Comments on: Q&A: Joel Johnson, Tech Blogger & Sexual-Abuse Survivor

By: Shannon Best

Shannon Best — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:30:58 +0000

Thank you Joel. You are a survivor and a hero in my book.
-Shannon in Austin

By: Anon

Anon — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 04:51:54 +0000

I have been friends with Joel for awhile now (going on four years or so), and he is somebody who has always impressed me with his wit, intellect and (especially) his willingness to stand up to powerful interests (to understand what I mean, Google for the video of his unaired appearance on AT&T’s tech TV. It’s incredible.).

What Joel did may seem like it took an extreme mustering of courage, but it is entirely within Joel’s character. Quite frankly, I am convinced that this type of courage runs deep within him in a way that I both respect and envy. If there were more Joels in the world to cry “Bullshit”, the terrible forces in the world would have a much more difficult time getting things done.

Anyway, Joel is a great guy and a great friend, and somebody deserving of our respect and love. It’s terrifying and often swept under the rug, but this sort of things happens more than anybody would like to admit. I just hope that public discussion of Joel’s experiences allows some child, somewhere to get help or get out.

By: Kent Boyer

Kent Boyer — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:35:42 +0000

Hey Joel – while not a victim of sexual abuse, I do know something about the deleterious effects of life-long secrets and how holding secrets becomes an all-consuming cancer. By speaking transparently about your experience, you have begun to free yourself from the only power a secret like this can have. Continued respect and admiration for your honesty and your journey my friend. I, for one, would be honored to have a son like you.

By: Fiona Mi

Fiona Mi — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 06:59:42 +0000

This article feels groundbreaking for me. I had put Joel Johnson on a pedestal as a celebrity who was unapproachable because he has so many fans he has to protect himself. And then this just shoots through what I perceived as so many layers between me and him, to a level so revealing that I would feel privileged to have heard so much from my last long term lover.

Joel I feel fucked wide open with your love for the world of humanity, and want to echo the previous comment that reading this makes me happy to live on the same planet with you.

By: Joel Johnson’s brave, too | The World Matters

Joel Johnson’s brave, too | The World Matters — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:07:55 +0000

[...] of his own stepfather, it gets down to brass tacks from the very first sentence. In a follow-up interview with Dadwagon, he answers some of the questions [...]

By: BanjoDavid

BanjoDavid — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:07:23 +0000

I am sorry for your tough young life. For me, it was my Uncle Frank who was the family dirtbag. He sexually abuse me, my brother,at least 2 of my cousins, and probably his adopted son Craig, who was murdered in a bar fight.

Frank was a good Catholic.

Child raper, asshole bigot, anti-intellectual jerk.

I went to his funeral 5 years ago. I threw a picture of me and my parents into the grave as they were shoveling dirt on him, to keep an eye on him.

Hang in there. You can get past it. It will stop being so big in your mind, and you can find comfort and peace. But, it didn’t go away for me, though. You might be triggered by stories like this in the future, the way your story triggered me.
Love
David

By: Anonymia

Anonymia — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 00:29:35 +0000

Being abused can make you really uncomfortable around kids, though. You hear people talk about the cycle of abuse, that most abusers were themselves abused, and you pause before giving a kid a bath or changing a diaper and have to check yourself: Is this weird? Am I doing something wrong? Am I feeling something wrong?

This paragraph…wow. In the back of my head, this is always there. This is one of the reasons why I still haven’t spoken about my own abuse. That, and the fact that part of me doesn’t even think it was abuse, and keeps trying to convince myself that it wasn’t, and that I’m OK.

I have a child now, and I plan on having more, and no, I have never felt any inclination. But I am always checking myself. It’s like the experience made it so that no physical contact with anyone, ever, not even a brush against a stranger, nothing, is ever meaningless, always in the back of my mind is some hypersexualized interpretation.

Sorry if this made no sense. That paragraph just floored me and I was caught completely off guard by how close it hit to home.

I’m going back to my life now. Joel, thank you for sharing your story and thank you for this interview. You are braver than many including myself.

By: Dree

Dree — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 23:45:18 +0000

That, to me (not an abuse survivor), seems like one of the worst, nastiest “gifts” left behind by an abuser. The idea that you, yourself, might continue what was perpetrated. That bastard. Robbing you of the confidence to believe that you’re OK with kids (not “funny”) because of what he did. I’m inclined to believe Patrick based on the example set by my closest friend, a survivor who has a desperate devotion to kids and their civil rights. Our current system should have more options for children who are victims.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:49:33 +0000

Joel,

If only there were more people in the world who are as funny as you! You are such a stand-up, aware, honorable, amazing person. I wish you peace and joy and lots of good love.

By: Joel Johnson’s brave, too | dv8-designs

Joel Johnson’s brave, too | dv8-designs — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:41:24 +0000

[...] of his own stepfather, it gets down to brass tacks from the very first sentence. In a follow-up interview with Dadwagon, he answers some of the questions [...]