Discussion for article #230864
If this proves to have been a hoax then “Jackie” should run the full gauntlet both of women groups doing their best to assist rape victims and then our justice system, god awful as it is. The twit, as she may be, has just done her damnedest to set back efforts to better support rape victims seeking justice in this country. Out her and put her on display if she lied.
“Thank You” Rolling stone to admit even the possibility that you were duped. Thanks for the f’ing integrity! Nice to see that from media in these sorry times.
However it would have been a whole lot better if you have better vetted the article before publishing it!
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My problem is that it may delegitimatize actual rapes that occur on and off campus every day. It isn’t an uncommon occurance and in fact a former girlfrield was raped by an acquaintance in college.
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System check…
Just scrolling though to see if the comments are working.
~OGD~
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I suspect Rolling Stone is making this public statement now in a desperate attempt to get out in front of the inevitable defamation lawsuit from the fraternity.
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Exactly! I’ve had two female friends, at least those willing to confide in me, be raped, one gang raped in Germany. I cannot begin to describe the changes in them afterward. I saw one of the most positive, vibrant, trusting women I knew, a favorite backpacking partner who lived and loved life more than most people I know become a f’ing empty broken shell of a person. And there was not one damn thing I could say or do to bring her back.
This “Jackie” thing, if she made her story up, should get all the attention she has earned. And not in a good way. It’s far too difficult for a woman who as actually been raped to see justice served as it is. And even harder for them to ever attain life as it was before the rape.
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Um, based on what evidence? As I understand it, it’s basically her word against the fratboys’ denials, and I must say I’m not particularly inclined to believe a fraternity with a fully substantiated history of rape and assault. Also, f*ck RS for printing this and then suddenly getting cold feet—unless they know for a fact that her story was a fabrication, it’s COMPLETELY unacceptable for them to go and undercut these women.
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Jackie was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and contemplated suicide following her rape. Not that I endorse this “legitimately-raped-women-are-always-broken-and-miserable” trope, but there doesn’t appear to be any doubt about the hell her life has been over these past two years.
This is a tragedy for the countless real victims of sexual abuse who need to be heard,and believed before they can
begin the healing process.
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The sound of “breaking glass”. This is so disappointing, yet somehow not a surprise.
Whatever happened to that thing we used to call “editing”?
Sloppy work like this only feeds skepticism about old and new news sources. If the story turns out to be 100% true after all, no one will believe it. If Rolling Stone gets a great story on something else tomorrow and runs it, no one will believe it.
Apparently, in their rush to publish, no responsible person at Rolling Stone bothered to look critically about a major story. Damn them, damn their sloppiness, and damn everybody else who has forsaken care in the rush to get some story out there.
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I would still like to have someone explain to me the necessity of interviewing the fraternity and/or its brothers. What does one think their response would be? “Oh, sure, we raped, but she was asking for it.” Come on. They would have simply denied any accusations and insisted that the woman had made up her story. To what end?? The thrill of being outed as a victim in a national publication? Please. The only possible motivation, other than fame-seeking, would have been to make some money. Did RS pay her? No evidence presented. Rolling Stone is not a prosecutor, there are no “rules of evidence” governing their story, and if the frat is so worked up about it, they have recourse to a civil suit. All of this simply distracts from the salient point that a woman was drugged and brutally attacked. Let’s resolve that issue before we start defending these poor “innocent” boys.
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The point is, sloppy reporting and editing casts the entire story in a negative light. The girls’ story may be totally accurate, but nobody will believe it now because Rolling Stone skipped some critical and necessary steps in writing, editing, and publishing the story.
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Did you even read the post? It says the frat didn’t appear to have a party on the night the woman said she was raped, the guy she said took her to the party wasn’t a member of the frat and that “Jackie” tried to back out of the story but the reporter wouldn’t let her. It was incredibly shoddy reporting and now RS has to cop to it. It appears that you, like so many others, just don’t want to hear facts that don’t fit the narrative you want to believe.
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Rolling Stone must also be held accountable for putting out a story that is now starting to show many holes. I agree that there is a case for them being negligent in their reporting, especially when Jackie asked to be excluded from said story when she believed it to become distorted.
The whole grimy ball of wax pisses me off.
Do rapes occur in fraternity houses? You bet! Do they occur off campus? You bet!
While a senior in college I was instructed to drive to my fraternity’s house at the University of Missouri and remove the chapters charter and seal for suspected rapes. Upon entering the chapter house we learned that a gang rape was taking place on the second floor. No one ever heard about it. This was 1969.
If Jackie was distraught that the RS story was being embellished she could and should have raised hell to other media outlets.
This entire thing stinks. But the bigger issue is how it impacts efforts to reform how we, as a society, view rape and the victims of rape.
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This sucks so bad. The stories of the other women and the ridiculous gauntlet they were put through at UVA aren’t disputed. The stats aren’t disputed. Just Jackie’s story. But now they will all be lumped together as sensationalism.
I was telling a personal story recently to a friend and realized I was obviously off in my timeline. It surprised me, I have a decent memory. Some specifics (I had never been punched before) and aftermath (him telling me he didn’t realize I was “nice”) I will always remember. Other things are hazy and a few things are completely gone.
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It’s basic journalism. If somebody accused you of rape, don’t you think you deserve a chance to respond? Don’t you think a news organization has a responsibility to verify instead of running with anything it’s told?
I fear the entire country, including this space, is devolving into a bunch of mindless, partisan hacks.
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Could well be.
RS has no choice, it is their way of saying the entire account was made up BS. The person who is undercutting actual rape victims are liars like this author of the story. This is why rapist are getting harder and harder to convict. Unless there is a mountain of physical evidence victims, especially in college and in the military, are not believed, but have the burden of proof placed on them, when they make allegations.
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Or worse, they are expelled for bringing the accusation in the first place for having to admit to breaking rules in telling their story. They were drinking while underage, used a fake id, breaking curfew, etc.
It has always been hard to convict someone for rape, that hasn’t changed. This just makes it harder.
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