Paranoia strikes deep. So does male patriarchy. Almost dreamily, Ross Douthat in yesterday’s New York Times bemoans a typical scene in American college life. Alcohol-fueled parties, he says, are a “twilit (or strobe-lit) scene in which many alleged sexual assaults take place.” Fair enough, but he then goes on to say the party environment is …
Category: Media Missteps
Buzzfeed on Dr. Kim Fromme: Blackout, Rape, & Common Sense
Katie Baker’s Buzzfeed article from August 7th showcased Dr. Kim Fromme, a clinical psychologist at UT Austin. Fromme has become a sought-after defense expert on alcohol consumption and its relationship to consent in sexual assault cases. This also makes her a flashpoint in an ongoing culture war. Sometimes, this is inevitable, and even desirable. Things …
David Brooks, Please Don’t Assume What I “Get” on Gun Control as a Progressive
In his latest column, focusing on various afflictions plaguing the American working class, David Brooks had this to say about gun control: “It’s a culture [the American working class] that celebrates people who are willing to fight to defend their honor. This is something that progressives never get about gun control. They see a debate about …
Dan and Brock Turner, and the Lie of Alcohol, Promiscuity and Victim Blaming
A portion of Dan Turner’s letter to his son Brock’s sentencing judge was released last week after Turner, 20, was sentenced for three felony counts of sexual assault. He received three years probation and only six months in jail, a risibly light punishment. Turner was actually caught in the act of sexually penetrating the victim; two graduate …
Cathy Young Wants Feminists to Describe Rape As “Ugly Sexual Encounters.” Don’t Let Her.
It might be irony, the way it’s commonly portrayed. Or it might just be rank hypocrisy. Whatever it is, Cathy Young, in her May 20, 2015, post embodies it. The caption under the istock photo the Washington Post chose to accompany this vacuous and alarmist piece was the following: “We need to stop prosecuting bad behavior as …