In today’s LinkSwarm, I mentioned how the Rolling Stone accusation of a fraternity gang rape at the University of Virginia was unraveling. Well, shortly after that it collapsed completely. So much so that even Rolling Stone itself is backtracking on its allegations, albeit in a weasely “we were taken in” fashion:
In the face of new information, there now appear to be discrepancies in Jackie’s account, and we have come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced. We were trying to be sensitive to the unfair shame and humiliation many women feel after a sexual assault and now regret the decision to not contact the alleged assaulters to get their account. We are taking this seriously and apologize to anyone who was affected by the story.
At this point, the only way Rolling Stone could be more embarrassed is if “Jackie” turned out to be James O’Keefe in a wig.
As the central premise of the article collapses, it’s interesting to look at the tantrums thrown by some of Twitter’s more notable feminists. Take, for example, Amanda Marcotte:
What I don’t get is if rape apologists are so sure rapes are hoaxes, why oppose investigating them and getting out that fact?
— Amanda Marcotte (@AmandaMarcotte) December 5, 2014
Here Marcotte has managed to put on a veritable clinic in how to cram as many logical fallacies into a single tweet as possible:
The problem is that Marcotte and so many of her feminist allies want campus rape allegations investigated not by the criminal justice system, but by star-chamber campus tribunals where the accused will not enjoy the rights of innocent until proven guilty and due process under the law. This is in response to the myth of a “rape culture” so pervasive on college campuses that (under pressure from the Obama Administration) many have adopted due-process-violating “sexual assault” tribunals. As liberal lawyer Alan Derschowitz put it: “Harvard’s policy was written by people who think sexual assault is so heinous a crime that even innocence is not a defense.”
Not to mention the fact that these policies have “defined rape downward” to the point where “campus sexual assault” now includes “having consensual drunken sex that they regret later.” Opposition to star chamber prosecution of fake rape is in no way the same as opposition to real rapes by the criminal justice system, in the same way that opposition to feminists’ radical far-left ideological agenda is not the same as “hating women.”
And many on Twitter were quick to call Marcotte on her BS:
@AmandaMarcotte It’s because people like you call due diligence reporting “rape apologism.” Can’t have it both ways.
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) December 5, 2014
Today I learned by discussing 1 false allegation rape story, you automatically question every rape story ever in the universe of everything
— lauren (@LilMissRightie) December 5, 2014
1. Insisting on objective truth does not a "rape apologist" make. 2. Conservatives want real investigations, not show trials @AmandaMarcotte
— BattleSwarm (@BattleSwarmBlog) December 5, 2014
I guess Marcotte learned nothing from the time she called people skeptical of the Duke lacrosse rape-accuser: “rape-loving scum”.
Marcotte was gardly alone in her freakout. Take, for example, Sally Kohn:
Stupid f*cking slimy victim-blaming Rolling Stone….
— Sally Kohn (@sallykohn) December 5, 2014
Or Jessica Valenti:
The amount of glee being expressed at what is an objectively awful day for rape victims is truly astounding
— Jessica Valenti (@JessicaValenti) December 5, 2014
People would be a lot more likely to believe feminists on rape if they weren’t using it as yet another excuse to wage culture war for their far-left wing Social Justice Warrior/Victimhood Identity Politics goals.
Finally, via Twitchy, comes this gem:
Apparently a Rolling Stone also gathers no evidence.
— neontaster (@neontaster) December 5, 2014
