Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics

 I recently stumbled upon a blogger who has been posting about rape culture and its devastating, rippling effects.  She recently had a run-in with some commenters who disagreed with her decision to not discuss (on a particular post, not her whole blog) the perceived prevalence of false accusations.  On another post she broke down a bunch of reports and percentages to show that statistically (even discounting unreported rapes) the percentage of false accusations was about on par with any other crime – theft, murder, assault, etc.  There is always a percentage of false accusations.  Her point (made much better than I’m summarizing here) is that truth-telling victims should not be punished for the lies other people have told.  That rape culture is real and is not made any less real by those who make false-accusations.

She’s right and I agree with her.  A commenter brought up high profile cases of false accusation that have severely damaged the reputation of rape victims.  One of his examples was Tawana Brawley.  Actually he said Tawana Bradley, which showed me he saw it on the news and didn’t live through it.  His other example I wasn’t familiar with, but I’ve never thought of the Tawana Brawley case of just a simple false accusation rape case.  It was something completely different.

I grew up in the place and time of Tawana Brawley.  Tawana was a teenager who accused six police officers of raping and beating her.  She accused them of rubbing feces on her body and writing lewd, inappropriate words on her body.  It turned out to all be lies.  A police officer hung himself shortly after her accusations came down.  But all this has little or nothing to do with rape culture in my mind.  I don’t disbelieve rape victims because of her.  I don’t instantly think back upon the scandal that tore through my hometown whenever someone calls rape.  The Tawana Brawley case, for me, isn’t about rape.  I believe the police department, hospital personnel and officers of the court did their duties and well.  I don’t believe she was shunned or shamed or called a liar at any point in the initial process.  Until the truth came forward, months and weeks later.

The Tawana Brawley case for me is a racial issue, and is where a lot of my racial prejudices come from.  I know I have them.  I oppose affirmative action, especially when it comes to college admissions.  I’m with Justice Clarence Thomas that the Fourteenth Amendment should be enough.  I think it has become skewed to favor one race at the expense of another.

Take the Tawana Brawley case.  I could care less about what she accused who about, falsely or not.  What angers me and seethes inside of me is the backlash against the white community in the town.  She was a black teenager who accused white cops of a crime, of attacks on her person.  Rev Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and many other prominent leaders of the black community descended upon our town wrecking havoc everywhere they went.  There were violent protests and riots and I found myself living in a world where I feared black people.  Mind you, not Asians, not Indians, not Arabs or Hispanics,- just blacks.  Not just African-Americans, or Jamaicans, or a specific race – I feared black people.  I was always afraid of offending them or being accused of being nice only because they were black or being accused of being mean because they were black (both things have happened to me more than once).  I was told over and over by society that I was a racist because I was white.

It turned out that Tawana Brawley was lying.  Her motives and reasons for why she did what she did have never come out.  She and her family were fined for the false accusation.  They were sued on behalf of the six men she defamed.  She’s never paid any of it.  One of the men she accused is now a District Attorney and has said that he would forgive all the debts if she would come talk to him and apologize to his face.  Not publicly, but to his face.  He has no interest in shaming her or humiliating her.  I think, like me, he just wants to try and understand why.

My father and I want a public apology but not from Tawana Brawley.  From Rev Al Sharpton and Bill Cosby and her attorneys, Maddox and Mason (both of whom have since been disbarred) for the public upheaval they wrought on our community and then abandoned without a word when the truth came to light.  For the riots and the protests and the fear and the hatred that they left in their wake.

This is why when people tell me I’m a racist, I get very upset.  Telling me I’m racist because I’m white is no better than calling people are liars and manipulators because they’re black.  I’ll put down my gun when you put down yours.

I recognize that my town is the exception rather than the rule.  I absolutely believe that there are white cops out there who will use their power and authority to stomp on black men and women.  I believe there are people out there who believe skin color has everything to do with the color of one’s character.  I believe racism exists in this country.  I can accept that some of the things I think and do are wrong, but I’m too white/privileged/blind/ignorant to see them all.  I welcome the chance to be shown a different path and a different choice and a different way of thinking.  But my upbringing in this exception town has definitely affected the way I view the world around me.

So how is this racial tension related to rape culture in my mind?  I never want to feel ashamed of being white.  I never want anyone to be ashamed of being their race.  I never want anyone to feel less than because of their race or gender.  There is racism in the world, no doubt in my mind.  But I don’t want the pendulum to swing so far in the other direction that people are ever made to feel ashamed of what they cannot control.  There is a lot we can control, and that is worth the discussion.  But we should not be penalized for that which we cannot – race, heritage, or gender.

I want society to recognize the dangers of rape culture that are deeply infested within every aspect of society.  I do not want men to feel ashamed for being male.  I do not want men to feel ashamed or mocked for being feminine.  I do not want men to be told they are sexist because they are male.  It is no better than telling me I’m racist because I’m white.