By Terry Manning
I’m torn on the concept of guilt by association.
Does it make sense that I should be held accountable for being in a particular place at a particular time if somebody else did wrongdoing but I did not?
Or vice-versa? I am sure I have done some things over the course of my life that would blow the tops off the heads of people who have known me since childhood. I can say without hesitation none of them are responsible for any of those mind-boggling things I did.
Further, I have personal experience with loved ones who suffered the consequences of being in the wrong car when some of their buddies decided to do bad things. It can be devastating to families for generations to come.
But … (There’s always a “but,” isn’t there?)
What is the old saw about birds of a feather flocking together? Or the other one about a person being known by the company they keep? All those old wives knew something when they came up with those sayings. Not to mention what the Bible says about hanging around ne’er-do-wells and people who are of generally poor character.
I’ll cut to the chase: When the files from the investigation of convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein files were rumored to be released, I didn’t miss a wink of sleep. I knew I wasn’t anywhere in those files, and I had no concerns that anyone I knew or cared about would be in them, either.
Did you have that worry? Probably not, and for the same reasons as mine: You are not a pedophile, you don’t associate with pedophiles, nor do you have a desire to ever become one.
And if you did have concerns about the contents of those files, what would you do if you found out that someone you know actually was an associate of Epstein?
What if the person named was a relative?
What if the person named was a teacher? Or a parent of a child at your child’s school? A parent of one of your child’s Little League teammates?
What if the person named was a member of your church, your bowling team, or the Rotary Club?
What if the person named was a public official, say, a state representative?
Or … what if the person named was the President of the United States? You might not know him personally, but say you voted for him.
Then what? What would you do? What would you want others to do?
Would you want this person’s involvement with Epstein to be investigated thoroughly? Would you expect that person to cooperate with the investigation or try to obstruct it?
The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution allows people who are involved in legal proceedings to opt out of saying anything that might implicate them or get them into even worse trouble. We’re not supposed to make assumptions about people exercising their rights by pleading the Fifth, but we do, don’t we?
For myself, and I would bet an overwhelming majority of the people reading this, these speculations are mere thought exercises. We have no reason to fear being in the Epstein files, nor do we have any reason to worry about the people with whom we associate.
For a select – and growing – group of people in high-profile places in our government and society, though, these questions are not merely points to ponder. They are very real matters of freedom, justice, life and death.
These people leveraged their money and power to take advantage of the powerless.
Despite what former Fox News host Megyn Kelly says, it really doesn’t matter that there are differences between a 14-year-old and an 8-year-old. What they have in common is the right to live without the threat of the rich and powerful abusing them, of passing them around at their get-togethers like party favors.
When I say I don’t know any pedophiles, it’s because I don’t know that I know any pedophiles. It is entirely possible that I know one or more, and simply am not aware of it.
But if a group of them were passing around notes filled with jokes and innuendo about my attendance at and participation in the parties where they did their evil deeds, it would make sense for others to think I might have something to do with it as well.
So if there was a snowball’s chance in hell I could prove that I was innocent, I would move heaven and earth to do so. I wouldn’t be trying to block legal inquiries or threaten others who are trying to bring the truth to light.
Terry E. Manning worked for 20 years as a newspaper journalist. He can be reached at teemanning@gmail.com.
