Friday, September 18, 2009

There'll Be A Morning After

Dr. Helen takes note of a growing phenomenon; false charges of rape are coming fast and furious, yet they are eagerly believed by police, prosecutors, and the press, which eagerly publishes photos of the accused, even as they protect the identity of the accuser"...The District Attorney Had Not Decided Whether To Press Charges Against The Woman
It seems that the woman who says she was raped at Hofstra University has now stated that she made the whole story up:

The student who alleged she was gang raped by five men inside a Hofstra University dormitory bathroom on Sunday has admitted to making the entire story up, the Nassau County District Attorney's office confirmed on Wednesday night.

Charges against the four men arrested have since been dropped. ...

4 men, all minorties, were accused of gang raping this woman, were arrested, saw their pictures splashed across the media under the magic words "Hosftra Gang Rape." Now, all is to be forgiven.
... One of the men involved "has no hard feelings?" I am sure he is simply relieved that he will not spend part of his life in jail, but it just goes to show how much power women have in our society when they get away with falsely accusing men and the men are just happy they have not landed in jail. Pressing charges against women who falsely accuse men will stop it from happening in the future.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Kobe Bryant the first guy to really push back hard against a false rape accusation? At the time, everyone assumed he was guilty. Even today, there are a lot of hard feelings against him. But, the evidence put forward showed that, while Kobe wasn't a saint - he obviously had sex with the girl - there was no rape. Instead, the girl put herself in a situation where sex was the only obvious outcome, and then had the classic morning after regrets. The Duke Lacrosse players were the ones who really stood up to a truly outrageous accusation (and media swarm), but Kobe led the way.

The accusations continue to fly. Just in the last month Big Ben from the Pittsburg Steelers and Shawn Merriman of the San Diego Chargers were accused of rape and domestic violence. They came right out and denied everything, and their stories made a lot more sense than their drama queen accusers. Still, they are the ones who are scarred by media exposure. Merriman was accused by Tia Tequilla (sp?), a minor celebrity in her own right. Where is the media swarm asking her why she would make a fake domestic violence complaint?

It's a screwed up system. Men are accused and immediately branded as rapists while the women's identities are obscured, even after their lies are exposed. Women, meanwhile, can pick and choose their self-identity: sexually liberated swinging chick by night, cringing weaker sex by day. No matter what their choice, they are always the center of attention and sympathy. There are real rapes and real acts of domestic violence happening everyday, but most high profile incidents always seems to devolve into fakery. It's the ones where the accused is earily quiet - I'm looking at you Rick Pitino - that you should take seriously, but even then, you usually end up hearing about someone's episode of bathroom sex.

I know that feminist legal types will reply that, back in Ye Olde Oppressive Times, rapes were not prosecuted vigorously and accusers had to go to great lengths to prove that a crime had been committed. The "date rape"/ "no means no" movement has fatally blurred the distinction between actual forcible sex and consensual sex that - while it may be tawdry and regrettable - is not in fact a crime. Maybe, someday we'll let rape prosecutions be decided on grounds of truth and justice, rather than which group should be given social preference.

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