Comments on: That’s What I Call an Epic Fumble

By: Wrongo Dongo: A Legal Primer - The Pursuit of Harpyness

Wrongo Dongo: A Legal Primer - The Pursuit of Harpyness — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 23:34:30 +0000

[...] here at Harpyness have been down on professional athletes recently. And no wonder; our judicial system–financed by our tax dollars, I should point [...]

By: DangerMouse

DangerMouse — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 11:11:45 +0000

I am late, but–
Awkward Avenger–Now you are going to be expecting men to use condoms to prevent pregnancy even though they don’t feel as good. You and your darn logic!

Also, SoaLG, if you sent this as a letter to the editor of the paper, I would be thrilled. It’s not a huge publication like the NYT, and I think they could use a kick in the butt now and then that they don’t generally get.

By: PhDork

PhDork — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:47:26 +0000

Margaret? Do you see the “Missing the Fucking Point” category under the title of this post? That wasn’t originally directed at you, but I think you need to see it in print.

Is this post about the use of language? Is this post about labels or naming? Is this post even about assessing the contemporary state of feminism? No, no, and NO. This post is about how dominant cultural paradigms revere male sports figures despite rape accusations levelled against them.

You’ve weighed in on your opinion of the contemporary usage of “epic” before. We heard you then, although we wondered what the hell that had to do with anything. And then we realized: nothing. It had to do with nothing, other than your need to wave your little “look at me” flag. And it still doesn’t. If you don’t like our use of a contemporary idiom…well, there’s a giant–one might say EPIC–blogosphere out there for you to read.

Whether you misinterpret posts willfully or out of ignorance I can’t say, but I’ve re-read through your commenting history and noted it happening frequently enough that I feel comfortable informing you that your distractions are unnecessary and unwanted. If you want to productively contribute to the conversation already under way, feel free. If you want to derail, nitpick, or just talk about whatever you feel like talking about, you’re going to find yourself banned.

By: Margaret

Margaret — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 02:33:13 +0000

I see the women on this board just cannot let go of the word EPIC. You know to me Feminism was about releasing ourselves from labels, yet I see young feminists today embracing them as never before. The power to name the unnamed to me has kindof backfired, now some of us wallow in names that are attached to our backs. I guess EPIC dims as age encroaches, and I don’t mean to offend, when I was in my 20s like those posting here I thought every battle was epic too.

By: mischiefmanager

mischiefmanager — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:46:24 +0000

My husband, normally a rock-solid feminist, and I had a heated discussion about these allegations last night. He is convinced that the fact that the accuser didn’t go directly to the police supports the presumption that she’s a liar who’s trying to get a big check. I could not get him to understand all the reasons why a woman in her situation would fear doing that-her bosses shut her down when she told them what happened, she was afraid of losing her job, she may have feared putting herself into the hands of a bureaucracy which is notoriously unsympathetic to rape victims (“but they have women to handle this now”-sure, in every department, 24/7).

But the column you cite is the biggest reason of all. Male athletes are among the most privileged in our society. From the time they show special talent, they are coddled, protected and idolized. They can blow off classes, bully people, cheat, lie, break laws and violate women in every way as long as they produce for the fans. Bringing a rape charge against a pro athlete is a sure way to bring hatred and vilification on yourself. I don’t know if these particular charges are true, but I have no doubt at all that for every one woman who comes forward, there are many, many more who keep their rapes and beatings to themselves.

This is why I gave up paying to attend sports events years ago. I confess to watching sports on tv, but they’ll never get a dime of my money.

By: SarahMC

SarahMC — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:52:53 +0000

That sidebar is spectacularly horrible. Athletes don’t really rape. But when they do it’s not their fault; after all they ARE athletes!

By: Penny_Esq

Penny_Esq — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:40:25 +0000

This makes me think of the comments made in the aftermath of Steve McNair’s death about his paramour “not following the rules.” You know, the rule that you can bang as many sports stars as you want as long as you don’t interfere with their real lives. Alleging rape, whether it happened or not, isn’t part of the “rules.” And you should’ve known the rules, since you were hanging out in the same vicinity as a famous athlete. Your presence in the same bar is consent enough.

By: sarah.of.a.lesser.god

sarah.of.a.lesser.god — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:45:22 +0000

@Awkward Avenger: Why is it that when a woman makes an allegation of rape, she’s told “Well, if you wouldn’t have been drinking/flirting/wearing a short skirt/somewhere other than your home/hanging out at a bar/talking to a man you just met, you wouldn’t have been assaulted”

Because it seems like few people will admit that women are straight-up attacked without doing anything to invite it, especially when the perpetrators are “special” enough to be famous.

By: Awkward Avenger

Awkward Avenger — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 17:38:00 +0000

Why is it that when a woman makes an allegation of rape, she’s told “Well, if you wouldn’t have been drinking/flirting/wearing a short skirt/somewhere other than your home/hanging out at a bar/talking to a man you just met, you wouldn’t have been assaulted”, but no one thinks to warn these athletes that if they don’t want to be accused of rape, they might want to avoid the limelight/flashing their wealth/flirting/drinking/hooking up with women they just met?