Read other letters about this article

• Thursday, November 16, 2006 04:15 PM

  One voice

  I have a whole torrent of thoughts on this, and I am assuming that a good number of them might be ill-informed.

  There's this neat little summary question at the top of this input page that I am staring at. I have an answer for that question. But then there's the text of the article that also sparks two divergent answers.

  Let me start with the summary question of "does it matter?" I expect someone to fing fault with my thinking, but my experiences necessitate that I air this.

  Does it matter? Yes. I believe it does matter.

  Here's why I say that: I honestly and earnestly believe that the condition of the victim is absolutely necessary in cases of flase accusations. I believe that if the victim was drugged, that's a clear sign of nefarious motive on the part of whomever drugged the victim. Being drunk is a different animal. Here's where personal experience comes into play:

  I was accused of raping a girl in college. I say accused because a week later she recanted and told the police she told them it was rape because her boyfriend had heard that she kissed a boy that night. I was that unfortunate boy that almost had my life yanked out from underneath me because I was nice enough to walk a stranger home from an off-campus party, to keep her safe. Maybe I'm naive for saying so, but to me drugging one's self to accuse someone of rape is more far-fetched than having regret the next day from sleeping with someone by accident.

  Look, I'm sorry, false accusations happen. They aren't as traumatic as rape. More irony, until that year I was a rape counselor at my college. Because of the false accusation I wasn't allowed to continue as a counselor. I didn't press the issue. That aside, false accusations can be pretty damn hurtful for the guy as well.

  On the text of the article, if the quesiton is "Do these sorts of studies indicate that the police are blaming the vicitm?" I'd like to hope not. I'd like to hope that these sorts of studies help sort out real rapes from false accusations in the interest of assuring a rape victim that they get all the assistance available to them.

  I do believe that it is unfair that these MPs came out claiming that a woman must take responsibility for drinking. Men AND women need to take responsibility for drinking. Comatose drunk men may not get raped, but they will get beaten, stabbed, mugged, and abused just as easily as any comatose drunk woman. Drinking to excess is the issue.

  Yeah, I expect to get keelhauled for these views, but I still feel they are valid.

  —Agillious Read Agillious's other letters
  Permalink
  Flag
  Click "Submit Flag" if you feel this post is inappropriate. Explain why below if you wish.

  Cancel