[Announcement] - A Special Statement from the Dead Head Reviews Admin Team
In light of the recent avalanche of allegations in the literary world, affecting both mainstream and indie communities alike, the Dead Head Reviews family would like to make our stance clear.
It is not easy to come forward to accuse your abuser, to face your attacker, and to put yourself in the crosshairs of apologists and others who dismiss your pain. To those of you who are brave enough to come forward, we are listening and we hear you. To those of you who are not yet ready, and we know some may never be, to speak openly or candidly about these topics, we see you and we understand. We would like our community to know that Dead Head Reviews stands on a platform of inclusivity and equality, and it is a safe space for all to be heard and express themselves. Our team stands firm in the belief that everyone deserves a safe space, and a right to move freely throughout this world without fear or threat of harm. We have a zero tolerance policy for inappropriate behavior of any kind.
If you need support, we are here to listen. Whether you're speaking out publicly or you're protecting yourself quietly, we want you to know that we believe you. You have allies and comrades in arms, and a place to come to for comfort and safety.
For the folks observing all of this from "the outside", we know that you may be feeling helpless or lost, too. Perhaps you're wondering how you can best lend a hand or support victims of abuse and harassment. It's very easy to be swept up in the emotional turmoil, to want to rush into the fray and throw yourself into the flames, but sometimes the right thing to do is not the easy thing to do. The best thing you can do is listen. While victims don't want you to remain silent, they also don't wish anyone to speak over them, or center themselves in a narrative that is not theirs. If you're unsure what the best course of action is? Just ask. Be ready to accept the fact that you might not be able to help in the way that you want, but instead be ready to listen and give support in the way that is needed. Your job is to help protect the victims from further harm. Sometimes that support looks like picket lines, angry tweets, and public callouts. Sometimes that looks like respecting their space and privacy, and their right to come forward if and when they are ready, and being willing to listen when they do. Instead of responding with a knee jerk reaction, we urge you to be patient, be gentle, and be thoughtful, and listen.
Our place in the community is to be a pillar of support, to lift up those who need it the most, to amplify the voices of those who are often silenced or cannot speak up. If you notice that we are following a known predator or your abuser, we ask that you please let us know so that we may revoke our support as soon as we can. We will be doing a lot of work to retroactively remove support and previously published views of offending parties as we become aware of them. Our admins will be working hard to go through the archives of our posts and make our website and blog a safe space.
You can count on us to back you. We are here to help and we are here to listen and learn. The Dead Head Reviews team fully supports the #MeToo movement and all of the victims of abuse and harassment, and we offer you a safe haven of refuge.
We will not be hearing counter arguments at this time or ever. Thank you.
- The Dead Head Reviews Team