"Sexual assault victims are seeking justice on social media. Experts warn it's not bulletproof."

#MeToo? Not at Louisville Deathfest.

This is an interesting juxtaposition.

They fought the Law | Rose (LEO Weekly)

Much to the chagrin of neck-beard and MRA enthusiasts, the #MeToo movement marks a moment when enough is enough, and women and men are coming forward with their stories of being sexually harassed. Statistically speaking, it was no surprise, then, when allegations arose locally on social media, this time leveled against the owner of a popular bar. The accused has denied the allegations and filed a lawsuit against the women, claiming they defamed him. So it was a light in the darkness when the Craig Henry law firm tweeted out its offer to provide free legal aid. Now, that’s magical. — Syd Bishop

Now, for a more detailed examination of the legal landscape.

Sexual assault victims are seeking justice on social media. Experts warn it's not bulletproof, by Darcy Costello and Bailey Loosemore (Courier Journal)

The cultural movement inspired by #metoo has dominated national discussion in recent weeks — with people worldwide taking to social media to share stories of sexual assault and harassment.

And in Louisville and elsewhere, the effort intended to empower and enlighten is also becoming a tool for justice.

Women and men have taken the hashtag a step farther by naming their alleged abusers online — a move that, in some cases, has resulted in instant ramifications against those accused.

Advocates say the quick response can be gratifying for assault survivors who've felt let down by the court system. But they warn that the posts can also open the accusers to devastating legal risks.

"Too many people post on social media thinking that they're bulletproof," said Colby Bruno of the Victim Rights Law Center in Massachusetts. "I would never, ever, ever counsel someone to go on social media without really thinking it through."

Bruno has spent more than 10 years providing free legal work to survivors, and she said she's recently seen a rise in defamation lawsuits filed against people who've publicly accused others of sexual violence ...

Previously:

Former Haymarket employees strike back with countersuit, directing attention to Matthew Landan's masters degree thesis.

We're not exempt, so NAC's New Albany "Person of the Year" for 2017 is #MeToo -- the NA silence breakers.

Former Haymarket employees strike back with countersuit, directing attention to Matthew Landan's masters degree thesis.

Unsurprisingly, the ongoing saga of Matthew Landan and his Haymarket Whiskey Bar seems to be settling into the familiar pattern of trench warfare within the legal system.

Landan counter-attacks: "After Facebook Outrage, Owner Of Haymarket Whiskey Bar Sues Over Rape Allegations."

"When internet justice is likely the only justice": Allegations of rape against Matthew Landan result in the closing of Haymarket Whiskey Bar. Are we learning yet?

Last week came the countersuit.

Haymarket Whiskey Bar owner Matthew Landan seeks 'vengeance and suppression,' former employees say in lawsuit, by Jason Riley (WDRB)

“I’ve always considered myself to be something of a liar.”

That quote, from Haymarket Whiskey Bar owner Matthew Landan, appears at the top of a response filed by former employees Landan sued after he was accused of rape on Facebook and his NuLu bar temporarily closed.

Landan said this in a dissertation at the University of Louisville in 2014, according to the workers' counterclaim and motion to dismiss filed Thursday in Jefferson Circuit Court.

Their filing raises Landan’s credibility as an important issue. And the motion to dismiss alleges the true purpose of Landan's lawsuit is "vengeance and suppression" of those who choose not to work with him or talk about the alleged sexual assaults ...

The masters thesis is an interesting twist, although it might be noted that a creative writing syllabus doesn't necessarily support an obligation to pass along concrete truth.

As part of the motion to dismiss, attorney Jeremiah Reece, points out that Landan’s master thesis indicates he is a liar.

“It makes sense that there is a lie bundled into the name of my bar,” the motion quotes. “I have always considered myself to be something of a liar and once even went so far as embarking on a career in public relations (another way of saying I was paid to lie).”

As you might imagine, Landan's seemingly autobiographical thesis has been downloaded very often as of late. Here is an expanded excerpt, from which the WDRB quotes were extracted.

Then there’s me, me and the Haymarket—my attempt to prove that not all work is work, that commerce in whiskey is actually fun. That whiskey is actually a wish key. The ticket to making my dream’s come true. My dreams of course are fairly simple. I don’t want to work for anyone but myself. I want to some day live on an island and go scuba diving five days a week while money from the bar is deposited into my account. I want to be paid for my charisma and good looks and the fact that once upon a time I put in the hard work and took the thumps and knocks, that I paid my dues and now I can enjoy the rewards of my creation.

Yet like the historic Louisville Haymarket, our name is a bit of a lie. We do not sell hay in any quantity at the bar. It makes sense that there is a lie bundled into the name of my bar. I have always considered myself to be something of a liar and once even went so far as embarking on a career in public relations (another way of saying I was paid to lie).

Owning a bar is a profitable way to make one’s living, but it has drawbacks (alcoholic tendencies). I used to own a coffee shop, but this is more exciting and allows me to work fewer hours a day and fewer days a week. In fact I rarely even bartend any longer. Mostly these days I work at playing the host. By and large it is a pleasant way to kill time while on planet Earth. It is rarely boring and there is always someone new walking through my door. In the two and a half years I have owned the bar it has earned a reputation for being one of the preeminent bourbon and whiskey bars in the city and the nation. We (the royal “we”; a way to refer to myself as well as the bar as a unit that is larger than myself) have played host to master distillers from the majority of the major bourbon distilleries. From Julian Van Winkle of the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery to Jim Rutlidge of Four Roses we have poured drinks for nearly all the major payers in the Kentucky bourbon industry. Haymarket have been lauded in the national and local press. I have served drinks to the mayor, to the bums, to millionaires, the guys building the new bridge over the Ohio River. The Haymarket is home to everyone while they are within its friendly confines. This fills me with both a sense of accomplishment as well as a level of self-satisfaction that I have never felt before in my life. The Haymarket is an accomplishment and an establishment unlike any other. It is a physical manifestation of my dreams and hopes. It is my refuge, my home, and my pal.

The act of arrival at a destination, be it on a train or a plane or by automobile, is not new to me. The act of arriving at success at this level is new. Never before in my life have I been more financially secure. Never have I felt more right foot forward as I approach my destiny. I have not always been a person who sets goals and achieves them. For more than the first half of my life I was adrift and rudderless. I learned how to be an achiever. I started small. And in no way am I now too big to fail. Failure is always within the realm of possibility. But success at this level is new to me. I no longer have to work in the conventional sense. And in that sense, the bet I made with the Haymarket has paid off in spades. Of course I still work. I manage, I stock and order, I count the money, and I pay the bills. But I don’t have to work a forty-hour week (let alone the eighty-hour weeks I used to work when the bar was a coffee shop called Derby City Espresso). In the place of work, I have found a new calling, that of the host, that of the professional drinker, that of the professional entertainer. “Step into my parlor. Let me pour you a dram.”

As an aside, the main point to me isn't Landan's reference to being a liar. Rather, it's the last two sentences in the above excerpt. Meanwhile, LEO's having none of the maneuvering.

Thorns & Roses: The Worst, Best & Most Absurd

Can you say: narcissist? | Absurd

In a disappointing, absurd turn of events, Haymarket Whiskey Bar reopened last week, with owner Matthew Landan behind the stick and protesters marching outside. About the same time, his attorney filed a lawsuit stemming from allegations on Facebook that Landan had raped women. Landan has denied any wrongdoing, and he may prevail in court, but we have to wonder: What makes him think his bar could succeed now that the court of public opinion has ruled against him?

Readers might consider stocking extra microwave popcorn, because this story's likely to get even more surreal.

Landan counter-attacks: "After Facebook Outrage, Owner Of Haymarket Whiskey Bar Sues Over Rape Allegations."

Photo credit: Insider Louisville (read Joe Sonka's report).

For two weeks, silence.

"When internet justice is likely the only justice": Allegations of rape against Matthew Landan result in the closing of Haymarket Whiskey Bar. Are we learning yet?

Now, Matthew Landan strikes back.

As of last evening, the inevitable shit show has commenced. For my money, Erica Peterson provides a clear, easy-to-digest summary of where matters stand at this time.

After Facebook Outrage, Owner Of Haymarket Whiskey Bar Sues Over Rape Allegations, by Erica Peterson (WFPL)

The owner of a local whiskey bar has filed a lawsuit against two women who have accused him of sexual assault and two former employees who staged a walkout at the bar.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday evening in Jefferson Circuit Court on behalf of Matthew Landan of Haymarket Whiskey Bar alleges his business and reputation were irreparably damaged by the fallout from a Facebook post that called Landan a rapist.

The lawsuit alleges the accusers made false statements, knew they were false, and made them with “reckless disregard.” Landan claims he suffered damage to his reputation, embarrassment and emotional distress.

WFPL is not naming the women who accused Landan because they are alleging sexual assault and haven’t gone on the record. Attorneys for the women have not returned our requests for comment.

For decades, the legal system has often failed women who have accused men of sexual assault. For this reason, some feel outlets like Facebook are their best option to tell their stories.

But social media can be a double-edged sword. In a moment where it provides a megaphone for these stories — everything from women sharing stories of sexual harassment with the hashtag #metoo to the viral meme that called Landan a rapist — the legal landscape for these cases is more complicated than ever ...

"When internet justice is likely the only justice": Allegations of rape against Matthew Landan result in the closing of Haymarket Whiskey Bar. Are we learning yet?

You may wish to read the third part first.

At least for the moment, the Haymarket Whiskey Bar has ceased to exist. For Matthew Landan, the bar's owner, the feces hit the fan on November 13, via rape allegations on social media. It's been a week and a half, and my aim is to digest the news to date in three sections.

• Part One: Eater is first with the overview.
• Part Two: Most (if not all) of the coverage so far.
• Part Three: Erica Rucker's essay helps me to understand a few harsh realities.

---

Part One

Seeing as the national Eater food and dining web site apparently takes pride of place as the first to break the story, here's the overview; originating social media links are included within the text at Eater.

Louisville Bar Staff Quits After Rape Allegation Emerges Against Owner, by Hillary Dixler (Eater)

Women have accused Haymarket Whiskey Bar’s Matthew Landan of sexual misconduct

The staff of Louisville’s five-year-old Haymarket Whiskey Bar have effectively shut down the bar — by refusing to show up for work — after owner Matthew Landan became the subject of a rape accusation that surfaced on social media. “I will comfortably say that every employee refused to open the bar and quit,” manager Eric Snider told Eater when reached for comment. “But we all would like the focus to be on the victims and the crime. Not us. We aren’t important here.”

The walkout was held in response to multiple sexual misconduct allegations against Landan that have surfaced since November 13. On that date, Westley Moore posted a public Facebook message under the still-trending #MeToo hashtag, in which she claims that Landan raped her, clarifying in the comment thread on the post that it allegedly happened in 2013. "Some friends know this already, and I feel it’s time for the rest of you to know and make a stand,” she writes. Eater has reached out to Moore, but has not heard back.

The Facebook post has over 750 shares and over 1,200 reactions, and seems to have kicked off a swift response towards Landan and the bar. On November 14 and 15, multiple staff members posted to Facebook that they no longer were working for Haymarket “under Matthew Landan’s ownership.” Several musicians, DJs, and other groups who performed at the venue have publicly announced they will no longer do business with the bar, and a public protest is planned for Friday evening, in what the organizer describes as a “show of support to those women brave enough to come forward and those who have been silenced.”

That line refers to other women who, inspired by Moore’s post, came forward with their own allegations against Landan in recent days. At least two more misconduct allegations against Landan are currently posted on Facebook.

Eater has reached out to Landan for a comment and has not heard back; the restaurant’s website and Facebook page are no longer active. Former Eater Louisville editor Zach Everson noticed that Landan had posted a statement on his personal Facebook page that has since been taken down, in which Landan describes Moore’s allegations as “serious, false, malicious, and defamatory” ...

Part Two. 

The story exploded on social media, and those local new sources we might guardedly refer to as "traditional" (primarily print and television) were deemed by some observers as overly slow to respond.

It strikes me as a sticky wicket. Is "news" something defined by hundreds of people on the Internet, or is it dependent on a vetting process practiced by professionals in traditional media? Can it be both? When is news fake, and when is it real? Who decides?

In short, Walter Cronkite is no more.

Note that LEO Weekly is precisely that; it's published once a week, though the Metzmeier piece appeared on-line as early as the 20th.

• November 17 The Entire Staff Of A Bar Quit After The Owner Was Accused Of Sexual Misconduct, by Lisa Dunn (Uproxx)
• November 20 A #metro #metoo story — Social media and the law, by Kurt X. Metzmeier (LEO Weekly)
• November 20 Jewish Antifa Bar Owner Matthew Landan Accused of Raping Woman (a neo-Nazi and white supremacist website)
• November 22 Haymarket Whiskey Bar closes abruptly, by Bridgett Weaver (Louisville Business First)
• November 22 Louisville bar closed after #MeToo post about owner (WHAS-11)
• November 22 online">NuLu bar owner closes doors after sexual abuse allegations surface online, by Chris Sutter (WDRB-41)
• November 22 Thorns & Roses: The Worst, Best & Most Absurd: We believe the women ...

Part Three.

I'm famously opinionated, but there is a time for bloviating and a time for listening. As the Landan rape discussion hit a crescendo on social media, I found myself disconcerted, and more than a little uncomfortable.

What about due process, and rule of law?

But at the same time, don't revolutions occur precisely because existing rules of law are inadequate as redress to injustice?

In this extended excerpt from Erica Rucker's weekly column at LEO, Rucker and JoAnne Sweeny explain my discomfort.

It's the heart of the matter, isn't it? I remain horrified by rape and by vigilante justice -- but as with so many manifestations of conscience and consciousness, there has to be a spot on the map where we take a stand ... and in this instance, it's with the women.

You're encouraged to click through and read the whole essay -- and thanks, Erica. The learning curve is demanding, and your words are just what I needed to hear to be reminded of the way things really are.

THE LEO LIP ... WRITING ON THE METRO: When internet justice is likely the only justice, by Erica Rucker (LEO Weekly)

 ... So what are we to make of internet justice in instances of sexual assault and in the wake of this most recent local scandal?

JoAnne Sweeny, an associate professor of law at U of L whose areas of expertise include First Amendment issues and women and gender, told LEO, “Using social media, women have found communities of support where they can share their stories and be believed.”

“Doing so has allowed victims to come to terms with their assaults and feel more empowered by talking about them. This sharing has also showed people how pervasive these abuses are.”

It is clear to me that the pervasiveness of toxic masculinity and sexual assault is finally being highlighted throughout our culture at the moment. It is not limited to the stories in Louisville — it has reached the top of our state and federal governments, including our “pussy grabbing” president.

What men have been allowed to do in the shadows is now under a powerful microscope.

“Quite honestly, this vigilantism appears to me to be the next logical step,” Sweeny continued. “No more content to simply listen to each other, women (and men) are now turning to the perpetrators and seeking justice.”

Is internet justice the wrong kind?

As someone asked me before I started writing this piece, “Should we wait for the legal system to have a chance to respond?”

Sweeny said the premise of the question is flawed.

“I think it is a mistake to say that the legal system hasn’t had a chance to respond — it absolutely did and failed,” said Sweeny, adding that some of the local women who posted on Facebook had said their reports to police went unheeded.

“That is the key thing here — vigilante justice usually doesn’t appear in a vacuum — it rises because the legal system has failed to bring about justice.”

That the Facebook page of the bar has been deleted, and the bar has not reopened, is the result of how quickly the news spread and the power of community consensus. Should we feel guilty about how Facebook was used to end this community relationship?

I say absolutely not. I stand with women, always.

Even though this person has not been charged or tried in court, the accusations came from more than one person. The response seems appropriate.

Said Sweeny, “I would, of course, prefer that the law step in and get it right, instead of people spreading stories and leaving no room for the alleged perpetrator to explain his side. But the law is notoriously bad at bringing rapists and those who commit sexual assault to justice and has been for a long time. So, this is an imperfect remedy that has come about because of a broken system that has repeatedly failed women. Women are finding spaces where they are now being believed and they are using that new power to get results. I can’t fault that, really.”

The statistics don’t lie. The justice system, as it is, doesn’t work.

It hasn’t worked for women.

It doesn’t work for people of color and certainly doesn’t serve justice to people without the means for powerful attorneys and expensive bails.

Why do we continue looking toward the justice system for justice?

Sweeny said the stories being posted are powerful. “And they are costing men their livelihoods and communities,” she said. “But I’m not sorry for that. Rape culture is so ingrained in our society that it probably takes a shock to start to undo it. I know many men who are now questioning themselves, worried that they may have transgressed in the past without knowing it. My own husband and I talked about that today. And I told him that I’m glad he feels discomfort.

“Perhaps this is the path we take to get to equality and, yes, men will have to suffer some discomfort. But, honestly, I think it’s their turn.”

Zirin at The Nation: "Steubenville and Challenging Rape Culture in Sports."

The more miles we travel, the more it seems that what needs to be challenged is sports culture in general. It's a tail that wags the dog. Dave Zirin shows again why he's one of the few sports writers currently worth reading.

Steubenville and Challenging Rape Culture in Sports, by Dave Zirin (The Nation)

... Earlier this year, it was seeing Notre Dame players who had been implicated in two sexual assaults, take the field without uproar in their national championship game, led by a coach who thought the accusations were cause for humor. This week the trial opens in Steubenville, Ohio, where two members of the storied high school football team are facing youth prison until the age of 21 for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl. The defense has described the young woman as “a drunk out-of-town football groupie.”

The fact is that rape culture—conversation, jokes and actions that normalize rape—are a part of sports. Far too many athletes feel far too empowered to see women as the spoils of jock culture. The young woman in Steubenville was carried like a piece of meat, with the brutality documented like it was spring break in Daytona Beach. It was so normalized that dozens of people saw what was happening and did nothing.