We Have a Long Way to go in Discussing Domestic Abuse
Steel City Con is the latest example of society having a long way to go when it comes to domestic abuse and predatory behavior.
Content warning: abuse, sexual assault.
Steel City Con inviting Kevin Spacey to its convention is inexcusable in every single way.
Plus: "Drop" and "Companion" handle domestic violence well, Pirates missing bats, WNBA Draft success.
One thing about The Waterloo family is this – if you put a semi-interesting movie in the theaters, we are going to go see it.
We love movies, and we absolutely love going to the movie theaters to escape.
This past week, we went to see the new Blumhouse film, “Drop.” Before we went, my partner, Blayne, sent me a comparison that someone made comparing the film to “Red Eye” and “The Invisible Man.”
And you know what? That hit the nail on the head.
You can learn more about the film on your own time, because that’s not what I want to talk about here. I want to talk about a specific theme and a specific scene that stood out to me.
The movie opens with the main character Violet, played by Meghann Fahy, in her home, in a physically abusive situation with her husband.
The theme of abuse is prevalent throughout the entire movie, to the point to where Violet’s career is working with survivors of abuse.
Violet goes on a first date at a restaurant, after messaging with a man for three months. While there, she finds out someone is in her home and is threatening the lives of her sister and her child if she doesn’t do what they ask her to do while she’s on this date.
As Violet attempts to figure out what the hell is going on and who the hell is behind this, she makes her way to the host station.
And this is the part that really drove the domestic violence approach home.
She went on to the computer, visited the National Domestic Violence Hotline (thehotline.org) to try to get some help.
Instantly, I was reverted back to my time at the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
We – I’ll always consider myself a part of them and their mission even if I no longer work there – like every other coalition, have a feature on the website where you are able to chat with a live member of the hotline. Not only can you do this, but there’s a quick escape button on each website that you can click and go right back to Google if someone is watching.
Being able to have these resources is not only vital to survivors – they are survivors, not victims – but showing them in movies is so important. Domestic violence in pop culture is nothing new, but showing in a responsible way is still something that movies and shows are still figuring out.
Studies show that physical violence is the No. 1 assumed method of domestic abuse. But notice how I say domestic abuse and not domestic violence. It’s because using domestic violence reinforces the thought that abuse comes in one form.
But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Domestic violence comes in many forms and fashions, and the No. 1 form of abuse that is most common in abusive relationships is financial abuse, which occurs in 98% of abusive relationships.
So when a movie like “Drop” is able to show those types of resources that are available to survivors, and while it may seem like a little thing, it’s invaluable.
Because abuse really is all about power and control.
And you can look no further than the movie “Companion” to see it.
In case you’re wondering – yes, we did get home from “Drop” only to put on “Companion.”
We love movies.
With the latter, I was initially concerned that it was going to go with a shocking approach to sexual abuse, which is a trope that movies and shows use too often.
But throughout the movie, they did a fantastic job of telling us the part that power and control has in abuse.
It’s all about the men being able to lore over their partners, gaslight them, convince them that they are the problem, while controlling every single aspect of their lives.
And when you try to leave, it’s statistically the most dangerous time of all for any abusive relationship.
We saw it in “Drop” and we saw it in “Companion.”
More shows and movies should take note of the way that both of these films showcased abuse. Are there instances in both that I could pick apart where they could have shown more – or less, frankly – yes, of course. But they are a good model for where to start instead of falling down the old tropes of abuse and sexual assault in media.
Because we all have a lot to learn to be able to apply it to real-world situations.
And with that, I’m looking at you Steel City Con.
The long-running Steel City Con made a return to the Pittsburgh Convention Center a couple of weeks ago, and as usual, it had some big names from movies, TV shows, wrestling, and other forms of entertainment.
People flock to it to pay a lot of money to take photos and get pictures with their favorite stars (I use that term loosely) from the past.
I’m not mad at it. I’m not a pocket watcher. Do what makes you happy, and for the celebs, get that bag.
But what did make me upset was the cowardice that the organization had the day of the event.
After people purchased their tickets. After the vendors were set up. After the schedules were released, Steel City Con had the audacity – the fucking audacity, even – to announce that Kevin Spacey would be attending the event.
It wasn’t promoted in advance. People didn’t have a chance to make a decision ahead of time.
The day of the convention, on Friday, April 4, on Facebook (of course), Steel City Con posted a video announcing that Spacey would be attending the convention all weekend.
Hey Kristen Wiig - what do we say to this?
Need I remind you that Spacey, dating back to 2017, had at least 16 people come forward about Spacey around sexual assault and sexual harassment. I’m not going to go into the details here, because they are disgusting. But you can find them if you wish. Just … take care of yourself, please.
Steel City Con knew what they were doing. Don’t question that for a second, because they turned off the comments on the post and asked people to be respectful.
Fuck off, Steel City Con.
Be respectful?
Need I point out that no matter what, having Spacey there was flat-out wrong, not to mention that doing it the day of the convention put vendors, other artists, and fans in a terrible position. Many didn’t use their tickets, and featured vendors ended up pulling out of the show, taking the L on lost profits but taking the W on moral high ground.
And what’s more, there were celebrities attending the event that weekend who are known victims to other Hollywood predators. I won’t name names. We don’t out survivors because it’s not our stories to tell. But I’m curious, Steel City Con, were these people given a heads up or offered resources for their trauma that they endured by you chasing the dollar sign?
I asked Steel City Con a series of questions at their contact email earlier this week. As of Friday morning, April 18, Robert Stein, co-owner of Steel City Con, declined to comment.
Abuse education continues to be a must. Domestic Violence Awareness Month is in October, but it’s a year-round epidemic for survivors. In 2021, we came up with the theme #Every1KnowsSome1, because it couldn’t be truer. One in 4 women and 1 in 7 men are victims of domestic abuse within their lifetime.
It’s someone you know whether you’re aware of it or not.
If you or somebody you know are in an abusive situation, there is help. Visit thehotling.org for immediate assistance, and I am always here to offer resources and assistance in any way that I can.
Where Are Those Hitters We Were Promised?
I can’t find the exact quote, and if I had an editor, they’d make me find it.
Guess who the editor is here?
Yeah, I did five minutes of research, so I’m just going to paraphrase it instead.
In Spring Training, Pirates hitting coach Matt Hague said something along the lines of “we have some real hitters in this lineup.”
Now, the actual words he said mean little here, because no matter the words that he spoke, they were complete and utter bullshit. Look no further than what the Pirates are doing nearly a month into the season.
Nineteen games into the season (as of Thursday morning, not counting their 1-0 win over the Nationals), the Pirates rank dead last in team batting average (.198), slugging percentage (.302), and No. 27 in team OBP (.283). They are tied with the Kansas City Royals with a team wRC+ of 66 – which is the second-worst mark in the league behind the Colorado Rockies. A 100 wRC+ is considered average. The Pirates are 34 points below average.
So, I’m just wondering, Matt, where are these hitters that we were promised? Four players have an OBP over .300, and exactly three players – Joey Bart, Oneil Cruz, and Andrew McCtuchen – have a wRC+ over 100.
What are we doing here besides wasting another year of Paul Skenes and burning $6 million on Tommy Pham and Adam Frazier?
Pirates fans deserve better, and anyone who is watching this team play regularly, make sure you can find joy in something else, too.
And The Winners Are ...
The WNBA Draft had 1.25 million viewers Monday night which is a huge mark for the league.
1.25 million viewers for the 2025 WNBA Draft Roughly half the viewership for the Caitlin Clark draft, but more than double the previous high
— Lev Akabas (@levakabas.bsky.social) April 15, 2025 at 6:04 PM
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Yes, it’s down from last year, but it’s more than double the mark from previous years.
Caitlin Clark is important for the league, but Caitlin Clark isn’t the league. If she’s able to bring a wider audience to WNBA – a sport that was increasing in revenue and eyeballs before Clark – it’s a good thing.
We are seeing that again this year that when women’s sports are prioritized, the market and eyeballs are there.
The WNBA Draft was a blast overall, and for Monday’s newsletter, I’m going to look at some of the second- and third-round players who have a chance to make their team. Remember, getting drafted was just the first step. There’s a lot of work – and luck – needed to be one of the 156 players to have a roster spot on opening night.
I put together my list of draft winners and losers over at Winsidr, so I suggest you check that out (sorry, Sun and Sky fans).
Michael Waterloo
Until Next Time
Key an eye on your inbox for the next Walking Bucket. I have a fantastic interview scheduled for next Tuesday, so you'll want to check this out.
Until then, I love you awesome nerds.
