An Open Letter To Phylicia Rashad

Did you ever hear the expression, ‘Sometimes it’s best to say nothing’? I wish you had because maybe then you would have kept quiet, rather than coming out in support of ALLEGED serial rapist Bill Cosby.

Sure, you can support your friend; you can say you are shocked to hear these stories; you can say this doesn’t sound like the man you know. But what you cannot, and should not, say is that this never happened, and especially not for the ludicrous reasons you give.

You said, and I’ll quote:

“What you’re seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it’s orchestrated. I don’t know why or who’s doing it, but it’s the legacy. And it’s a legacy that is so important to the culture.”

So, you’re just gonna toss out a conspiracy theory with absolutely nothing to back it up? Not so bright, Phylicia. And why, why, would nearly thirty women, over the course of forty-some-odd years, who don’t know one another, suddenly gather now to destroy the legacy of a TV star? What do they gain by that?

Nothing; nothing except having their voices heard, their accusations levied.

You said all of this is being done to keep him off television — Cosby had a new TV deal in the works before these dozens of women came forward which has since been canceled — but if that’s the story, then why didn’t these women come forward back in his 1980s heyday with their ‘lies’? Why now, is what I’m asking? Why would a woman say that Cosby raped her in the 70s … in the 80s … in the 90s … wait twenty, thirty, forty years to come forward? What do they have to gain?

Nothing; nothing except having their voices heard, their accusations levied.

And I am not saying he’s guilty, though I am saying that once nearly thirty women come forward with nearly identical tales of being drugged and raped by Bill Cosby, his innocence seems slightly tarnished; I do believe in innocent until proven guilty but since he’ll never have to face his accusers, and since he refuses to even speak about it, do we just look the other way and pretend these women don’t exist?

But you don’t stop there, with talk of legacies and conspiracies, you take the ridiculousness up a notch by claiming that, while working with Cosby, you never saw any sign of this type of behavior from him. Well, Phylicia, did you expect? Do you think he would have brought these women onto the set of The Cosby Show and drugged and raped them in front of everyone? Rapists hide; rapists lie; rapists deceive. They don’t declare to their co-workers that they spent the weekend trying to drug Beverly Johnson so they could forcibly rape her.

And then you appeared on Good Morning America and continued to put your foot in your mouth. You said Bill Cosby could not do those things because he’s an intellectual.

So, smart men don’t rape?

You said he couldn’t do it because he’s generous.

So, men who give of their time and money cannot force themselves on women?

I understand you are trying to stand up for your friend, but you need to realize your arguments are lame. No one is trying to tarnish his legacy; not one woman said, back in the 70s, Hmmm, I’ll wait until 2014 and then I’ll say Cosby raped me just so they could ruin his reputation. That’s ridiculous.

Also ridiculous is the way you oh so subtly blame the victims — I’m not talking about your “Forget those women” comment … I’ll get to that in a minute — and yet simply ignore the fact that there must be some shred of truth when thirty women step forward and tell the same story of how they met Cosby, what he said to them, where he took them, what he did to them, and what he said to them after.

Thirty women cannot be wrong; not all of them.

Now, I’ll back you up on this, because, in your statement, you said, and again I quote in full, about Beverly Johnson and Janice Dickinson specifically:

“Forget these women. What you’re seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it’s orchestrated. I don’t know why or who’s doing it, but it’s the legacy. And it’s a legacy that is so important to the culture.”

You didn’t mean to literally forget them, you meant to take them out of the equation so you could show off your conspiracy theory about a shadowy someone trying to ruin Cosby’s legacy. But you are being rude, and shaming, to these women when you say Bill Cosby couldn’t have done these things because he’s smart, philanthropic and never did it in front of you.

Stand up for your friend, if you will, but bear in mind there has to be a grain of truth, or perhaps an entire sand dune of truth, in the stories. Stand up for your friend, but take a minute to stop and think about why, why, these women would do this now, and why, why, Bill Cosby won’t answer his accusers. Stand up for your friend, but realize that when you do, you are also saying that these thirty women ... and counting ... are all liars.

Then take a seat.

Lincoln University President Robert Jennings Blames Women For Rape

Stories of sexual assault on college campuses have been all over the news lately, especially with regards to college athletes who sexually assault women being given a kind of pass because, you know, football … or basketball … money. But, Robert Jennings, president of Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, says we cannot blame the rapists, but we should sometimes blame the women because they ask for it.

"Men treat you — treat women — the way women allow us to treat them. When it comes time to make that final decision, we’re going to go down the hall and marry that girl with the long dress on.  And let me tell you why I know I’m right about it. I’m right about it because we had on this campus last semester, three cases of young women, who after having done whatever they did with the young men, and then it didn’t turn out the way they wanted it to turn out, guess what they did? They then went to Public Safety and said, ‘He raped me.’” — Robert Jennings at, of all places, at Lincoln's All Women's Convocation in September

Trouble is, what Jennings seemed to have been saying doesn’t appear to be true. Michael Noone, the first assistant district attorney in Chester County, says he has never heard one single report of rape at Lincoln from the last semester, and the one allegation of attempted sexual assault was dropped because "it could not be proved beyond a reasonable doubt."

But that didn’t stop Jennings:

“When you allege that somebody did something of that nature to you, you go to jail. I don’t care how close they are to finishing the degree, their whole life changes overnight. Why am I saying all this, ladies? I’m saying this because, first and foremost, don’t put yourself in a situation that would cause you to be trying to explain something that really needs no explanation had you not put yourself in that situation.”

He’s victim blaming and victim shaming; it’s a woman’s fault if she gets raped because she was in a place where she shouldn’t be, like in public, or dressed in a way she shouldn’t dress because men cannot control their sexual urges when a woman dresses provocatively — as in wearing clothes — and so if they rape her, well, she was kinda asking for it.

All of Jennings’s comments were caught on videotape during the conference, but now, of course, he’s claiming that they were edited and taken out of context:

“No one would ever discourage a young woman on this campus from reporting a sexual assault. In fact, I emphasize to them how serious that allegation is and that the university takes it very seriously and so does the federal government and so does the court.”

And yet at the very meeting where he made his outrageous statements, there was a presentation for female students to show them how to dress; they were told not to show panty lines or wear dark bras under white shirts because that means they want to be raped.

And if they dress like that, and if they are raped, then it is their fault, and they shouldn’t press charges because they might ruin the life of a college male who’s close to graduating.

For its part, Lincoln University said that the point of the convocation was to help female students make "informed decisions about dating, in an effort to protect them from some males who may mislead them," and noted President Jennings "holds the same kind of conversation with male students in their convocation."

Bully for him that he talks to male students about the subject, but you know he also tells those students that just because a woman looks like she wants to be raped, and goes to a place where she’s likely to be raped, doesn’t mean they should rape her.

Now, to be fair, I’m sure there are cases of women who cry rape when it wasn’t rape, but that is not the norm, and that does not ever mean you blame any woman who says she was raped. You investigate, fully, and then you punish the perpetrator, either the rapist, or the woman who lied about being raped. You do not simply lump every rape allegation into the “She Asked For It” or “She’s Just Pissed Because He Never Called Back” category.

And Jennings should be ashamed of himself for suggesting that, and he should step down immediately. It’s a disgusting tale he’s telling.

Now, of course, Jennings is no longer playing the “out of context” game and has issued an apology … of sorts:

"My message was intended to emphasize personal responsibility and mutual respect. I apologize for my choice of words. I certainly did not intend to hurt or offend anyone."

He didn’t intend to offend anyone.

Note to Robert Jennings: It should have gone like this:

“I’m sorry I offended anyone with my remarks. I’m sorry I hurt anyone. I.Was.Wrong.”

That’s an apology.

via NCRM

A Cop, Convicted Of Sexual Assault, Gets His Gun Back

On the heels of the Michael Brown murder in Ferguson, Missouri, we’ve all been focusing on our police officers. Are they doing what we expect? Are they upholding the laws, no matter what? Are they protecting and serving all the citizens? And if they aren’t, are they being removed from duty? And, when they are deemed, and proven to be bad cops, what happens to them?

Well, if you’re a bad cop, like Dennis Krauss, the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles will restore your right to carry a gun even though you have been convicted of sexually assaulting a woman while on duty. And this wasn’t the first accusation Krauss faced; at least ten different women complained he threatened to arrest them unless they had sex with him. And a man said that Krauss threatened to arrest him on falsified charges unless the man allowed Krauss to have sex with his wife.

Yeah, he’s a dream of a police officer, eh?

But finally, it took one woman to stand up to Krauss and finally, after a trial, where he was found guilty, his police career was over. Here's the account of the assault:

...the record shows that on December 5, 1999, Krauss, a uniformed officer with the police department, was dispatched to the trailer home of the victim after she called 911. When Krauss arrived, the victim told him that her husband had hit her and that she wanted her husband to leave. Krauss, however, asked the victim to go with him in the police car. In the car, Krauss told the victim that he could take her to jail if he wanted to for domestic violence. The victim testified that at this point she became frightened; she also stated that she believed that she was in custody and was not free to leave. The victim told Krauss that she did not want to go to jail. He told her that they “could take care of it.” When asked how she “could take care of it,” Krauss told her “[b]y having sex with him.” Krauss also said, “We can go to the motel or you can go to jail.”

Once in the room, Krauss took his gun from his gun belt and told the victim he wanted to have anal sex with her with the gun. The victim refused, started crying, and, at Krauss's order, sat on the bed. Krauss then pushed her back, pulled off her pants, and had sex with her.  The victim stayed in the police car; when asked why she had done so, she said, “I had to, I was afraid to leave, he, you know, he is a police officer; you don't just leave.” She also stated that she thought she was under arrest. After securing a room, Krauss drove the police car around the back of the motel, got out, opened the door for the victim, and pushed her toward the door of the room.  Krauss drove to a motel, got out of the car, and went into the office to get a room.

The victim continued crying and told Krauss she wanted to go home. Krauss dressed and dropped by the motel office to get a refund on the room; while he was in the office, the victim again stayed in the car, testifying that she felt “locked in” and “under his authority.” After leaving the motel office, Krauss drove the victim home.

Dennis Krauss, a police officer, was convicted of sexual assault against a person in custody and his conviction was upheld on appeal. But, after a hearing the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles restored his “right” to carry a gun. 

A police officer, who used his position in the community to terrorize women, and men, so he could get his rocks off; a police officer, who while wearing his uniform, while on the job, forced women to have sex with him under threat of going to jail; he victimized victims and lost his job because of it. And then, he gets his gun back; a convicted rapist.

And most sickening of all is that he is not alone; Krauss is purportedly just one of 358 violent felons who have regained their gun rights over the last six years; 32 convicted killers and 44 sex offenders have been given their guns back.

Way to protect and serve your citizenry Georgia. And America, too, where gun owners can use their guns to terrorize people and still be able to keep them.

source

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