General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: What if Barack Obama had been accused of rape? [View all]pnwmom
(108,925 posts)and that no other information had ever come out to show guilt.
And I don't think any evidence has yet about Fairfax (though I haven't read about him this morning -- has something changed?) The situation was different with Kavanaugh. He had a LONG and varied history of inappropriate behavior while drunk. He'd attended multiple parties while drunk, he allegedly had been seen standing in line to go into bedrooms where a drunk girl was being raped. Also, there was a woman at Yale, while he was in grad school, who said that when he was drinking he shoved his penis into her face -- in front of other people. And she had corroborating witnesses.
On the other hand, with Fairfax, the Washington Post spent several months interviewing witnesses at their work, school, and among friends. The Post couldn't find anyone this woman had told about the incident. And they couldn't find any other woman who had something untoward happen to her.
So Effie was asking how do we treat men -- especially black men, given the history of false accusations in the past -- if there is an accusation but no evidence. If they really were alone in a room, differ on how consensual it was, and she told no one after the fact how upset she was. And there is no pattern on anyone's part.
The funny thing is, before she wrote her OP I'd already thought the same thing myself. What if this had happened with Obama. It could have. Anyone could be the subject of a false allegation, for any number of reasons.
All that being said, the situation with Fairfax is fluid. I suspect there will be some kind of investigation, and maybe some credible information will come out. Or maybe some women will decide to take Jacob Wohl up on his offer of the $15K. Or maybe this will encourage somebody else to quietly offer even more. What a nightmare. I NEVER would have thought this could happen before, but nowadays, in a Presidential race? It looks like anything goes.