A Male Feminist On False Rape Accusations
Self-proclaimed feminist Newby Parton, who is male, writes in Princeton's Daily Princetonian about speaking up at a recent town hall meeting on the new sexual assault procedures put in place at the University. He supports the measures. However:
I voiced a single worry at the town hall meeting: that the new "preponderance of the evidence" standard will, definitionally, increase the likelihood of false convictions. Unknowingly, I had struck a hole into a dam. Cries of "rape culture" spewed forth....A student who spoke after me argued that the "preponderance" standard is necessary because evidence in a rape case is inherently shaky. If a victim steps forward a month after the rape, there may not be any evidence at all.
This is a consideration I sympathize with. However, the belief between the lines -- that verbal testimony alone should be enough to convict an accused perpetrator -- worries me. So too do the finger quotes that female speakers slashed into the air when they spoke about "rights of the accused." Their meaning was clear and powerful: Accused men do not have rights, and the best way to fight rape culture is to presume men guilty until proven innocent.
The truth is that, as with any crime, false accusations do happen. Maybe my worry -- that these new and valuable victories will come at the cost of false convictions -- is misplaced. Maybe mistakes will be rare enough that the benefit of suspending more rapists will outweigh the cost of suspending more innocent people. I don't know, and neither does anyone else. What I do know is that this same worry affects other men.
Here is my great concern: The input from worried men was not received kindly at the town hall. Rather, I was accused of being "steeped in rape culture." My accuser was not alone in her belief, for her comment set off an avalanche of smug glances aimed in my direction. Buried there, I did not dare speak again -- my ideas were not welcome.
But this is an important conversation, and all ideas should be heard. A few women have turned the dialogue into a battle against men and women, and in doing so I fear that they will turn men away from feminism. Men feel marginalized when our worries about a real, higher risk of wrongful suspension are disregarded. Attributing these worries to rape culture only distances us further because we begin to think that this is what feminism has become -- a bias against males that mistakes all male viewpoints for oppression.
Treating an accused perpetrator as innocent until he is found guilty can be an outgrowth of human decency, not rape culture. Similarly, the belief that men are guilty until proven innocent is misandry, not feminism. Keeping the two separate is important. Feminism is the struggle to reach equality for the sexes. It is not misandry, a bias against males.
via @CHSommers
Can't sleep.
Too worried about the football player and his 3-way with two female teachers.
Apparently, no one signed an agreement before getting horizontal.
Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at October 3, 2014 3:48 AM
Aww poor baby, your female allies turned against you so quickly.
Who didnt see that coming?
lujlp at October 3, 2014 5:11 AM
You can be for equality, or not.
MarkD at October 3, 2014 6:07 AM
So universities can have a separate legal system? Perhaps insurance companies should start offering a "frequent f*cker" policy, so that horny students can insure themselves against rape charges, paternity suits, etc..
Kate at October 3, 2014 7:37 AM
Just what the hell is the "rape culture"?
Jay at October 3, 2014 8:13 AM
Good question, Jay. Sounds a bit Dworkinesque at that, doesn't it? (From Andrea Dworkin, the late and decidedly unfeminine-looking feminist who believed that consensual sex was impossible in a patriarchal society.)
Big mistake, letting himself be intimidated to silence. He should have driven his pirate all over them.
Patrick at October 3, 2014 8:27 AM
Letting a government entity (or any authority, for that matter) mete out punishment without making it prove its case beforehand is inviting totalitarianism.
That's why the standard of evidence in a criminal trial is "beyond a reasonable doubt" and the trial starts with the presumption of innocence.
The "preponderance of the evidence" standard in a civil trial is because civil trials are for tort resolution and often fall into a he said / she said dialectic.
A tort is a wrongful act (can be a crime, but doesn't have to be) that injures or interferes with another's person or property. A crime is a wrongful act that the applicable government has identified as a crime.
Civil trials are intended to compensate the victim for the negligence or intentional wrongdoing by another. Even in a civil trial, however, the defendant is allowed to question the accuser and present evidence to refute the accusations.
The jury's responsibility in a civil trial is to weigh the evidence presented by both sides.
In the kangaroo courts being set up in universities, the defendant is presumed guilty and not allowed to defend himself. No jury weighs the evidence. It's nothing more than the accused being hauled before a panel which decides his punishment.
A university kangaroo court like this leaves the accused branded for life with a public record of having been ousted from the university for committing a crime - punished for a crime without the any proceedings in which he was be allowed to defend himself against the accusations.
Men need to start bringing accusations against women under this system. We'll see how long it lasts then.
Conan the Grammarian at October 3, 2014 8:50 AM
Editing. We need editing.
Conan the Grammarian at October 3, 2014 8:53 AM
"Men need to start bringing accusations against women under this system. We'll see how long it lasts then."
If that happens, we'll finally see severe punishments for false accusations. The accusing men will quickly shut up.
dee nile at October 3, 2014 9:18 AM
Conan: Men need to start bringing accusations against women under this system. We'll see how long it lasts then.
You don't believe there'll be a double standard operating, in which men actually have to prove their allegations?
Patrick at October 3, 2014 9:31 AM
It occurred to me before I clicked send, why don't these men, who are ousted from the university on sparse or lack of evidence, simply sue the university?
And just to show where I stand on this question, allegations of sexual assault need to be handled by the authorities, not the schools.
Patrick at October 3, 2014 9:33 AM
Parton's naivety is glaring. Feminism is not for equality any more than Masculanism is.
Ben at October 3, 2014 9:33 AM
"Masculanism"? What the hell's that? I must've missed that concept when I was scuba diving, hang gliding, discovering beer, fixin' the fuckin' car again myself, trying to save my non-Dependent ass in this economy, and chasin' chicks. "Masculanism". Never heard of it. HA!
Adam Bein at October 3, 2014 9:50 AM
My advice to college men: Do not date college women. The sex is just as good off campus. If possible, arrange ( through fraternities ) a campus-wide boycott of all college men boycotting all college women. This would (1) force women to date off campus, and, hopefully, (2) bring women to realize how silly these dating rules are and ask you to help them to lobby in getting the rules repealed.
Nick at October 3, 2014 10:00 AM
http://www.avoiceformalestudents.com/list-of-lawsuits-against-colleges-and-universities-alleging-due-process-violations-in-adjudicating-sexual-assault/
@Patrick. They have been suing.
Isab at October 3, 2014 10:06 AM
"Here is my great concern: The input from worried men was not received kindly at the town hall. Rather, I was accused of being "steeped in rape culture." My accuser was not alone in her belief, for her comment set off an avalanche of smug glances aimed in my direction. Buried there, I did not dare speak again -- my ideas were not welcome."
This is a standard and very familiar silencing tactic when it comes to gender. This is also and example of what is called "The Feminist Pimp Hand" - regulating on feminists or women who don't toe the party line.
It is great to it being used on a man-hating feminist man, because:
"But this is an important conversation, and all ideas should be heard. A few women have turned the dialogue into a battle against men and women, and in doing so I fear that they will turn men away from feminism."
It is likely to turn men away from feminism.
Jim at October 3, 2014 11:26 AM
"Just what the hell is the "rape culture"?"
You can look at India, if you want to see actual rape culture.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/06/14/india-rape/10003071/
Are there false accusations here in the US? Yes. Are rapes under reported? Yes. Does the US have a rape culture? I don't think so.
Janet C at October 3, 2014 11:45 AM
"You can look at India, if you want to see actual rape culture."
"But that's merely a vestige of the Britsh patriarchal colonial construct" -- some university professor
Jason S. at October 3, 2014 12:52 PM
Just what the hell is the "rape culture"?
Here are some posts from Pharyngula on the subject. (For those unfamiliar with Pharyngula, the people who went after Parton at that town hall meeting would feel right at home there.)
Rex Little at October 4, 2014 12:28 AM
A male feminist that is a coward, intimidated…and excuse me for this…BY WOMEN…into shutting up? Whom is surprised? Not I, says this guy.
Pa-thet-ic.
Robert at October 4, 2014 3:40 AM
Leave a comment