James Deen accused of rape

[+ quoththeraven]

Below is the link to an interview James Deen just gave.

 

But first, some thoughts:

1) Rape is never ok. Those found guilty in a court of law should be imprisoned for a very long time.

2) I firmly believe in our Constitution and the legal concept of innocent till proven guilty.

3) I am a vehement supporter of womans rights and gender equality. Anyone suggesting I feel otherwise will be ignored.

3) Anyone can say anything via Twitter or other social media, including an online interview like the one below. Truth is not always important.

4) I am known by those who know me to withhold judgement and opinion till as many facts are available. In my opinion, there are not enough facts available yet to date to fully render an intelligent opinion on the rape allegations. But it's quite impressive to me that Twitter is the new societal accusation source, rather than a court of law.

 

 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/12/08/james-deen-breaks-his-silence-i-am-completely-baffled.html

 

Please put me on ignore, then. I do not feel you have the smallest clue how rape allegations unfold or how most people (let alone women) are conditioned to think that if it happened between people who know each other and weren't enemies, it couldn't possibly be rape even though one party let the other know they didn't want it. That is why many people who've had non-consensual sex but only realize it later do not want to darken the door of a courtroom over it.

 

What I as a private individual believe is separate from what a jury must determine. You are free to disbelieve this, but I have faith that if I were put on a jury, I could be fair. For example, I believe that the NYC resident who complained a couple of years ago that two police officers who took her home when she left a club stumbling down drunk was in fact raped, but I agree with the jury that acquitted them that there wasn't sufficient evidence to prove rape beyond a reasonable doubt since she was passed out during most of it and the officers claimed consent. That's fairly unbelievable to me, and someone who is unconscious can't consent, but there wasn't enough independent evidence of how conscious or drunk she was at any given point in time.

 

Lots of women's advocates view cautioning against getting drunk as a rape-prevention tool as a form of victim-blaming. I view it as sensible risk-reduction advice. We know predators exist. Why play into their hands?