Backtracking
My earlier post about the vindication of the Duke lacrosse players was brief, containing nothing more than a link and the following comment: "About fucking time. Maybe now these guys can finally start putting their lives back together." Nothing more was said. And over the last week or so, I've come to regret that.
I don't envy those guys one bit - they're definitely going to have a lot to live down in the next few years. But the thing is - they're equipped with almost as many forms of privelige as exist in our society. White, male, wealthy, educated, and straight. Do you really think that they'll have all that difficult of a time rebounding from this? They'll certainly have an easier time than their accuser. Her reputation has been dragged through the mud more thoroughly than any of the boys' ever was. Her personal information is out there, and the vindication of her alleged rapists has opened up a floodgate of criticism and threats towards her. Do you really think that she has the same kind of privilege and support mechanisms in place to help her through her own crisis? Of course not. Now and forever, she'll always be 'that lying whore.'
Furthermore, I'm concerned about the effect that this case will have on the reporting of future rapes, especially those where a woman of color is assaulted by a white man. I mean, rapes are already vastly underreported as it is. Now people have a very high-profile case in which a rape accuser was identified, vilified, and publicly humiliated. That her charges have been dismissed is irrelevant - her case is still a horrific example of how our society treats women who accuse men of rape, especially rich white men.
I don't envy those guys one bit - they're definitely going to have a lot to live down in the next few years. But the thing is - they're equipped with almost as many forms of privelige as exist in our society. White, male, wealthy, educated, and straight. Do you really think that they'll have all that difficult of a time rebounding from this? They'll certainly have an easier time than their accuser. Her reputation has been dragged through the mud more thoroughly than any of the boys' ever was. Her personal information is out there, and the vindication of her alleged rapists has opened up a floodgate of criticism and threats towards her. Do you really think that she has the same kind of privilege and support mechanisms in place to help her through her own crisis? Of course not. Now and forever, she'll always be 'that lying whore.'
Furthermore, I'm concerned about the effect that this case will have on the reporting of future rapes, especially those where a woman of color is assaulted by a white man. I mean, rapes are already vastly underreported as it is. Now people have a very high-profile case in which a rape accuser was identified, vilified, and publicly humiliated. That her charges have been dismissed is irrelevant - her case is still a horrific example of how our society treats women who accuse men of rape, especially rich white men.