I have avoided this topic, mainly because it seems so obvious. Bill Cosby drugged women in order to sexually assault them. That’s my opinion and I’m sticking with it. Via NYT:
While Mr. Cosby insisted the only drug he had given Ms. Constand was Benadryl, he was open about his access in the 1970s to quaaludes, a sedative also popular as a party drug.
He said he obtained seven prescriptions for them over two to three years from a doctor in Los Angeles, ostensibly for a sore back but in reality to give to women.
He admitted to giving young women quaaludes at that time “the same as a person would say have a drink,” he said, but not without their knowledge.
Though he portrayed the drug-taking and sex as consensual, Mr. Cosby — when asked whether Ms. Serignese was in a position to consent to sexual intercourse after he gave her quaaludes in 1976 — said: “I don’t know.”
So, he admits to that – and that’s a biggie.
Which brings me to my conversation with Al Mascitti. Al did a good job today, but he was up against a ton of stupid with Wally and John. The kind of stupid women deal with on a daily basis – yep, even from “Progressive” men. The theme, which is constantly on display, is that women are liars, set out to destroy innocent men’s lives. After all, why would Cosby – a famous, rich man – have to drug women to have sex? Women are falling over themselves to have sex this guy… right? Here’s the answer. Remove sex from the equation and insert power. Of course, Cosby could have sex with a lot of women, but he didn’t want those women. I’m not even sure he wanted sexual acts. What he wanted was power and control. See the difference?
And there are too many of these guys in society. (I, and LiberalGeek, have linked to this study before.)
He found them by, over a 20-year period, asking some 2,000 men in college questions like this: “Have you ever had sexual intercourse with someone, even though they did not want to, because they were too intoxicated [on alcohol or drugs] to resist your sexual advances?”
Or: “Have you ever had sexual intercourse with an adult when they didn’t want to because you used physical force [twisting their arm, holding them down, etc.] if they didn’t cooperate?”
About 1 in 16 men answered “yes” to these or similar questions.
Everybody got that? 1 in 16.
It might seem like it would be hard for a researcher to get these men to admit to something that fits the definition of rape. But Lisak says it’s not. “They are very forthcoming,” he says. “In fact, they are eager to talk about their experiences. They’re quite narcissistic as a group — the offenders — and they view this as an opportunity, essentially, to brag.”
What Lisak found was that students who commit rape on a college campus are pretty much like those rapists in prison. In both groups, many are serial rapists. On college campuses, repeat predators account for 9 out of every 10 rapes.
And these offenders on campuses — just like men in prison for rape — look for the most vulnerable women. Lisak says that on a college campus, the women most likely to be sexually assaulted are freshmen.
They. Brag. About. It. As long as you don’t call it rape. Using physical force? That’s okay. They didn’t want to have sex? Go on ahead! Too drunk to consent? Well, that’s a green light – with the added bonus of it being her fault!
And if you defend this behavior (or blame the woman), please know that YOU are a big part of the problem. If you trot out Duke or Rolling Stone’s bad journalism as examples – YOU are part of the problem.
Basically, if you dismiss voter fraud as a real issue, but trot out false rape accusations (even though they are in line with every other false criminal accusation) YOU are part of the problem… and probably relate to MRAs (Men’s Rights Activists) and PUAs/Anti PUAs (Pick-Up Artists/Anti-Pick-Up Artists) – you know, like Elliot Rodgers.
If you think most women lie about these things – YOU are not only part of the problem, YOU give cover to those raping women – because if the miniscule amount of false accusations (which rarely – and I mean rarely – result in prosecution, let alone any sort of punishment) is your focus, then your focus is screwed up. But, I’d bet that’s deliberate, because if this is the hill you’ve chosen to die on, while ignoring other hills (falsely accused of murder, embezzlement, robbery, etc.) then you need to reexamine where you are coming from and why sexual crimes against women hold a uniquely special place in your outrage. If you are not crying “innocent until proven guilty!” for people charged with murder, embezzlement, drug dealing, etc. then you need to sit down and be quiet about this… or , better yet, ask yourself what’s so different about this accusation?
We need to teach our sons about consent. I have a son, and I have all the same fears as you have. I am not anti-male. In fact, I probably worry more about my son than my daughter, because pregnancy isn’t something I have a say in when it comes to him and his partner. That’s her call. So when it comes to sex I talk about the consequences (out of his control) more with my son. Go figure.
In August my daughter becomes a freshmen at university. Am I worried. Sure. I know there will be predators targeting her – predators egged on by good guys. What would make me sleep better is if we could all teach our boys to not only understand consent, but to call out the 1 in 16 who brag about their assaults over brewskies. Imagine if men started calling out this behavior. It would go a long way.
And because this always needs to be said… #notallmen.