I just read an article about a potential rape case involving at least two men and one woman. They met in a public place, after which the woman was invited back to one of the men's apartment to watch a game on tv. The probable-cause statement suggests the two men may have held the woman at the apartment for several days, raping and prostituting her while she was there. The article also suggests that there were drugs involved.
I find myself automatically siding with the woman. I stopped to think about it, and found my quick decision a little disturbing. I usually keep an open mind about things, not settling on a solid opinion until I know at least parts of both sides of a story, but this time it was not so. I think I am with a lot of other people who automatically side in this way. When a woman is said to have been raped or sexually assaulted (especially in the paper), it seems like people tend to side with her from the beginning. Even the article I read, which is supposedly un-biased, seemed to be on the side of the woman.
Obviously rape is an evil act. No one deserves it; no one is ever asking for it, by definition of the act. It is interesting, though, the way we react to the accusations. I caught myself wondering about why these people met and began hanging out, wondering if drugs were really involved and about the details in this particular situation.
I don't have a point this time, but these are my thoughts.
