Ryan McFayden, the Duke Lacrosse player who wrote a vile email fantasizing about what a turn-on it would be to murder and skin a stripper, apparently attended “Take Back The Night,” an annual feminist rally against rape, just a few days after writing the email.
…McFadyen reportedly was one of about 500 people who attended a Take Back the Night march during Sexual Assault Awareness Week at Duke.
“I completely support this event and this entire week,” McFadyen told The Chronicle, Duke’s student newspaper. “It’s just sad that the allegations we are accused of happened to fall when they did.”
Yeah, that’s the sad thing.
Saying you’re against rape doesn’t mean you are against rape. Saying you’re against woman-hating doesn’t mean you don’t loathe women.
This thread is open to feminist, pro-feminist and feminist-friendly posters only. If you don’t think you fall into Amp’s definition of “feminist, pro-feminist and feminist-friendly,” and you wish to make a comment, you may do so at the cross-post on Creative Destruction.
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There was a guy at our UU fellowship who was arrested a few years ago for having sex (& long-term relationship) with a minor (while she was 14-17 yo). We’re talking about a nice family guy, Sunday school teacher, etc. We also found out that he had propositioned some 6th graders he taught in Sunday school, although that never became public as far as I know.
Anyway, when everyone found out, there were a few people (adults) who were absolutely devastated because he had listened so sympathetically to their stories of past sexual abuse (one situation was very similar to what he was accused of!). I mean, he was a really “nice guy”!
Very disturbing…
Before it all came out, I remember having a bad dream about him. When I saw him some time later IRL, I started feeling uneasy toward him and kept chastising myself about it. From that I learned I should trust my instincts more!
Who *doesn’t* know guys hang around these feminist events to score.
Hello?
(echo echo echo).
So, do you think his lawyer suggested he attend, or did he think it up all on his own?
It’s hard not to wonder if McFayden was advised to be at that rally, and I wonder as well how The Chronicle knew he was there, and who identified him so that he could make his “supportive” statement.
None of that matters, Amp; the alleged victim stole a car a few years back so, clearly, she wasn’t raped:
http://www.wral.com/news/8513890/detail.html?rss=ral&psp=news
Judging by this news story, written no doubt by an impartial paragon of journalistic integrity, those lacrosse players could mount the Chewbacca Defense and still win this case in the court of public opinion.
“It’s hard not to wonder if McFayden was advised to be at that rally, and I wonder as well how The Chronicle knew he was there, and who identified him so that he could make his “supportive” statement. ”
Well, he was wearing his jersey, of course. Because his identity and being No. 40-whatever is so incredibly important there are Inuitt hanging out around the Northwest passage discussing the Duke LaCrosse team’s triumphs while seal fishing. (And, it’s a pretty obvious attempt to pretend he personally wasn’t involved or cheering while the crimes occurred.)
There’s an excellent article in USA Today (curtsy: J4TS)
Kell: Point of information: what is the Chewbacca Defense?
““Thanks.
Ted Bundy worked at a rape crisis hotline, presumably because he liked hearing the stories.
Chewbacca Defense
I’m pretty sure that Sadly, No! started the term.
I’m not surprised he appeared actually. In his mind, he’s not a rapist. He simply took what he felt was entitled to him and is probably wondering what all the fuss is about. He and his buddies had some fun and now others are trying to spoil it for them.
He has no care about how other women will feel about his presense at a sensitive event for many women. In my opinion, he’s a racist and a sexual sadist, who was trying to bring his fantasy life into reality through this brutal crime.
This wasn’t just a gender hate crime, it was a racial hate crime. When he pictures a rape victim, it’s obvious he doesn’t see Black women, or women who are hired to strip, or women who aren’t raped by men hiding behind a bush late at night. Maybe he believes the only type of rape that happens is if White women get raped by Black men. Maybe he believes that a consensual relationship between a White woman and a Black man is rape. It’s not inconceivable that his warped views of what rape is could influence his presense at the event. Of course, he could be doing the proverbial thumbing the nose at the authorities or trying to look sympathetic as well.
Also, there is a history of White men raping Black women either because they owned them as slaves or because they felt it was their right to do so. Those men did and do not consider it rape. They considered it their right. Those belief systems haven’t gone away. They still exist today and in many cases, they are backed by the criminal justice system.
Mythago’s suggestion in #3 is probably on the mark. He must have gone to bolster his defense: “How can I have raped someone? I went to TBTN!” Likewise the prominence of his comment suggests that he was looking to be quoted, looking to make it known that he attended.
Also, doesn’t 500 attendees sound depressingly small a Take Back The Night event at a school the size of Duke? I went to a university with around 3,000 students and we’d usually have upwards of 1,000 attendees. I guess it’s just another statement about the climate on campus after what their peers did…
Sorry, I don’t get why you’re asking me. I wasn’t trying to “overwhelm with details,” I was being sarcastic about the importance Ryan M. seems to place on his team membership. (Immediately after the accusations hit the national airwaves, the team members were seen in a local bar chanting “Duke LaCrosse,” as if invoking their percieving privilege over others would somehow protect them.)
As for his attendance at the march, as others have said, he could have gone to try to bolster his defense.
So, what’s up with the “Chewbacca” question?
Oops! I’m sorry, Kell. I misread. It was Monkey Testicle that used the term in the post before yours and so my question should have been directed there. I asked because I’d never heard the term before, that’s all. In any event, thanks mythago, for the link to a definition of the term.