick to choose sides and emotionally devastate someone at the first mention of impropriety? Not that anyone cares, but I am increasingly disappointed in the average person's behavior, even more so in those who identify with mob ideology.
I'm confident he did many such acts (I haven't read them either, why now?), he admits it freely, he spoke of wanking off an old man for drugs, it's in the past. I feel confident that if he sexually assaulted (how to define rape, being 16 doesn't cut it) young women, if he knew their names (not all that likely given the number he had relations with), he sought forgiveness. Even if only to his god and himself, he's contrite. If they're head hunting ( why or why now??) he needs not offer apologies.
There's nothing natural about this story. It was packaged and timed before release and the reactions were also pre prepared and played on a tight schedule. If a city explodes, the news coverage takes days to saturate and the reactions take weeks. This drops every where on a day and the overwhelming mob reaction took minutes.
Plus, I'm so tired of hearing all the excuses for going along with the mob. If your are unwilling to draw and face the crowd for what you believe is right, you don't deserve the breath in your lungs or the blood in your veins. Apathy and cowardice got us here. We know how to correct one of those traits.
Charles, if you’ve barely got a whiff of the story, then you might decline to comment. What you’re doing in the absence of information--raising questions about the women’s credibility, accusing those who believe them of stirring up a mob--is textbook rape apologia. Don’t rush to defend Brand. Don’t assume that his accusers are tools of a shadowy power. What if we gave the women the benefit of the doubt, as we do with white men who are victims of alleged crimes? What if we listened to them before rushing in to defend Brand? The investigation is a four-year joint effort between three media organizations and includes over 100 interviews. Why not listen instead of talk?
I don’t know if he is guilty or not but he certainly played the character of someone who would do these things. What’s also important is that while he’s not part of the mainstream media he was in the past and has greatly benefited from being part of the mainstream for expressing characteristics in line with being the exact person he is now accused of being. (Whether he’s guilty or not this is a pretty damning indictment of the media companies who gave him a platform to begin with.)
If guilty, perhaps he’s changed and gone through some personal transformation, maybe it’s an act. People who do bad things still have meaningful things to say, however you probably are not going to and shouldn’t have an audience of multiple millions of people following you if you’ve truly atoned and necessarily humbled yourself after coming to terms with the fact that you are a serial abuser. If you don’t apologize, don’t relinquish power, and don’t inform your audience of who you truly are so as to not suffer consequences but decide you are the one to now be a popular truth teller feels deeply narcissistic. and if that’s the case can a narcissist fully empathize with others to understand what they have done?
(Mind you rape is a crime.)
Lastly, I don’t understand the above comment that suggests “he need not offer apologies” while focusing only on the supposed relationship with a 16 year old while ignoring the woman who has also accused him of raping her against a wall. According to the report it wasn’t just bad sex, she said no repeatedly and reported it at the time as a rape and exchanged texts with Brand to tell him she had said no and that he had raped her. How many women over how many decades accused Bill Cosby and were demonized for doing so before it became clear he had serially drugged and raped women of all walks of life? This is why women don’t come forward until later.
On a personal note, learning of these allegations was devastating. To me, RB is a profound and deep mind, exquisitely capable of breaking down, synthesizing, and making accessible that which needs to be exposed and broadly known. I am a grateful listener and greatly appreciate his leadership.
And…I squirmed while reading this piece. It feels premature and like it has a subterranean agenda or secret subtext (despite going to great lengths to allow for the unknowns).
What I want to hear from moral leaders right now is a message from the heart. How devastating this feels to those of us that *rely* on RB’s leadership, that the fear of the loss of his voice and platform is terrifying, and then to give this profound grief and fear it’s place, honor it, and let it move through us.
And to simultaneously hold space for the pain of his actions, for the real people that carry that pain.
To resist and underplay the emotional processing part of the process, to jump to intellectualizing and ‘understanding,’ does not serve...it’s too soon.
This situation needs spiritual healing, which you are so uniquely qualified to bring. Please do so.
Love this interview style format. Great to be introduced to Benjamin Life. Thank you for speaking on this so soon. The attack on RB was inevitable but far more gruesome than I expected. It has been fascinating watching it all unfold. You expressed everything I've been thinking this week so eloquently, as usual. Sign me up for the island of sanity cult.
Wow Charles, as a fan of your writing, and even someone who has bought your coursework, it feels egregious to me that you would comment on something you have “only had a whiff off”. How do you feel at ease pontificating about ideas like “cults” and “mob mentality”, without actually reading and researching the stories of these women? There are a loads of people, like myself, who are big fans of Russel Brand, and that is what makes these stories very painful to read/watch. The reason there is a massive reaction, “a mob mentality” as you refer to it, is because millions of people admire him as a thought leader and a zeitgeist figure, so it is hard not to have feelings about these very strong allegations. His story illuminates more about what society enabled, and chose to turn a blind eye to, than just another story of a charismatic narcissist that used his power for abuse. If you watch the doccie you will see much of it is the media’s own self-reflection and self criticism for their part in this. The only mob mentality of this story is that so many of us were too charmed by his intoxicating personality to see the dangerous behaviour he so obviously displayed (and not so long ago). If you did actually do your own research, you will find out that loads of journalists have been looking into this story for over a decade, this particular expose took four years… why? Because people don’t believe women, especially when it’s so disappointing and reveals someone we love as a selfish predator. There have been payoffs and gag orders and stories killed. These journalists have been meticulous and are constantly at financial risk through litigation. Same for victims. It is not easy to go up against society’s most beloved figure, even if he raped you. Remember Bill Cosby? Russel may be speaking truth to power, but so are these women.
We should be able to hold even those we love accountable to criminal acts. He must be held accountable and punished like all other rapists and abusers, should these women even bring charges against him (which they haven’t yet, because society has failed victims with only 2% of sexual offenders ever receive judicial charge). And Benjamin Life, not sure what “me too” is, the term is #MeToo. Please show some reverence for this movement that has required immense courage by millions of women.
this conversation is not an island of sanity
It's looking pretty bad for Brand--meaning the allegations look credible and damning. I don't like the media feeding frenzy anymore than anyone else, and the self-righteous mob-mentality is disgusting. Charles gets this right in the interview. I don't agree with some other commenters that charges don't stick to Joe Biden because he's of the establishement and to Brand because he's an outsider (supposedly) though. They are sticking because it was apparently an open secret. The comparitor might be Jimmy Saville, not Joe Biden.