Galloway wins?

After years of devastating media coverage, Twitter wars, and dismissal from his position at UBC, Steven Galloway has been cleared of the vast majority of allegations made against him. And now an arbitrator has decided that $167,000 is fair compensation for a life destroyed. Is there joy and relief in the Galloway household? Probably not. Most of the damage had already been done prior to any adequate investigation.

What do we hear from his accusers and the social media mob who pounded on him relentlessly? Not much. Not only has there been a lack of remorse from this bunch, but they’re doubling down. Because symbolism is more important than the facts here, and for them, Galloway is representative of all the evil white patriarchs out there running sex monster shows within our universities and other respected institutions. The narrative is most satisfying when a man is pushed from the height of success and falls to rock bottom, a failed suicide attempt that is mocked online.

When I first heard the vague yet sinister accusations against Galloway, I made my own assumptions about what happened. A handsome, international best-selling author was surrounded by young, possibly impressionable, definitely malleable, aspiring writers. And the flow never stopped. Every year there was a new crop, looking up to him, learning from him, admiring him. What could possibly go wrong?

But the facts ran counter to my imaginings, and those of many others, I assume. The affair—and it was a consensual affair, not a series of rapes as initially claimed—was with an older, more established, former professor, hardly a case of preying on the young and vulnerable. What happened to the nineteen other students who were going to come forward with their allegations? There’s no evidence they exist, at least according to retired Supreme Court Justice Mary Ellen Boyd.

Brad Cran recently wrote one of the most comprehensive accounts of the scandal so far, but the cyber thugs love to light it up any time the facts interfere with the chosen narrative. This is how it’s going over at his Facebook page: “You’re an idiot,” and later, as if to clarify, “Fuck you.” What are some reasonable expectations of a rational person? Do you admit you were wrong when you’ve made false accusations? Do you have any remorse for your part in destroying the life of an innocent man? Will you be slower to judge in the future? Do you now see the importance of due process? Judging from the responses of some, that’s a hard no to all of the above.

I’ve always thought that we want the same things: peace, prosperity, freedom, and equality. Mini civil wars erupt when no one can agree on how to get there. But if facts are irrelevant, there’s no basis for rational thought or civil discussion, and no method for arriving at a sensible solution. Do you enjoy having an anvil over your head, suspended by a thin line, waiting for any idiot’s box cutter? This describes everyone if we’ve thrown away due process, if accusations proceed directly to summary execution, if abuse of others is okay as long as your cause is “just.” Next time it could be you.