Rape allegations mount against Bill Cosby #2

[rosemadderlake]

Bravo, BritsKate. Great post.



Precisely. He's really never definitively said he never did it.

As to the repetition of his statements, I think I have learned that Mr. Cosby has always had an arrogant, wierd side to him, like many crooks and sexual assaulters who have a lot of money and power. So surrounded by yes men and fans, they begin to believe everything they say and do is golden and that their will is law. So in retrospect, I notice that Cosby's past interviews and guest spots show a person unwilling to give up any control, who dominates the pieces and doesn't let the interviewers do their spiels, and who believes that everyone will hang on his every word. People like that become disjointed and unreal, eventually in the way they speak, sometimes. I have seen it before. It's like they are completely unrealistic about how they are perceived.



This is such a great post. Bottom line, what the heck would the motivation be for most of these women who are not seeking money? It's ridiculous that they would want to destroy such a beloved icon.



BAM. Exactly.



I watched the interview. What she stated she remembered all occurred prior to the taxi ride. She stated she has no idea if he raped her because she doesn't remember what happened a bit after she got into the taxi. By that I took her to mean Cosby could've come after her, followed her, etc. How would she know? The only thing she remembers after asking the taxi driver whether she had cursed at Cosby, is waking up the next day. I think she was clear that Cosby did not sexually assault her at his home. She called him an M-effer and he got her out of there, before anything like that happened. Apparently, her cursing made him think she may not be a compliant or quiet victim. Her cursing made him know she knew she had been drugged.

I believe her.



Nor did he have various affairs with women, as he admits to.



I think all of us who have listened and read the statements of the accused and determined that they are beleievable, are erring on the side of fairness as well.



The truth is that people who do evil things aren't always 100% evil. Hitler loved and was great to his dogs. Cosby may not have been putting up a front all the time. Half of him (not the rapist part) may actually be a nice man. That's hard for many to accept or believe. It was for me at least. I went much of my life being a black and white, white and wrong thinker. But I've come to realize there are shades of grey.



I actually agree with the clown on this one. The fifth amendment has zero to do with human behavior, which is what profilers research and observe. In my experience, the innocent speak.

Bbm 1 – Imo: This is really an excellent assessment and accurate portrait of BC, and others like him.

Bbm 2 – In fairness to Beverly, I think Whoopi threw her off guard with a ‘cross examination style interview’. -But it left me wondering about the drugging piece.

It’s odd, but I have no hesitation about believing Janice’s story. Hers is messy, with emotions on the sleeve, and raw which I think is in part due to being suppressed in 2005 from talking about her experience.

Cosby’s cultural influence was so strong / groundbreaking that nothing is going to break that bond with those who believe in his historical significance. Growing up in the 60’s/70’s, I can understand why. I think this has more to do with where Whoopi may be coming from and why she is among the most skeptical.

Bbm 3 – So true – and what seems so stark here with Cosby is the sweeping range between the points at either end of the good and evil spectrum - that are like Jupiter – huge, far-reaching, unfathomable. How can one man encompass both in this way - and how did the dastardly side go unchecked for so long? And what does all this say about our own belief and sensibility in bestowing so much reverence on a celebrity? -And what does it say about institutional chair & trustee posts, professorships, honorary degrees, & scholarships & benefactor-ships that are bought by some and earned by others?

-imo -To be fooled by someone so globally famous (and loved by so many) is what is hard to accept and believe. And on the flip side – I do not think money is the motivator behind the women coming forward, now, in this moment in time – but instead there is a solidarity which reveals the experiences that women have endured for a very long time, probably since the beginning of time. I thought the (probably never gonna happen) $100 million dollar price tag legal posturing eclipsed what was really happening with these women– I have a feeling this story is far from over…

 

[Donjeta]

-imo -To be fooled by someone so globally famous (and loved by so many) is what is hard to accept and believe.

Not just famous I guess... more people care because he's famous but I think people would usually like to think that they have an instinct about people...that they recognize good and bad persons and who's trustworthy and who's not. Then if someone they liked and trusted is said to be a bad person after all, they resist, sometimes in the face of undeniable evidence, because admitting the charges are right would mean also admitting that I was wrong about this person and if I could be so wrong about this person who else am I wrong about? I can't trust my instinct about people. It is very unsettling.

 

[kimi_SFC]

This is from the December 15th broadcast of NG:

CNN.com - Transcripts
Aired December 15, 2014 - 20:00 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

Recent Claim Against Cosby Could Be Trouble


NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight. He`s known as America`s dad, but comedian Bill Cosby now the target of an LAPD police investigation for sex molestation of a then teen girl.

(snip)

And another claim now. In the last hours, a then teen claims he also molested her. In a Mailonline exclusive account, she says she was only 18 when Cosby drugs her. She wakes up with him naked. And at this time, a defamation claim against Cosby guaranteed to land him under oath, forced to either admit or deny sex claims.

(snip)


GRACE: Major bombshells in the last hours. No. 1, another woman comes forward claiming she was drugged and sex molested by Cosby when she is a teen, and that she has contacted police. This is within the ballpark of the statute of limitations allowing for a criminal prosecution of Bill Cosby. Not only that, Joseph Camarata is with us tonight, attorney for Tamara Green filing a defamation lawsuit against Cosby, which could -- and they plan to force him to go under oath and admit or deny these allegations.

With me is Candace Trunzo. This is a Mail Online exclusive with the latest attacker, who out of all of the women falls within the statute that could land Bill Cosby behind bars, America`s dad.

For those of you just joining us, Candace, what does Chloe Goins claim exactly what happened?

TRUNZO: Chloe says that she was invited to a party at the Playboy mansion by a friend, and she and a friend went. Very soon after they arrived, they met up with Hugh Hefner -- how exciting was that -- and then, Nancy, Bill Cosby joined them. They were two adorable, blonde 18-year-olds. Before long, Cosby went off and came back with a couple of drinks. He handed Chloe a drink. She remembers it being a vodka cocktail. She was sipping the drink the whole time. And before long, she started feeling very woozy and out of it. Dizzy. And she asked Hefner if there was some place where she could lie down or go to the bathroom, and before long Cosby led her away to a bedroom in the mansion, and the next thing, she woke up.

(snip)

....she said what is going on here? Bill Cosby pulled up his pants, she says. He fled the room. And the next thing she went to her friend and said you got to take me home. You have got to take me back to our hotel, because she was -- she felt that she was drugged, absolutely.

And she was gone for about 45 minutes, and in that time she doesn`t remember what happened, only what happened when she woke up.

GRACE: So, Candace, this new allegation by a girl that says she`s a teen when Cosby drugs and sex molests her, has she tried to get money out of this? Has she asked him for money? Has she told her story to anybody for money? That`s the first question she`s going to be asked.

TRUNZO: Yes. No, Nancy. She`s never gone to Cosby certainly after that. She has never tried to hold him up for money or Hugh Hefner, and that was actually -- she actually didn`t come forward because she, like all of these other women, she was embarrassed. Bill Cosby is an institution.

Who is she? A little 18 year old who is going to -- she really didn`t know what to do.

GRACE: I`m disgusted. You know, Dr. Tim Gallagher, medical examiner and pathologist joining me out of Daytona Beach. You know, Dr. Gallagher, when my child, my little girl is 18 years old, A, I hope she`s not at the Playboy mansion getting a drink on the side, God help me, no offense Hefner, but can you even imagine -- what could possibly be in these drinks, Dr. Gallagher, that makes you -- is it a date rape drug, a rufie, what could be having this effect?

GALLAGHER: Thank you for having me on the show again, Nancy. Typically what`s used is a classic compound called a benzodiazapine, which is strong enough to be used by anesthesiologists, and one of the side effects that it does have is that it gives you temporary amnesia. You don`t remember the event after it had happened when you`re on this compound.

MuchMore@Link:
http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1412/15/ng.01.html



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[rosemadderlake]

Not just famous I guess... more people care because he's famous but I think people would usually like to think that they have an instinct about people...that they recognize good and bad persons and who's trustworthy and who's not. Then if someone they liked and trusted is said to be a bad person after all, they resist, sometimes in the face of undeniable evidence, because admitting the charges are right would mean also admitting that I was wrong about this person and if I could be so wrong about this person who else am I wrong about? I can't trust my instinct about people. It is very unsettling.

Bbm: totally agree about "instinct" but I also think it is the majority of human nature that believes the best about people. And I hope that will never change.

-imo -More people care about Cosby because he broke through cultural barriers in the height of the civil rights movement - and that is something that is beyond famous.

That said, as for Cosby, the man, who led double life, which is what I think this is all about, it reveals him to be a very flawed human being. But I don't think one thing negates the other (in this case) in the court of public opinion. Good and evil are sitting side by side in so many of the opinions I have read in the "huge media universe".

Do I feel betrayed by Cosby personally? No. Because no matter what I believe - he has not been taken down criminally. Do I feel he has betrayed the women coming forward, himself, and his constituency? Yes, absolutely.


I am following this media story in part because it reveals something about our current culture - celebrity has evolved into something else since the internet has gone truly global - its weight and our attachment to it is truly fascinating.

 

[rosemadderlake]

It also proves that with a photo anyone can say anything about you and get people to believe it.

I'll add -a "photo-shopped photo" made to look just like the 70's can be created "today" with alarming accuracy... So, is a photo without other substantiation going to be enough to break through SOL? No. -imo

 

[Trident]

Bbm: totally agree about "instinct" but I also think it is the majority of human nature that believes the best about people. And I hope that will never change.

-imo -More people care about Cosby because he broke through cultural barriers in the height of the civil rights movement - and that is something that is beyond famous.

That said, as for Cosby, the man, who led double life, which is what I think this is all about, it reveals him to be a very flawed human being. But I don't think one thing negates the other (in this case) in the court of public opinion. Good and evil are sitting side by side in so many of the opinions I have read in the "huge media universe".

Do I feel betrayed by Cosby personally? No. Because no matter what I believe - he has not been taken down criminally. Do I feel he has betrayed the women coming forward, himself, and his constituency? Yes, absolutely.


I am following this media story in part because it reveals something about our current culture - celebrity has evolved into something else since the internet has gone truly global - its weight and our attachment to it is truly fascinating.

I totally agree with your post, except the bolded part. I'm not sure he betrayed anyone, "sure" being the operative word.

It would be nice if everyone took personal responsibility for themselves, but alas, today's word has no understanding of that - everything bad is because of someone else. I don't believe anyone, women accusers, Cosby, me or most people I know, want to look at themselves and acknowledge their own possible complicity.

If anyone takes offense, ask yourselves why.

My opinion only

 

[jennapuppy]

Not just famous I guess... more people care because he's famous but I think people would usually like to think that they have an instinct about people...that they recognize good and bad persons and who's trustworthy and who's not. Then if someone they liked and trusted is said to be a bad person after all, they resist, sometimes in the face of undeniable evidence, because admitting the charges are right would mean also admitting that I was wrong about this person and if I could be so wrong about this person who else am I wrong about? I can't trust my instinct about people. It is very unsettling.

At the end of the day, Cosby is an actor, and he played the part of a trustworthy fatherly figure well. We just didn't realize that his public persona was all part of the act.
JMO

 

[gitana1]

Bbm 3 – So true – and what seems so stark here with Cosby is the sweeping range between the points at either end of the good and evil spectrum - that are like Jupiter – huge, far-reaching, unfathomable. How can one man encompass both in this way - and how did the dastardly side go unchecked for so long? And what does all this say about our own belief and sensibility in bestowing so much reverence on a celebrity? -And what does it say about institutional chair & trustee posts, professorships, honorary degrees, & scholarships & benefactor-ships that are bought by some and earned by others?

-imo -To be fooled by someone so globally famous (and loved by so many) is what is hard to accept and believe. And on the flip side – I do not think money is the motivator behind the women coming forward, now, in this moment in time – but instead there is a solidarity which reveals the experiences that women have endured for a very long time, probably since the beginning of time. I thought the (probably never gonna happen) $100 million dollar price tag legal posturing eclipsed what was really happening with these women– I have a feeling this story is far from over…

Snipped for space.

These women are seeing that today, those that come forward are not being immediately discredited or branded as greedy or *advertiser censored*. Also, the media no longer protects celebrities. Finally, the speed of information flow and the forum for expression of the opinions of average people, that the internet has created, combined with the above, has resulted in an environment that feels more secure for these women to come forward and be counted.

Not just famous I guess... more people care because he's famous but I think people would usually like to think that they have an instinct about people...that they recognize good and bad persons and who's trustworthy and who's not. Then if someone they liked and trusted is said to be a bad person after all, they resist, sometimes in the face of undeniable evidence, because admitting the charges are right would mean also admitting that I was wrong about this person and if I could be so wrong about this person who else am I wrong about? I can't trust my instinct about people. It is very unsettling.

Really good insight, Donjeta.

For me, it's a bit of both, probably, that has made these accusations hard to want to accept.

I can tell you that when I think about this issue with Cosby, I feel such a sense of regret. I hear myself thinking, "Man, I wish this had never surfaced. I wish this was not true."

Because Cosby was his television persona to me. I watched Fat Albert and Kids Say the Darndest Things as a kid. I grew up with Cosby.

And one of my best friends is a comedian who has spoken to me several times about the industry, how hard the business is and how those in the industry think about each other. He explained why Cosby is considered, and is, such a high caliber, genius comedian. He is a true artist. And he is very, very well respected by most other comedians. Seinfeld loves him, for example.

So for me, this news is very sad. It's such a loss in a way.

I can also say that I never noticed or had one inkling at any time that anything was wrong with the man. I just saw a twinkling-eyed, sweet and funny man who seemed to really love and understand kids.

So yeah. It is very hard to accept this. It's been hard to change my thinking about who this man is.

 

[gitana1]

I totally agree with your post, except the bolded part. I'm not sure he betrayed anyone, "sure" being the operative word.

It would be nice if everyone took personal responsibility for themselves, but alas, today's word has no understanding of that - everything bad is because of someone else. I don't believe anyone, women accusers, Cosby, me or most people I know, want to look at themselves and acknowledge their own possible complicity.

If anyone takes offense, ask yourselves why.

My opinion only

This is super offensive. It is super offensive that you are continually blaming the victims of these crimes and essentially saying they weren't raped because they asked for it by being alone with a man and accepting a drink from him.

I think healthy debate about whether the allegations are credible, or debate about whether there is enough evidence or whether Cosby is being slammed unfairly in the media, via an internet witch hunt, etc., is valid.

But blaming rape victims, stating that they are "complicit" in their rape because of the context, and insinuating something negative about people who do not agree with such a horrid viewpoint - "If anyone takes offense, ask yourselves why." - is completely outside the spirit of Websleuths and of decency and humanity, in my opinion.

It is disturbing. I really wish you would stop.

 

[Donjeta]

I totally agree with your post, except the bolded part. I'm not sure he betrayed anyone, "sure" being the operative word.

It would be nice if everyone took personal responsibility for themselves, but alas, today's word has no understanding of that - everything bad is because of someone else. I don't believe anyone, women accusers, Cosby, me or most people I know, want to look at themselves and acknowledge their own possible complicity.

If anyone takes offense, ask yourselves why.

My opinion only

No one who wasn't there can be sure what happened...

But I'm curious about, what would constitute a betrayal in your opinion? Let's say the allegations are true, and he drugged some women without their knowledge. In my mind, if I've been told that I'll be getting a cup of cappuccino but somebody secretly slipped roofies in the cup to make me unconscious it's a clear betrayal and a crime, regardless of whether people have reason to find my morals lacking and my decision making skills questionable.

Even if I'm greedy, promiscuous and stupid I am entitled to the same legal protection from being drugged and assaulted without my consent. My perceived lack of character and stupid decisions don't force anyone to drug and rape me, as evidenced by the numerous people whom I have managed to deal with without getting drugged and raped. If someone decides to do it it's the perp's own personal responsibility. I didn't put the roofie in my cappuccino, someone else did, out of his own volition.


JMO.

 

[Donjeta]

Snipped for space.

These women are seeing that today, those that come forward are not being immediately discredited or branded as greedy or *advertiser censored*. Also, the media no longer protects celebrities. Finally, the speed of information flow and the forum for expression of the opinions of average people, that the internet has created, combined with the above, has resulted in an environment that feels more secure for these women to come forward and be counted.



Really good insight, Donjeta.

For me, it's a bit of both, probably, that has made these accusations hard to want to accept.

I can tell you that when I think about this issue with Cosby, I feel such a sense of regret. I hear myself thinking, "Man, I wish this had never surfaced. I wish this was not true."

Because Cosby was his television persona to me. I watched Fat Albert and Kids Say the Darndest Things as a kid. I grew up with Cosby.

And one of my best friends is a comedian who has spoken to me several times about the industry, how hard the business is and how those in the industry think about each other. He explained why Cosby is considered, and is, such a high caliber, genius comedian. He is a true artist. And he is very, very well respected by most other comedians. Seinfeld loves him, for example.

So for me, this news is very sad. It's such a loss in a way.

I can also say that I never noticed or had one inkling at any time that anything was wrong with the man. I just saw a twinkling-eyed, sweet and funny man who seemed to really love and understand kids.

So yeah. It is very hard to accept this. It's been hard to change my thinking about who this man is.

I grew up watching the Cosby Show. But I don't remember being awed by any wonderful dad feelings. My favorite character was Rudy, the sassy youngest kid. I remember the show as being very funny and entertaining but a lot of the humor came from the daddy character's slightly cruel parenting style. Man, that Cliff Huxtable liked to put his kids down in the name of humor... He wasn't big on self-deprecating humor, the jokes were usually on someone else's expense and it was funny while watching it but I can't help thinking that if your dad made your stupidity the butt of so many jokes it might crush a kid's self esteem eventually.

I have never seen an episode since they first aired so my recollections are a bit hazy and no doubt somewhat contaminated by the recent media storm by now. And, it was a script and I've no idea how much Cosby contributed to the script so it could be quite irrelevant.

 

[Trino]

This is super offensive. It is super offensive that you are continually blaming the victims of these crimes and essentially saying they weren't raped because they asked for it by being alone with a man and accepting a drink from him.

I think healthy debate about whether the allegations are credible, or debate about whether there is enough evidence or whether Cosby is being slammed unfairly in the media, via an internet witch hunt, etc., is valid.

But blaming rape victims, stating that they are "complicit" in their rape because of the context, and insinuating something negative about people who do not agree with such a horrid viewpoint - "If anyone takes offense, ask yourselves why." - is completely outside the spirit of Websleuths and of decency and humanity, in my opinion.

It is disturbing. I really wish you would stop.

The purpose and spirit of WS is to express opinions and not to chide others who have different views.

 

[nrdsb4]

The purpose and spirit of WS is to express opinions and not to chide others who have different views.

Depending on how it is expressed, it is not against TOS to take issue with others' posts which are viewed as offensive. In fact, it goes against the general spirit of WS not to victims. The poster in question is stating that if in fact some of these women were actually drugged and raped, they were "complicit." That is victim blaming, pure and simple.

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Bill Cosby accuser hits out at his defenders and says she pities comic's 'tormented and anguished' wife Camille

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ted-anguished-wife-Camille.html#ixzz3MA4zVg63

 

[Trident]

This is super offensive. It is super offensive that you are continually blaming the victims of these crimes and essentially saying they weren't raped because they asked for it by being alone with a man and accepting a drink from him.

I think healthy debate about whether the allegations are credible, or debate about whether there is enough evidence or whether Cosby is being slammed unfairly in the media, via an internet witch hunt, etc., is valid.
But blaming rape victims, stating that they are "complicit" in their rape because of the context, and insinuating something negative about people who do not agree with such a horrid viewpoint - "If anyone takes offense, ask yourselves why." - is completely outside the spirit of Websleuths and of decency and humanity, in my opinion.

It is disturbing. I really wish you would stop.

NO! I Never said they weren't sexually manipulated, whatever that means. What I am saying, and none of you seem to want to hear it is - women put themselves in "IFFY" situations then they bear some of the responsibility. The only one responsible for YOU, is YOU.

Why is that so hard to understand? Jump in the lion's den and you probably will get mauled. Nature is nature, and it is what it is, IMO,and IF women want to be safe they had better start acting like it, and if discussion from the other side of this argument is SO disturbing, then maybe some should stop reading. I acknowledged I was manipulated into a "situation" and put full blame on me. So sad others can't do the same.

In my humble, totally honest opinion

 

[Donjeta]

What if it's the den of a lion who is masquerading as a sheep?

Lots of people are still expressing total disbelief that Bill Cosby could be a lion because he seemed such a benign person to them. But these women should instinctively have known that he's a rapist?

Should we automatically assume that everybody is a lion, and it's all on your own head if you make the mistake of trusting anybody, ever? If you ever accept a cup of cappuccino from anybody, including the Starbucks salesperson, you took a reckless risk of getting roofied and raped and have only yourself to blame?

These women allegedly did not all get raped while partying wildly in a haze of drugs and alone in a room with seedy characters with a criminal record for sexual offending.

Some were in the company of friends. One said she got groped in a dinner party where his wife was present. Many were meeting with him for work related purposes.

I am alone in a room with males for work related purposes every day, and it's very hard for me to see it as such reckless iffy behavior that if one of them happens to be a rapist I've only got myself to blame for allowing it to happen.

Yes, nature is nature but crime is crime. Nature doesn't force anybody to drug and rape people. You can't fight gravity but you can refrain from raping people who are in the room with you.

If you find that you're a rapist, the only person you can blame for it is you. Your victims didn't cause it by being there. You made the decision to rape. You could have decided not to.

 

[Trident]

What if it's the den of a lion who is masquerading as a sheep?

Lots of people are still expressing total disbelief that Bill Cosby could be a lion because he seemed such a benign person to them. But these women should instinctively have known that he's a rapist?

Should we automatically assume that everybody is a lion, and it's all on your own head if you make the mistake of trusting anybody, ever? If you ever accept a cup of cappuccino from anybody, including the Starbucks salesperson, you took a reckless risk of getting roofied and raped and have only yourself to blame?

These women allegedly did not all get raped while partying wildly in a haze of drugs and alone in a room with seedy characters with a criminal record for sexual offending.

Some were in the company of friends. One said she got groped in a dinner party where his wife was present. Many were meeting with him for work related purposes.

I am alone in a room with males for work related purposes every day, and it's very hard for me to see it as such reckless iffy behavior that if one of them happens to be a rapist I've only got myself to blame for allowing it to happen.

Yes, nature is nature but crime is crime. Nature doesn't force anybody to drug and rape people. You can't fight gravity but you can refrain from raping people who are in the room with you.

Excuses, excuses, the world is full of them. Until women, and men, take full responsibility for themselves, and understand there IS a difference between men and women, this will go on and on in a pointless dance like the ones during the plague years.

In my opinion, of course, since I ain't as bright as most, just possibly more honest?

 

[Donjeta]

Excuses, excuses, the world is full of them. Until women, and men, take full responsibility for themselves, and understand there IS a difference between men and women, this will go on and on in a pointless dance like the ones during the plague years.

In my opinion, of course, since I ain't as bright as most, just possibly more honest?

This argument sounds to me like just another excuse to justify rape and to let rapists avoid facing their own responsibility for what they did.

Men and women are different in some respects and similar in some respects. What is a common trait in both sexes is the ability to make the decision to rape or not to rape.

It is an insult to all the non-raping, non-criminal, law-abiding men out there to imply that raping and sexual violence is somehow an inevitable quality of maleness that it has to be accepted as an unavoidable force of nature.

It's not. Men have higher brain functions just as much as women do and if and when they decide to engage in criminal activity it's a choice, not something they had to do because men and women are different.

 

[Trident]

This argument sounds to me like just another excuse to justify rape and to let rapists avoid facing their own responsibility for what they did.

Men and women are different in some respects and similar in some respects. What is a common trait in both sexes is the ability to make the decision to rape or not to rape.

It is an insult to all the non-raping, non-criminal, law-abiding men out there to imply that raping and sexual violence is somehow an inevitable quality of maleness that it has to be accepted as an unavoidable force of nature.

It's not. Men have higher brain functions just as much as women do and if and when they decide to engage in criminal activity it's a choice, not something they had to do because men and women are different.

'Course if the women didn't go to a private place with him, hoping for whatever their goals were, they probably would have been spared all this anguish. I'm not saying they had any greedy goals in mind, just that sometimes people put themselves in situations "hoping" their dreams will come true.

Hell, I'm old, and all of my generations knew better. Now that everyone is so knowing and sophisticated, I cannot image how exploitation is possible. Did mothers stop warning their daughters?

 

[Donjeta]

I don't know how old you are but some of these women are in their seventies now. I don't believe there is any generation where women didn't get raped. Some generations just stayed more silent about it.

Life would get rather complicated if we prohibit all the communication between men and women in private places on the assumption that everyone needs to expect and guard against rape all the time because men just can't help it, being men.

What would happen to my male clients? There are only three men and fortysomething women working here but the clients are both genders equally. Should we only accept the female clients? What if their male family members come to visit and want to discuss the situation? Should we say no?

I'm in a private place with my husband every day. Have I forfeited my right to expect that he doesn't roofie and rape me while I'm unconscious?

And why stop there? It's not only men who can drug and rape and assault people, women can too, so we should never be in a private space with any other women either. Or in open spaces for that matter, because rape does not require a room. How about gang rapes? Sometimes people get raped by groups of people so avoiding being alone with a person in a private space is no guarantee of safety.

Is there anywhere but a bank vault that I can lock from the inside that I can go and not blame myself for putting myself in a dangerous position if I get raped?

He has had a reputation for being a good guy and there were work related reasons for many of the women for being in contact with him. I can understand if they didn't immediately leap to the assumption that he was going to rape them.