Belief and proof are not the same thing. This isn’t to say that accusers should be dismissed without tangible evidence but rather a call for a benefit of a doubt because of how skewed the power dynamics can become. Weinstein, Cosby, Kevin Spacey and that college kid are scum but Louis C K deserves a chance to redeem himself
A common problem in discussing rape is an inability or unwillingness for people to distinguish between criminal rape and the emotional violation of rape. A relatable example to most: you buy an item or say- a game. You feel that demos and advertising and the like promised something other than you got. You feel cheated. The company maintains you were not cheated. If you bring a legal case- it will either be decided that the company is not liable for cheating you or it is. Even if the company is found legally innocent of any crime- you will likely still feel cheated. Others may agree you were cheated. Even the judge or jury might comment that they feel the actions were “wrong” but do not constitute criminal conduct under the law.
Likewise all that is required for a person to feel like they were raped is... a perception of such violation. Likewise- a person can LEGALLY be raped- but not FEEL raped- such as a 16yo consenting to sex with their 19yo partner, or a spouse who gets drunk and their spouse and them have intercourse- perhaps more “adventurous” then they would consent to sober. These people could have a legal case for rape but may not feel violated and be perfectly fine with what transpired.... or not.
So when it comes to an unquestioning “belief” in rape we might say that we have a belief the person reporting it feels that they were raped- but the principal that an accuser must prove their accusations is critical for reasons this meme makes clear. The goal of a functional criminal justice system should not be to lock up the most people possible- but to avoid the punishment of as many innocent people as possible- otherwise it is not a justice system but a lottery of civil rights.
As it pertains to high profile media covered rape cases there is a serious additional problem. Once a public accusation is made without proof to substantiate- the idea of guilt is already planted in the public. As a case draws on in the media and details emerge based on rumor and other burdens of proof not sufficient for evidence- the public is privy to information that wouldn’t be allowed in a court before a jury. The longer this goes on- and the faster and more obsessive the media is- the longer the public has to be tainted by media lead bias. When and if a trial is finally brought the jury pool has been exposed to magnitudes of information that may be misleading, downright false, or otherwise bias a verdict based of previous knowledge and opinion and not simply what evidence has been vetted to a standard of proof and relevance in legal process.
They means that supposedly impartial and open juries are walking in to court with an existing bias of fact and heads full of rumor and biased information- usually against the defendant. In such a system it becomes almost impossible for a defendant to receive a fair trial. In cases where a supposed victim completely manufactures allegations (as rare as they are- they do happen-) for ulterior motives- a defendant begins the legal process at a HUGE disadvantage despite being completely innocent.
It’s important to be emotionally gentle and supportive of those who claim rape- when they genuinely feel raped they are suffering regardless of wether an actual crime occurred or not- but declaring a person guilty by gender or accusation is literally a witch hunt. That we cannot have.
This one? There is a connection, but it's not about him exclusively. People have been attempting to do that shit to lots of people over social media, and everyone's so trigger happy these days they're often at least partially successful.
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The Zoe one? Abso-fucking-lutely about HER, Alec is just part of it.
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The Zoe one? Abso-fucking-lutely about HER, Alec is just part of it.