#evidence

Source: While I in no way claim to know everything, I do have a large background in psychology, have worked professionally in mental health (though not in a way involving a degree), and also I've edited evidence-based mental health and psychology books for the last seven to ten years, and was academically required to spend way too much time reading/reading about Freud

Just thought I'd update the old version with new proof people have told me

(This is in response to multiple anons who have asked me the same thing) That’s actually a very hard question to answer, because there isn’t a single piece of 'evidence' that convinces everyone in the same way. Different people are persuaded by different things, and there are many individual categories of evidence that can stand on their own. Some people can be convinced just by looking at photos, GIFs, or videos of them together—the way they look at each other, the intensity, the lack of subtlety (I convinced a friend this way without showing her any of the lore at all). Others are convinced by the romantic jealousy they displayed toward each other’s partners, once they see how consistent and emotionally charged it was. Some people go down the rabbit hole of the songs they wrote about each other—examining the lyrics, the timelines, and the clues that point to who those songs were really about. Others are persuaded by the things they said about each other, or by what friends, insiders, biographers, and witnesses said about them. Even random, isolated facts and rumors—taken on their own—can sometimes be enough. Or John hinting at it. So I honestly don’t know which piece of evidence will convince any given person the most. What does strike me as remarkable is that there is so much material that even focusing on just one of these categories—just one—can be enough to convince someone. And when you put all of them together, it becomes overwhelming. But when I’m asked what my favorite "piece of evidence" is, I always have to mention the “Real Life” demo. If you accept—as the evidence seems to suggest—that the song is about Paul, then it becomes very difficult to argue that John is singing about anything other than a past romantic relationship ("I used to hold you in my arms"). The grief in that demo doesn't sound platonic. And crucially, it’s not about a woman. At the end, John clearly says, “just call him on the phone.” Once it becomes clear that Paul is who John is singing to, the nature of what he’s mourning is hard to deny. And it fits perfectly with John saying “I wish I was back with Paul!” after a fight with Yoko at a party, and with the many times both he and Paul spoke about their relationship in an unmistakably romantic way.

This problem has been born of informed, cruel, sick, adult choices that have literally nothing to do with the gender of an assailant.