Letters to the Editor
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A Room Full of Marines and a Young, Drunk Woman . . . hmmm . . .
There's certainly the possibility that this young woman had sex with just one of the men in the hotel room while very, very drunk, but it's not likely. So there it is: possibility v. likelihood. It's possible that I could be president one day. It's possible that Carl Rove has a heart of gold, too. You see where I'm going here?
It would be safer for the LW to assume that her friend was gang raped, or at least having sex with a number of men in one evening while not completely aware. Assuming this worse case scenario should empower the friends of this young, substance abusing woman to take the hard line approach in helping her and not just standing back because it's the comfortable, easy thing to do. If someone gives a damn, they need to step in and intervene. Yeah, I know that everyone is responsible for his or herself at the end of the day, and you can't stop someone from doing what they want to do. You can't stop someone from drinking and fucking random men, but you can show someone that you care. Sometimes, knowing that someone cares is revolutionizing. The LW's friend needs firm help, not the righteous judgment and slipping respect that the LW refers too. The LW's friend has a drinking problem, and addicts frequently do handle adult affairs like children because they're not actually handling them at all. I think it would behoove the LW to attack her friend's problems, not the friend herself. That will only make things worse. And if the friend ends up hating the LW for confronting her, then so be it. Having the courage to show someone you care also means having the courage to be told to fuck off.