I'm ambivalent about this. Our society is NOT willing to believe the victim that she was raped, yet we're OK with treating the "innocent" young man as if he were a convicted rapist? (The jail time, five years probation and sex-offender registration are the result of a trumped-up charge having to do the use of the Internet to meet up, which is NOT the intent of the law.) I know this is seen as a compromise, but aren't both sides being robbed of justice by calling them both liars?
Kenneth, I feel it's more whom is believed and why... We as a society are more likely to believe a woman is raped than a man, or a man is more likely to be the aggressor than a woman. And we are more likely to attribute status (or perceived status) to believability.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't believe her, because the story sounds too fucking stupid. How can anyone be so naive and so easily cowed in this day and age? I never buy those 'too polite' and 'I was frozen' arguments. It's just nonsense. I could understand doing it (or just lying there until it's over) to go along with it, realizing too late what exactly you've gotten yourself into.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe him, because how can we believe anything a boy with his privileged background says when accused of rape, especially when he admitted to what he has with a 15 year-old girl. All the jeebus stuff and pious bullshit only adds to the fact he's guilty of something.
I'm 33. The difference between 18 and 15 feels like a gulf. At 18, 15 still felt too young, but not that much difference. They have an entire culture setup for heterosexual teens their age to encourage and discourage sexual activity. For all we know, they both wanted to do something. The point of this paragraph: what is consent with them and what is regret and fear of the consequences? He should have known better than to take part in this bullshit 'rite of passage', and now, he's facing the consequences. She should have known better as well, and ditto on the consequences. Whatever they guilt, they're both fucked now.
This just is a miscarriage of justice. His entire life is ruined because he had an eRRoR in judgment regarding sex as a teenager? So did she. Where's her lifetime punishment??? This is just wrong. This is his whole life registered as a sex offender; we're talking about: no girlfriends m no jobs, no housing...ever!!! Because he had an error of judgment about sex as a teenager?????? Christ,! Thank god my behavior wasn't judged this way as a teenager. This is a miscarriage of justice. I hope with all of my heart there is a way for this to be overturned.
ReplyDelete^ I'm with you, Richard!
ReplyDelete>"I don't believe him, because how can we believe anything a boy with his privileged background says when accused of rape..."
ReplyDeleteMadame Defarge? Is that you?
Sure. If the accused goes to a good school, why even bother with a trial? Just rush him to the guillotine.
The punishment in this case was way out of proportion to the crime.
"If the accused goes to a good school, why even bother with a trial?"
ReplyDeletePrivilege doesn't just extend to the school. He's white, from a well-to-do background, and has been included in their school society to the point that he's got keys for the sex game locations. His parents are attempting to buy his way out of trouble and he has lots of people coming to his defense in positions of authority.
These are all signs of privilege. Boys who come from privilege accused of bad acts usually are guilty of the bad act in my experience. That is what I am basing my belief of his character upon. It is all any jury can do.
Just because we want to believe the stereotype that a good boy caught up in the games of youth gets entrapped by the situation doesn't mean we can. If nothing else, he is guilty of statutory molestation. The girl was 15, he was 18, he knew this was against the law but still did it. He did it as part of the game they play involving sex. These aren't children, these aren't children's games.
Is the rape charge a stretch: In my opinion, beyond the fingertips!
Is the registering as a sex offender out of line: This is a hard one. What did he do and how much of it did she agree to? This is where his privilege and post-act actions come into play. Did he do it knowing he could get away with it, did he act like that, did he show remorse or realization of the consequences of what they did together? The problem is, is he just a stupid fucking teenager caught up in being a stupid fucking teenager, or is he burgeoning sex offender? Prior acts to establish a pattern would be necessary for the latter to be proven. Without that evidence, err on the side of caution. No registration.
Did she cry wolf? Either way, her life is going to be a living hell for the next 3 years.