Saturday 11 June 2016

If This Is Your 'Better Future', I Want No Part Of It...

A woman who blamed a Stanford University sexual assault victim for drinking too much alcohol has issued a defensive apology, marking the latest controversy surrounding an athlete who avoided prison time for attacking an unconscious woman.
Her apology for what? Why, simply writing a letter that the feminists felt might be a little too near the truth for their liking:
Leslie Rasmussen, a childhood friend of former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, who was convicted of three felonies, wrote a letter to the judge saying that the assault was “a huge misunderstanding”, Turner is “not a monster”, and that she thought it was unfair “to base the fate of the next ten + years of his life on the decision of a girl who doesn’t remember anything”.
And why the need to be defensive (a description I note the 'Guardian' has never used in the context of any statement made by a failing government department...)?

Well, because the Internet lynch mob promptly set out to ruin her, of course. The irony that they are probably the same subset of progressive whackos spitting feathers at the hobbling of Gawker by billionaire Peter Thiel will not be lost on anyone...
The letter – a selection of which the judge read in court, saying it was a useful reference that highlighted Turner’s strong character – went viral this week, sparking national outrage from people who said it perpetuated rape culture and cast blame on victims.
In the wake of significant backlash, Northside Festival, a New York music showcase, announced Tuesday that it had dropped Rasmussen’s band from its lineup, and her group, Good English, has now released an apology from Rasmussen.
And even that wasn't enough to satiate the mob:
After publication of this article, Rasmussen posted a second apology on her personal Facebook page, saying it was wrong for her to make assumptions about what happened that night.
“Most importantly, I did not acknowledge strongly enough the severity of Brock’s crime and the suffering and pain that his victim endured, and for that lack of acknowledgement, I am deeply sorry. I fully understand the outrage over Brock’s sentencing and my statement. I can only say that I am committed to learning from this mistake. I am 20 years old, and it has never been more clear to me that I still have much to learn.”
And, naturally, this unedifying display of silencing of the heretic is immediately taken up this side of the pond:
If we truly want to fight for a better future, we need to work together to dismantle the rape culture in society and make sure all survivors get the justice and support that is deserved.
I don't think I really want a future where those who point out the obvious are immediately electronically lynched, frankly.

3 comments:

Jonathan said...

"In the wake of significant backlash, Northside Festival, a New York music showcase, announced Tuesday that it had dropped Rasmussen’s band from its lineup, and her group, Good English, has now released an apology from Rasmussen."

If you think that's insane, see here:

"Two French festivals on Friday cancelled shows by Eagles of Death Metal, the band whose 13 November show in Paris turned into a bloodbath, after the frontman made remarks critical of Muslims."

We're through the Looking Glass.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/20/french-festivals-ditch-eagles-of-death-metal-over-singers-comments-jesse-hughes

Anonymous said...

Yes, and as a drummer in a working band it seems really unfair to the other musicians that they should be punished and potentially lose income because a young woman, who happens to be a singer, wrote a letter in defence of her childhood friend presumably as directed by the Court (or his defence team at least...) Forget about the moral aspects of the letter itself, and whether you believe that people should take some responsibility for the amount of alcohol they put in their body, but surely at a festival the audience would have been free to simply not go and see the band if they objected to something that this young woman said about her childhood friend, and then the band would still get paid at least! When it reaches the point where fucking musicians have to all speak according to the officially mandated guidelines it makes me fearful for who might be next; poets? Writers? Journalists..?

JuliaM said...

"We're through the Looking Glass."

Dear lord, it's worse than I thought... :/

"...but surely at a festival the audience would have been free to simply not go and see the band if they objected to something that this young woman said about her childhood friend..."

It's apparently 'social justice' not to allow them that choice. Never have two words been twisted so much.