Oregon man spiked smoothies for daughter's 12-year-old friends with sedatives, affidavit says

MicroWave@lemmy.world to News@lemmy.world – 280 points –
Oregon man spiked smoothies for daughter's 12-year-old friends with sedatives, affidavit says
nbcnews.com

Michael Meyden is accused of making the smoothies with benzodiazepine, a drug typically prescribed for anxiety, according to a probable cause affidavit.

An Oregon man accused of spiking smoothies with sedatives and giving them to his daughter’s pre-teen friends has been charged with multiple felonies, according to court documents.

Michael Meyden, 57, of Lake Oswego, allegedly drugged three of his daughter’s friends while they slept over on the night of Aug. 25, 2023, according to court documents and a probable cause affidavit filed this week in Clackamas County.

The girls, all 12 years old, were hospitalized and tested positive for benzodiazepine, described in the affidavit as a drug typically prescribed for anxiety, with common prescriptions under the names Valium, Xanax and Klonopin. Benzodiazepines are a depressant that produces sedation, sleepiness and a relaxed mood, the affidavit said.

103

You are viewing a single comment

People who espouse that line of logic are explicitly using it to justify racism.

Just as you use your statistic to justify sexism. You don't consider the factors that cause men to be sexual predators. Because to you, the cause isn't your problem, being attacked is your problem. You can't have it both ways.

1 in 3 women experience unwanted sexual contact in their lifetime.

100% of women will experience a car crash in their lifetime. (3-4 accidents per lifetime).

Just as you use your statistic to justify sexism.

I have said several times already that it's sexism. That doesn't make it wrong to be cautious, nor is it justifying the fact.

Sexism in its barest definition exists in benign circumstances all around us. Why do men and women have different bathrooms? Different sports leagues? Different car insurance rates?

Arguing that sexism shouldn't exist for the sake of it in this specific case is selectively pushing equality in the face of women's safety.

100% of women will experience a car crash in their lifetime. (3-4 accidents per lifetime).

Let's extend your logic on this: is it wrong to wear a seat belt given, statistically, that you will experience a car crash at some point? Because in effect, that's what this line of logic is.

Or are you just being obtuse? Because in order for this point to make sense, you'd have to argue against practicing safety in the face of statistical likelihood. Which is literally what this is about

Because to you, the cause isn't your problem

Oh, please do educate me on what causes men to sexually assault women. Yes, the fact that women are being attacked is the problem. The cause should not preclude women from taking measures to ensure their safety.

As long as I have spent clarifying this point, besides the misguided notion that we should push equality in a situation that is fundamentally unequal, I seriously don't understand how people don't get it.

Oh, please do educate me on what causes men to sexually assault women.

The patriarchy and culture of toxic masculinity. Added to that many religions teach that men are more important than women.

you’d have to argue against practicing safety in the face of statistical likelihood.

Again if you live your life by those statistics, you would also be wary of black people. Saying "yeah it's sexism but it's justified because statistics show men commit more sexual assaults" is no different than saying you are wary of blacks based on the same statistics.

The patriarchy and culture of toxic masculinity. Added to that many religions teach that men are more important than women.

And because of this, it's not important for women to protect themselves? We should denounce the fact that women protect themselves because society has conditioned men to be violent?

Look, I'm all about addressing the root cause, but just pointing at one injustice in society doesn't make another just disappear.

Again if you live your life by those statistics, you would also be wary of black people

You really need to stop saying "well if you're taking precautions based on statistics you must also be racist"

Because that's a really transparent fallacy that essentially just boils down to you asserting "women shouldn't protect themselves because what about black people?"

These are separate points, and putting the words in my mouth that I must be racist is nothing more than deflection to avoid addressing the actual point.

Again if you live your life by those statistics

Additionally, I know very many people who wear seat belts because of the statistical chance of being in a wreck. According to your fallacy, all of those people must also be racist.

women shouldn’t protect themselves because what about black people?”

The fallacy I'm trying to elaborate is mismatched risk. Cars are far more dangerous but you ignore that risk. You could choose to not be sexist just like you currently choose to ignore the statistics to not be racist.

1 in 3 women experience unwanted sexual contact at least once in their lifetime. That's roughly 65 million women in the states.

That's not an insignificant risk. You may choose to ignore it, but you clearly don't have to live with it.

Saying "women should ignore potential danger" on the premise that it's not fair to a man, who is 9 times out of 10 not even effected by the precautions that women tend to take, is basically like saying you shouldn't wear a seat belt so that you don't accidentally offend the other drivers on the road.

You aren't discriminating against those other drivers by being conscious of your own safety.

Whether or not you agree with that doesn't really change the fact that women are taught to go to the bathroom in groups or go to the bar with friends (or really not go anywhere alone that they might not be able to easily call for help) or carry mace or cross the street to avoid a man that's looking at them creepily or any number of avoidant situations.

These are things women do to protect themselves that literally only affect the men who wanted to and would otherwise miss an opportunity to assault them, and things women are taught to do by other women because sexual assault is a thing that happens.

The only context things like this are even brought up as "sexist" at all is when men realize that women have to do it and then get offended on the behalf of all men because it's "not fair". Like in this conversation we're having now.