i think people forget that just because people do bad things, it doesn't justify the abuse they recieved before they did it.
to use an extreme example. if a serial killer or serial rapist is abused as a child, it doesn't excuse or explain what they did. this is something that people should, and do understand. BUT, if someone is abused as a child and turns out to be a serial killer or serial rapist later in life, that doesn't explain or justify the abuse they faced.
it CAN be both. chris HAS been abused and harrassed by the internet, AND chris is a convicted criminal who sexually assaulted his disabled mother. however, i'm going to be focusing on the harrassment she recieved BEFORE she commited her crime.
christine is presumbly severely mentally ill judging on her own admission and from the behaviour she's exhibited, and has not seeked out proper treatment for this. she has never had a good support system. the only connections she ever seemed to have were people pretending to be her friend to milk her for funny internet content. instead of showing concern for her behaviour, it was mocked. by seemingly everyone from all corners of the internet. everyone could find something to laugh at.
chris was infamous since the moment she shared her comics on the internet. she was studied like a fucking bible. she's 'the most documented person on the internet', and the most bullied person on the internet. whenever she spoke out about how much the abuse hurt her, that was also used as a meme.
even people that i know spend some of their time watching documentaries about her. even leftists, don't see the absolute sickness of christorians. i know it's 'fun' or whatever to hear about the exploitation of a mentally ill persons delusions for internet laughs, but i promise, there's nothing to gain by supporting people who treat disabled and mentally ill people like a circus.
christine has been racist. christine has been homophobic. christine has been (very!) misogynistic. christine has been ableist. the response to this is not to give her back the same disrespect tenfold. early on, her treatment versus what she did is like if someone slapped you and you set their house on fire.
everything about her is prodded at, even the most obvious of things. the very disabilities she's mocked for are questioned. and, her gender is, too. she is a trans woman. she has identified as a woman since 2014 . nearly ten fucking years, as of writing. she has legally changed her name, is legally registered as female, and has said she wants to go on hormones. and yet, even trans people that i know misgender and deadname her. why? when have even the worst of cisgender criminals ever had their identity discarded? i've seen people say that chris isn't ACTUALLY trans, that she's a mockery, that she's faking and lying, or that this is just another delusion. but this is said about non criminal trans people every day. if you disrespect the identity of trans criminals, you're saying that identity is conditional. she's so clear about her identity. and yet, any history article or video about chris treats it as an afterthought.
so, am i perfect, am i holier than thou? no. there's a reason i know about christine's history. i've watched a documentary or two in the past. but, i stopped paying attention, because there's nothing to earn in learning about her history the way it is being taught. because she's a criminal who did a monsterous thing, every part of her history is looked at as something that she did, and never through the lense of what happened to her. never a look at the vileness of many of the christorians.
cwc is both a victim and a perpetrator. it doesn't have to be looked at as one or the other. maybe one day, if her story starts to be looked at differently, there will be something we can learn from her history about the effects of mass internet stalking, but for now, she is first and foremost propped up as the greatest internet clown the web has ever known.
all the jokes have been told. let her story be forgotten.