Jonathon Majors

what the actual fuck...?

As most of us have heard by now, Jonathon Majors has been charged with assaulting a woman, purported to be his girlfriend, but is not being identified at this moment in time.

While I have no more information than most people, I have spent an inordinate amount of time scouring Twitter, news outlets, and a few scholarly articles on strangulation cases. So, naturally, I have some fucking questions.

Look, I’m gonna come right out and say it:

It doesn’t look good for Majors. I’m not gonna pretend, like a lot of people on Twitter, that I somehow “felt something was off about him.” I don’t know the guy. I am, simply, a fan—or was?

Having referenced the actor in my last post about the late Lance Reddick, I fell in love with Majors’ physical acting. He was interesting to watch and I was hooked on watching. And now, here we are at the precipice of a defining moment in his career.

Whether it ends, or continues.

Let’s start with the strangulation, or allegation of strangulation.

I shouldn’t have to remind you that this is a serious charge, but what you may not realize is that this is the largest indicator that your partner will, eventually, murder you.

They put hands on your throat once, survive and you shouldn’t stick around to test the statistics. Trust me.

"Nonfatal strangulation has been reported in nearly 45 percent of attempted homicides in domestic violence situations against women, and 97 percent of victims are strangled manually."

“One in four women will experience intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime, and of those, up to 68 percent will suffer near-fatal strangulation at the hands of their partner.”

And having been privy to information on domestic disputes (thanks, Dad) and how police tend to handle them, it’s not an easy charge to gain without it being evident, or present. In truth, the misogyny in our system tends to protect men at a far higher rate than women. Domestic dispute cases are no exception. Having had these conversations myself, I have heard family members, strangers, and the proverbial acquaintance say:

“Well, did he put food on the table?”

“He’s working right now, and you’re in school. He’s probably stressed.”

“He did a pretty good job, regardless.”

Someone that my family actively despised that I was with, who had assaulted me, were apologetic towards this man. A man they didn’t like.

Thus, I am unsurprised that there has been a recanting of her initial statements that is being now spun into an “emotional crisis.”

It’s the classic hysteria excuse, with the recantation being defined as an admission of being “wrong.” Where, in actuality, most victims recant there initial allegations because of the pressure of the situation. The requirements legally, financially, and emotionally.

And with Majors being such a big deal, with seeing just HOW MANY people are rushing to his defense based on #vibes. Would you stay in that gladiator pit? Would you “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” and will “justice” into fruition with pure manifestation while people actively tell you that you are lying? That you are pulling people down on purpose? The conspiracies have already started.

To sum up:

Cops don’t like women very much. So to have that strangulation charge, starkly, is damning. Because it takes a lot for them to apply it, at all.

"Sometimes strangulation leaves a mark, many times it does not. So someone can be strangled, and there be no external evidence, only internal. It could just be a hoarseness of the throat. And just from that trauma alone, they could later have a stroke and die, and you would never even know it on an external presentation."

Her injuries were described as “minor.” But with the above, we now know that even “minor” evidence of strangulation is a huge, huge deal.

Good, that’s settled.

Lastly, as a performing arts kid, if your colleagues, classmates, professors, etc. don’t like you…that is hella bad. We have such a tight knit band of misfits around us that, often, it is more important to be safe than it is to be good. And like most communities, if someone is acting badly…we know about it. We talk about it. And, those of us that are louder, try our best to alert people.

But not everyone is listened to. Some rooms are deaf. Most aren’t bothering to listen.

It’s not like Hollywood does any due diligence in checking on how that actor plays with others. But, it stands to reason that one would want to check if a lot of money is on the line. Sifting out the Jerad Leto’s of the world isn’t a unworthy endeavor. And no one likes a recast. See: The Witcher.

All in all, I’ll happily be wrong here.

But, in this case, I don’t think I will be.

And as disappointing as it is to see a talented, representative person being dragged, it’s much more upsetting to think that his talent, somehow, is more valuable than someone else’s entire existence. There is a history of behavior that matches these allegations, there is evidence of a system that will act against the victim, are we really surprised at the way Majors’ lawyer is playing this? Do we need to revisit Chris Brown?

I’d rather not.

Lastly, I’m always amazed at the dissonance in people’s reactions to these cases. Hearing:

“Well, innocent until proven guilty.”

And to me, it’s always an interesting choice to cherry pick when one believes in the justice system. That, somehow, it’ll prove what happened. As a reminder, regardless of the outcome of this case: harm has been done. It’s a distinct pattern, if you know how to look. And justice? Since when is that something any of us receives here?

The law serves itself and those that can interpret it. Lawyers are a bit like preachers, it depends on the person talking in how the scripture sounds. The only job, of which Majors’ defense attorney is actively doing, is to create doubt.