08/04/04

Sex Hysteria In Colorado

Dear AH:

I live in Boulder, Colorado, which has recently become the sex abuse capital of the free world, and have been watching the feminist sex abuse hysteria machine make short work of first the Air Force Academy and now the University of Colorado Athletic Department. It has been an amazing thing to watch as the various "victim advocate" groups, an outrageously biased media, and some apparently very stupid politicians turn situations that probably exist at any college into huge scandals that are destroying the careers of honest people long before any investigations are even conducted.

As the father of lovely 14 year old girl, I certainly have no sympathy for rapists and would personally like to see the harshest penalties possible for violent rapists. However, according to the facts so far published, none of these cases that are currently causing all the trouble in Colorado involve violence or even coercion. In fact, all of them are of the "I was to drunk to give consent" or "I don't remember what happened" variety and so are in that area that feminists insist are rape but rational folks would perceive as "a regrettable sexual event." At the heart of the scandal is the definition of rape that is being used but the nuances of this definition are not a matter of public discussion. In fact, the victim advocates groups have made a point of not allowing people on the investigative panels who might think that sexual regret does not equal rape (they are "not victim friendly"). All the general public hears and reacts to is that "10 women have been raped" by CU football players since 1989. The facts are that those few cases that were reported to the authorities and investigated were found not to have sufficient evidence of rape to warrant prosecution. They were either he said/she said or just she said and no he was ever identified. The same is true of the cases so far discussed publicly at the Air Force Academy. In other words, none of these appear to be violent or forced rapes, they all involve alcohol, and often the word 'No" was never spoken. The women however remain unhappy that people weren't jailed based on their words alone and so, if we have unhappy self proclaimed victims, we must have a culture that "doesn't respect women." And that of course must be corrected. It's my belief that the majority of "victims" will always be unhappy with the way their sex assault claims were handled and if I can find two of them at any school I have the making of a scandal (coming to a college near you). The victim advocates group get more donations since they are valiantly struggling against the "rape culture" that (of course) patriarchal society prefers to have, feminist lawyers get rich, and the hapless leaders in the affected institutions are replaced with individuals who are more "victim friendly." Thus the feminist cause is advanced, misinformation is spread, and politicians tremble in fear of women's groups. Of course the results of the investigations, which will probably be that there still isn't enough evidence to convict anybody, will be downplayed (as in Tailhook) and never publicized..

A local victims advocate group called MESA (Movement to End Sexual Assault) has been the most vocal of the many different victims group who have been howling about these scandals. Recently, an exchange occurred between a sports columnist for the Boulder Daily Camera and the head of MESA regarding False Accusations. His point, which I thought he made rather well ( see this link ), was that it isn't OK to not worry about false accusations and that the head of MESA should be ashamed of herself for trivializing the false accusation problem. The head of MESA responded with a guest opinion (see this link) that basically says that rape is epidemic and that false allegations are so few as to not warrant concern. She sites a study I am not familiar with by Dr. David Lisak and another called "Rape in America" that found that 25% of all college women are raped. I was expecting the usual references to the Koss study and the FBI stats. Is anyone familiar with these studies and how valid are they? I haven't seen them discussed in the various MRA sites I have perused.

What really drove this home for me was my eighth grade daughter telling me at the dinner table that she had been a "victim's advocate" in a mock rape trial conducted in her Health Class. I questioned her more and it turns out that MESA had come and conducted several sessions of her Health Class (note that this is in the Boulder Valley Public Schools). She also recited to me that 1 in 4 women will be raped in her life time, that only 2% of rape allegations are false, and that it's sexual harassment if he touched you "anywhere but your elbows." I couldn't believe the very ms.information I see discussed on the MRA sites is suddenly coming out of my daughters mouth and that she had been taught by the very public school system that my tax dollars support.

I am now considering how to have a constructive discussion with my daughter about the misperceptions she's been force fed and how to react to the school district that is apparently intent on turning her into a man hating "victim waiting to be offended". I also feel helpless as I watch the feminist machine work on the University of Colorado and manipulate the information published in the local and national media so effortlessly. Frankly, I'm surprised not to see more discussion about these scandals on the various MRA sites (with the exception of some excellent pieces by Paul Robbins). It almost seems like some anti-feminist groups (IWF?) should be helping the University respond to the allegations just as the victims groups are actively helping the prosecutors fan the flames of public outrage. From where I sit, it looks like the feminists are being extremely effective at furthering their cause and I don't see much standing in their way. I myself am a local business man and am ashamed to admit that I fear if I personally start writing letters to the editor it will affect my business in the very politically correct city of Boulder (I know, I'm part of the problem but I am nearing retirement).

It's clear to me that both the Air Force and CU sex scandals are the result of a "culture of sex abuse hysteria" and it's already costing us all millions of tax dollars in legal fees as well as the destruction of many innocent peoples lives. I urge any of you who read this to e-mail Neil Woelk and support him and to do whatever you can to get the message to the Daily Camera and other media that people are aware and tired of their outrageously biased reporting. 

AH - thanks for letting me rant and keep up the good work. Your web site has been very important to me personally.

H