make it make sense

I’ve been sitting with this, trying to make sense of it, and no matter how I cut it, I can’t.
The documentation was there. Public records. News articles. The allegations weren’t hidden. And yet, after all of that, a gala still happened. Money still flowed. People still showed up, dressed to the nines, smiling for photos, funding what? A charity? Or something far worse?
So I have to ask, were these donations about supporting youth care, or were they propping up a system that allowed abuse and trafficking to continue? Was it willful ignorance?
Because after digging through everything, I learned something: it's not necessarily criminal to fund an organization entangled in this. It all comes down to knowledge and intent.
And surely, none of these donors, corporations, law firms, consulting groups would ever read the papers, follow the news, or vet where their money goes. That wouldn’t be required in any of their fields, right?
But when transparency comes, those same questions will be asked.
So let me ask directly:
When you donated, did you know?
Did you care?
Or did you just go about business as usual?
Because here’s the thing, ignorance isn’t a defense when the information was right in front of you. The facts existed. The reports existed. The shutdown happened. Yet somehow, the checks still cleared, the sponsors still lined up, and the people who should have asked questions… didn’t.
You don’t shut down a facility over just allegations. Would you?
So what does that mean for the people who kept their names attached? For the ones who showed up, toasted to success, and went home unbothered? What does it say when corporations that claim to care about the community had no problem backing a system that failed the most vulnerable?
Let’s see who answers. Let’s see who stays quiet. Because silence isn’t just avoidance, it’s an answer in itself.
Because whether you respond or not, this doesn’t go away.
Illinois media downplayed it. The system buried it. The people who should have been outraged kept shaking hands and writing checks. And now, those same people get to sit at boardroom tables, run companies, and play “pillar of the community” like none of this ever touched them.
Yet.