How Could They?

Most of the people I know are consumed with the Epstein files—who’s in them, what roles were played, and how young some of the victims may have been. While the files contain millions of documents, many innocuous, some men authored emails that appeared to reference sexual activity with underage girls. Others knew what was going on and simply didn’t care. Proximity to Epstein provided them with entertainment and gave them access to power.

The question I hear most often is “how could men with children, especially daughters, sexually abuse underage girls?” This, of course, should be a rhetorical question because there is no reasonable answer.

But history suggests otherwise.

A worldview rooted in Social Darwinism and hierarchy prevailed during the U.S. Industrial Revolution through the early 20th century. Members of the wealthy class were believed to be more naturally fit to rule and others naturally disposable. This was an era of graded humanity — civilized vs. uncivilized, disciplined vs. degenerate, worthy vs. unworthy.

The belief that humanity exists in tiers — that some lives are fully protected while others are exploitable—is what fueled colonialism. While the world moved beyond formal colonialism, the mentality remains.

A colonialist mentality justified the forced removal of Native American children from their homes into boarding schools wrought with physical and sexual abuse.

A colonialist mentality justified the extrajudicial lynching of Mexican and Black men and women. Thousands of white people attended these events—men, women, and children. They were spectacles to behold. Parties, really. Food was sold, and postcards as souvenirs.

A colonialist mentality justified the use of poor children as cheap labor in factories. Their tiny fingers were perfect for running textile mills, sewing buttons on shirts, and shucking oysters with sharp knives. Fourteen-hour days in dangerous conditions. These children’s lives were considered expendable.

The most effective way to dehumanize someone is to place the blame on them. It’s much easier to treat people like animals if you can convince yourself they deserve it.

Poor parents and their children with no hope of social mobility were called lazy, ignorant, and “irreligious”—the “dangerous class” of society. Poor parents were accused of not loving their children like the wealthy class loved theirs. The subhuman treatment of their children was considered completely acceptable. Necessary even. The “proper” functioning of society depended on it.

Boys on the lower rungs of the social hierarchy were exploited for their labor.

Girls on the lower rungs of the social hierarchy were exploited for their labor and for sex.

During the Industrial Era, the caste system was overt. In contemporary times it’s more restrained. Everyone knows to use the language of equality, democracy, and human rights. Even those at the top. But behind the scenes the veil lifts and historic attitudes are revealed. When a culture normalizes the idea that certain populations are disposable, exploitation follows—whether in textile mills or on private islands.

The Epstein files have lifted the veil and revealed an element of our society filled with people, our president included, who still believe the rules don’t apply to them because they created the rules in the first place.

Epstein and the men in his cabal felt comfortable sexually abusing young girls because they were from poor families, many from single-mother homes, some trafficked from other countries. They were vulnerable girls with no voice in society, at least no voice anyone would listen to.

The wealthy men in the Epstein files could sexually abuse these girls, despite having daughters of their own, because a colonialist mentality draws a line between the daughters who must be protected and the ones who can be used.

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