Since last night, I've been inundated with replies to my blog post, almost all of which have been overwhelmingly positive. A special thanks to Omachuck for his shoutout, too!
A couple of particularly good replies I wanted to mention. Happy-sprite brought up a great point about the perception of our craft by so many as "smut" and "derogatory towards women," to the point that some regard our stories as a form of abuse. He mentions that's why it's so important to have clear standards of right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable, especially as it pertains to the real world. Wise words.
Another aspect of the story I had forgotten to mention was Urban Meyer's Title IX violations. His Athletic Director admitted that they discussed the 2015 incident at the time, proving Meyer did know about it before this year. When the AD recommended Smith be fired, Meyer declined. But worse, Meyer never mentioned to the AD about the 2009 incident involving Smith, which would have certainly elicited a stronger response from the AD. This omission is a blatant violation of Title IX and should be a fireable offense on the spot. If only OSU had the balls to do it...
Aside from one trollish outlier, I'm so pleased that so many share my frustrations in this. I am especially glad to have heard from several who had not even heard of the story and would not have known about it if not for my blog. That makes me really happy, guys. Like I might actually be making a small difference.
My next blog post will be tomorrow, on a much happier topic, no less. I had my first interview as a published author. Look for that tomorrow afternoon.
M. H. Barton (auguy86)