any rape allegations made years ago are suspect to me. If it takes you years to realize it was rape, maybe it was not rape in the first place (unless it's a minor, but then it's a whole different story)? Don't we have statute of limitations in this case? Otherwise, what would prevent any woman to weaponize the rape allegation the way she deems fit?
any rape allegations made years ago are suspect to me. If it takes you years to realize it was rape, maybe it was not rape in the first place (unless it's a minor, but then it's a whole different story)? Don't we have statute of limitations in this case? Otherwise, what would prevent any woman to weaponize the rape allegation the way she deems fit?
As a chaplain who has sat in with rape patients enduring ER rape kits (those can be as physically painful as the rape was, and take hours), I can, sadly, answer this. Sometimes rape victims need to heal-- a LOT--before they are ready to face family and friends, much less police, other authorities, and eventually formal cross-examination. The police intake process is humiliating--especially for a woman describing in gross detail to a man what another man did to her. On top of that, rape victims actually often furiously gaslight themselves enough long before powerful attorneys humiliate them if they do get up the guts to come forward (“Was I dressed in a way to I lead him on? Was I clear enough in my boundaries? Did I fight hard enough?”) A very large percentage of women do not have the emotional energy to go forward, and never say a word, and will go to their deaths without justice.
(This is not a comment on the Brand case in any way.)
But please don’t misunderstand that I am arguing against your point. No man deserves to be falsely accused of rape. I think we agree men have as much right not to be thrown in prison for what they haven’t done, as women have not to be raped. I just wanted to comment about how dark life really becomes once someone has been violated that way. Rape DESTROYS lives. It destroys a woman’s ability to trust her own perceptions, much less the presence of any man around her, ever again, *especially* if he has any authority (power) over her.
In addition, the courts are terribly corrupt. The “good ol” boy” system is alive and well.
Thank you, all good points. It's the timing in this case which makes it highly suspect. Too many times men have been accused of rape for political reasons, and rape is something which is very hard to prove or disprove, especially years after, so it becomes a very efficient political tool. At the same time real rapists walk around unpunished, so it's a very selective application of justice
These are all very good points, especially that women will gaslight themselves afterwords.
As I think about this, the big question in my mind is, how would I react in this situation? Would I have waited years to come forward? Would I still not have been ready during #MeToo? Possibly. Once I got the courage to speak, would I go to the media and not the police? No. No freaking way. I would go to the police. If I didn't get any satisfaction from the police, then I would go to the media.
The next big question is, would my reaction be typical? Maybe. Probably in the majority of cases, people would follow the path I think I would follow. There might be people who would go to the media first, rather than the police, to dish out a little payback for the hurt, pain and suffering the rape caused. But then I think for five women to choose this route, rather than the police? No. Again, no freaking way.
I don't know if the accusations are true or not, but I do believe all five victims' behavior is not in keeping with how true rape survivors would respond.
Add to that the concerted effort to eliminate his ability to provide for himself and his family, and his ability to speak, I am leaning towards this being a hit job. They want to take him down. It's what communists do.
Exactly. If I waited all those years to avoid publicity, why would I all of a sudden do this very public thing? And adding the fact that they want to de-platform him before going through the normal legal process - and so we have all signs of trial and managing by media, public lynching, all to circumvent the existing law.
Of the three who attacked my niece, one was given 5 years and is out in November, the other two, because the jury couldn't make up its mind were found guilty of aiding and abetting and were given 2 years suspended.
The girl lives in terror of the convicted rapist coming out.
Absolutely right about it destroying lives and it should never be trivialised, as so often happens by those who simply don't understand.
There is no rape statute of limitations in the UK and it's the London Met that's investigating... you might also have spotted that the allegations and assaults have all been made in the UK, not the US.
Also, if you had any first hand knowledge of rape victims not coming forward you would know that there are no end of reasons why a single, as in only one, girl/woman wouldn't come forward, but if a dam breaks then it's safety in numbers and more will come forward.
I have no idea whether he's guilty or not and I'm not making any judgement in the case, but you cannot just dismiss complaints simply because they didn't come forward at the time.
It happened to my niece and she was, under death threat from the 3 rapists, extremely reluctant to go to the police. It was only when she opened up to her parents that they made sure it was made known and one of the three was imprisoned for the rape. She was 15 and completely traumatised at the time.
all good points, thank you. It does have to be looked into on a case by case basis, of course. The problem is that those "fake" ones actually harm real victims. Like the case with your niece is very different from a case when a grown-up porn star complains of being "raped" years after spending a night with a young handsome billionaire and even paid for staying silent.
any rape allegations made years ago are suspect to me. If it takes you years to realize it was rape, maybe it was not rape in the first place (unless it's a minor, but then it's a whole different story)? Don't we have statute of limitations in this case? Otherwise, what would prevent any woman to weaponize the rape allegation the way she deems fit?
As a chaplain who has sat in with rape patients enduring ER rape kits (those can be as physically painful as the rape was, and take hours), I can, sadly, answer this. Sometimes rape victims need to heal-- a LOT--before they are ready to face family and friends, much less police, other authorities, and eventually formal cross-examination. The police intake process is humiliating--especially for a woman describing in gross detail to a man what another man did to her. On top of that, rape victims actually often furiously gaslight themselves enough long before powerful attorneys humiliate them if they do get up the guts to come forward (“Was I dressed in a way to I lead him on? Was I clear enough in my boundaries? Did I fight hard enough?”) A very large percentage of women do not have the emotional energy to go forward, and never say a word, and will go to their deaths without justice.
(This is not a comment on the Brand case in any way.)
But please don’t misunderstand that I am arguing against your point. No man deserves to be falsely accused of rape. I think we agree men have as much right not to be thrown in prison for what they haven’t done, as women have not to be raped. I just wanted to comment about how dark life really becomes once someone has been violated that way. Rape DESTROYS lives. It destroys a woman’s ability to trust her own perceptions, much less the presence of any man around her, ever again, *especially* if he has any authority (power) over her.
In addition, the courts are terribly corrupt. The “good ol” boy” system is alive and well.
Thank you, all good points. It's the timing in this case which makes it highly suspect. Too many times men have been accused of rape for political reasons, and rape is something which is very hard to prove or disprove, especially years after, so it becomes a very efficient political tool. At the same time real rapists walk around unpunished, so it's a very selective application of justice
These are all very good points, especially that women will gaslight themselves afterwords.
As I think about this, the big question in my mind is, how would I react in this situation? Would I have waited years to come forward? Would I still not have been ready during #MeToo? Possibly. Once I got the courage to speak, would I go to the media and not the police? No. No freaking way. I would go to the police. If I didn't get any satisfaction from the police, then I would go to the media.
The next big question is, would my reaction be typical? Maybe. Probably in the majority of cases, people would follow the path I think I would follow. There might be people who would go to the media first, rather than the police, to dish out a little payback for the hurt, pain and suffering the rape caused. But then I think for five women to choose this route, rather than the police? No. Again, no freaking way.
I don't know if the accusations are true or not, but I do believe all five victims' behavior is not in keeping with how true rape survivors would respond.
Add to that the concerted effort to eliminate his ability to provide for himself and his family, and his ability to speak, I am leaning towards this being a hit job. They want to take him down. It's what communists do.
Exactly. If I waited all those years to avoid publicity, why would I all of a sudden do this very public thing? And adding the fact that they want to de-platform him before going through the normal legal process - and so we have all signs of trial and managing by media, public lynching, all to circumvent the existing law.
Spot on. Well done.
Of the three who attacked my niece, one was given 5 years and is out in November, the other two, because the jury couldn't make up its mind were found guilty of aiding and abetting and were given 2 years suspended.
The girl lives in terror of the convicted rapist coming out.
Absolutely right about it destroying lives and it should never be trivialised, as so often happens by those who simply don't understand.
There is no rape statute of limitations in the UK and it's the London Met that's investigating... you might also have spotted that the allegations and assaults have all been made in the UK, not the US.
Also, if you had any first hand knowledge of rape victims not coming forward you would know that there are no end of reasons why a single, as in only one, girl/woman wouldn't come forward, but if a dam breaks then it's safety in numbers and more will come forward.
I have no idea whether he's guilty or not and I'm not making any judgement in the case, but you cannot just dismiss complaints simply because they didn't come forward at the time.
It happened to my niece and she was, under death threat from the 3 rapists, extremely reluctant to go to the police. It was only when she opened up to her parents that they made sure it was made known and one of the three was imprisoned for the rape. She was 15 and completely traumatised at the time.
all good points, thank you. It does have to be looked into on a case by case basis, of course. The problem is that those "fake" ones actually harm real victims. Like the case with your niece is very different from a case when a grown-up porn star complains of being "raped" years after spending a night with a young handsome billionaire and even paid for staying silent.
“ grown-up porn star ” ? Was there one? Were there more than one?
I wasn’t aware that porn stars were fair game either to any passing rapist.