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Tracy Quan

Greta, thanks for commenting on this disturbing case. As you can imagine, it's a difficult topic for sex workers' groups. I have avoided it on my blog beecause I just don't know enough about what really happened. I feel very sad for the woman at the center of this.

Anthony Kennerson

WOW....may I humbly bow at your feet, Greta, at the gracious endorsement of my little blog entry. I didn't really know that people other than me (and Renegade Evolution, and Nina Hartley, who relayed me your compliments) actually were reading up...but it's nice to hear such rosy words from such an authority as you are.

Now, I'm not necessarily as hard on the accuser as you might be, because I still believe that even if she wasn't necessarily raped at that party, she was still violated in a less violent way with the racial epithets....and the response of the usual noise factory of the "Poor Rich White Kids" (both the MRA and KKK factions) was so typical...even before the prosecutor tanked the case for his own political gain.

Nevertheless, the aftereffects of this tragedy will be that it will be that much harder for sexually assertive women and women of color and poor women who are legitimate victims of sexual assault or battery to be able to obtain justice for their plight...since the "bitch/slut asked for it and got what she deserved" and the "Black/Brown bitch just wanna get paid at the expense of White folk" cards will be offered in earnest.

There's more than enough real rape and slut-baiting and anti-Black racism happening for real. We really don't need to be feeding that that much more with placebos. "Innocent until proven guilty in a court of law by the totality of the evidence" is a principle that is not dependent on ideology; once we as feminists or progressives abandon that principle, we become nearly as bad as the actual rapists and racists we oppose.

Anyways...thanks for the props...I need to update my blogroll now. :-)


Anthony
(Your humble SmackDog)

Greta Christina

Thanks, Anthony. And while I am pissed off at the accuser in this case, I do also have some sympathy for her. I just thought you said that better than I could have -- that's why I pointed people to your blog.

As to "'Innocent until proven guilty in a court of law by the totality of the evidence' is a principle that is not dependent on ideology; once we as feminists or progressives abandon that principle, we become nearly as bad as the actual rapists and racists we oppose."... damn. Yes. Exactly. I talk about that sometimes with science -- that we can't reject evidence or theories just because we don't like them -- but that principle applies to justice and morality too, and this says it perfectly.

Eclectic

Let's remember the etymology of "prejudice". It means judging prematurely. Based on incomplete information.

You don't even have to bring courts of law into it, although they are established institutions that operate with the goal (not always achieved!) of considering all the relevant evidence before judging.

A false accusation has to resemble reality to be believed. The boy who cried wolf did so because wolves were a threat. There wouldn't have been a story if he had cried "gerbil!"

And there is some truth to the association between sports players and assault. They're both fueled by aggression and competitiveness.

The lesson that people should take home is that prejudice can lead you into grave error.

But there's a long way to go, and exceptional outliers like this don't help the more common subtle issues. As Bella Abzug said, "Our struggle today is not to have a female Einstein get appointed as an assistant professor. It is for a woman schlemiel to get as quickly promoted as a male schlemiel."

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