A sad day for the human race
Here's A Parallel
I remember once, in my late twenties, I attended a seminar at a college. I knew a woman there, and after the seminar I offered to walk her to her car because the neighborhood was not safe for women. As we strolled to her car, she began to talk about the Anita Hill controversy that was in the news at the time. She was vehemently against Anita Hill; didn't believe her at all, and found enormous fault with Anita Hill for having put herself in that situation.
And I remember, at the time, looking around at our surroundings. We were in a deserted, park-like area filled with trees. It was night. It was very dark, and there was no lighting in the area. We were completely alone. And I remember reflecting that if I assaulted her right then, right there . . . by her own rules, it would have been her fault. She had gone with me willingly. She would have had no witnesses to prove she had not consented. She had just confided that her boyfriend had recently dumped her -- and imagine what a defense attorney could have done with that! Just like the sixteen-year-old girl, the only thing keeping her safe was the character of the man she was with. But like the eight women on the jury, the irony of the situation completely escaped her.
I watched her get safely into her car, and waved as she drove away. I wondered if her attitude was one reason that neighborhood was not safe for women.
In Defense of Men
I've said it before, and I'll said it again. Real men don't take advantage of women -- much less girls! -- who have made one mistake, or made one questionable decision. When I was in college, a bunch of buddies and I were going to drive home from a bar. We'd been drinking. And a woman who also attended the college asked for a ride. We gave her the ride.
Should she have trusted us? Should she have gotten into the car with us? The twelve idiots on the Illinois jury would say no; that whatever happened to her next was her own fault. But me, and my buddies, and real men everywhere, shout out in enraged disagreement. Of course she should be able to trust us! Of course women should feel justified in expecting adult males to act like men! So when we dropped her off, safe and sound, it didn't even occur to us to feel virtuous. Assault her? Take advantage of her in any way? Ridiculous! Real men don't do that. Real men don't even consider it! And it's high time that juries, and our society in general, started expecting that too.
"Mother Of The Year"
After the verdict, the parents of the four men (they kept calling them "boys" even though they were over eighteen) celebrated. "I have a good feeling about all these kids," one mother said. Any evidence of shame? Any indication that her son had not been a fine, upstanding example of American manhood? Nope. Not a bit.
And the man who was aquitted? "I have a new life, I feel great," he said. He plans to join the Illinois National Guard.
