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Navy veteran sets the record straight after his mother inaccurately turns him into face of #HimToo

The New York Daily News - 10/9/2018

Oct. 09--No, not #HimToo.

Navy veteran Pieter Hanson was shocked and puzzled after his mother shared a tweet inaccurately declaring her son refuses to go on dates out of fear of being falsely accused of sexual misconduct.

"This is MY son," the since-deleted tweet begins. "He graduated #1 in boot camp. He was awarded the USO award. He was #1 in A school. He is a gentleman who respects women. He won't go on solo dates due to the current climate of false sexual accusations by radical feminists with an axe to grind. I VOTE. #HimToo."

Hanson, 32, however, says his mother's brazen claim couldn't be farther from the truth.

"It doesn't represent me at all," he told the Washington Post. "I love my mom to death, but boy . . . I'm still trying to wrap my head around all this."

The #HimToo movement began to pick up steam amid the Brett Kavanaugh hearing last month and serves as a platform for those who contend men are often wrongly accused of sex offenses. It began to garner attention a little under the one-year anniversary of the launch of the #MeToo movement, through which women across the globe have shared their stories of mistreatment and abuse.

The tweet by Hanson's mother -- who he opted not to identify -- quickly began to draw considerable buzz online. Hanson says he was taking a test at University of Central Florida when his phone began to blow up with messages from people alerting him about his mother's post.

Hanson -- who supports the #MeToo movement -- told the Washington Post that he has no concerns about going on dates, and that he got his little brother and grandmother to ask his mom to remove the tweet Monday because he wasn't ready to speak to her directly. She has since deactivated her Twitter account.

After his mother's tweet went viral, a slew of Twitter users began to make memes based on her post. Those included posts beginning with the same phrasing Hanson's mother used -- "This is MY son" -- that featured photos of movie and TV characters and celebrities along with bold claims about them.

Hanson, meanwhile, has since made a Twitter account with the handle @Thatwasmymom in an effort to share his true stance on the matter.

"That was my Mom," he wrote. "Sometimes the people we love do things that hurt us without realizing it. Let's turn this around. I respect and #BelieveWomen . I never have and never will support #HimToo . I'm a proud Navy vet, Cat Dad and Ally. Also, Twitter, your meme game is on point."

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