Re: Rolling Stone on rape at UVA
MisterCreosote said:
PW2 said:
It reminds me of the old Mitch Albom trick where an unverifiable person says exactly what he needs them to say for his sappy story.
I do not think that these men said those things, and I do not think that the woman's friend told her that she should have had "fun with" a violent gang rape.
Agree completely.
I had to head to Google to see if the other woman referenced in the story, Emily Renda, actually existed. The writer writes that she was present when the writer was speaking to "Jackie." Otherwise, I would have some doubt that "Jackie" was real, though inventing a gang rape at an identifiable fraternity house would certainly be Stephen Glass-on-steroids-level ballsiness by the writer. Of course, you can't prove a negative, either.
I am interested to see how this turns out, because, as I said, I'm extremely skeptical about the details the woman gave. The comments are so "on-the-nose" that they seem like they would be rejected even by an after-school special on the dangers of fraternity life. There is also the one where a man supposedly says, "Grab
its leg." It really feels like buttons are being pushed. People don't talk like this. Sure, they say sexist things, but this reads like a freshman orientation skit about sexual assault by fraternities.
I know that the statistics say that a small percentage of rape accusations are made up - I believe them. On the other hand, we shouldn't forget the Duke lacrosse story too quickly, either.
I feel like I have a pretty decent bull**** meter, and the woman's comments set it off. Even in the worst situations we've heard of - Steubenville, for example - seven people don't stand around offering complete sentence praise for the act of gang rape.
If it all checks out, it checks out. I can take being wrong. But right now, I think people should be cautious about taking the woman's story at face value, until there is some more information.