On The Michael Arrington Accusations
techcrunch.com
techcrunch.com
But then I remember the other part of my personality, the one that stands up for true justice, the one that objects when we make statements about people who appear to have stolen a phone or a laptop. I say these allegations haven't been proven in court, and we shouldn't "Try him in the press."
I think that attitude is warranted double when someone is contemptible. Justice for people accused of murder, of rape, of terrorism. This is the gold standard of justice, when we are fair with people who we think did it and deserve to be punished.
So. I am not speaking for him, and I am not minimizing the severity of the crimes innuendo is accusing him of committing. But I am speaking for our shared notion of justice.
Let these allegations be investigated thoroughly. Do not allow his wealth or power to discourage us. Let us show the world that we take accusations of violence against women on the job or in the home very seriously.
And when that process is concluded, let us form our judgments. But until then... Let us speak first to justice, and only second to our opinion of the individual in its cross-hairs.
What a non-statement. Not sure why it was published. Maybe because it's Friday and the author wanted to leave?
The fact they can't get Arrington to say anything on the record is interesting in and of itself.
The very best thing to do is to hire a PR firm who hires a lawyer with a bow tie and perfect silver hair to say, "Mr. Arrington is absolutely shattered by these accusations and is trying to recover in seclusion."
That would be better than some rambling prose that says nothing.
Any number of people can hear the same rumor, without it being any more true.
First, and perhaps this is obvious, we should let the legal and journalistic process unfold. None of us know what is true except for the parties involved. These are very serious criminal allegations. Anything is possible--we just don't know.
Second, I made no mention of these rumors until the story broke and my name was dragged into it. I've sat on these rumors for years because they were just rumors.
Finally, I take no joy in any of this. I'm very happy that Mike and I broke up three years ago because I've been able to focus on my conference without his negativity.
That didn't stop you from leading the conga line on Facebook[1]. That post and your other statements lead to you being used as a source to substantiate the claims, far from 'letting the process unfold'
tl;dr you are part of the problem
[1] https://www.facebook.com/jcalacanis/posts/10151817217978294
And that typically means there is at least one fire.
And that is one fire too many.
Too often powerful figures are allowed to skate by because we want to believe the best of them. The internet is sometimes the only way victims can fight back - the threat of getting blackballed by someone that is asymmetrically powerful like this is otherwise too great to take the risk that a simple police report is going to get them justice.
That said, I hope that now that the potential victims have raised the issue that we all wait for the truth to come out.