As an alumnus of Phi Kappa Psi, I was outraged that my brothers at the University of Virginia were falsely accused of gang rape in that now-retracted Rolling Stone story. The hoax fell apart as thoroughly as can be imagined, and everyone involved in reporting, editing, publishing, and defending such an egregious libel should hang their heads in shame.
But they’re incapable of shame. So they must be punished. They must be shown the consequences of dividing the world into Designated Victims and Oppressors By Default, and then refusing to see anything outside that narrow worldview.
A Virginia judge has denied Rolling Stone magazine’s attempt to throw out a $25 million lawsuit filed by the fraternity that was the focus on its now debunked article about a gang rape…
Charlottesville Circuit Judge Richard E. Moore said in his decision released Thursday that the statements made about the fraternity in the story could reasonably be considered defamatory.
Yes, I think it’s reasonable to say it’s defamatory to falsely accuse people of gang-raping a woman on a bed of broken glass as an initiation ritual. If that’s not defamatory, I don’t know what is.
It’s fine to hate frat boys. Go ahead. I hate frat boys, and I was one. But these young men didn’t do what Rolling Stone accused them of doing in front of the whole world, and they deserve their day in court.
And that’s not “rape denial.” It doesn’t minimize the plight of actual rape victims. Crying wolf minimizes the plight of actual rape victims. Rape is a horrible crime, which is why it matters whether or not an accused rapist actually did it.
How would you feel if you were accused of a crime you didn’t commit, and everybody assumed you did it because of your race, or gender, or social status, or something else they don’t like about you? Wouldn’t you want to clear your name? Wouldn’t you want to hold your accusers accountable?
I guess what I’m saying is: Frat Lives Matter.
