She escaped by slashing him with a fork she happened to be carrying for protection.
July 27, 2001 1:23 PM Subscribe
She escaped by slashing him with a fork she happened to be carrying for protection. 14-year old girl is caught in her own lies. I wonder what tipped them off? I'm sure any kid could fend off an attacker with a piece of silverware...
When the composite of the 'attacker' was in the papers here in Minneapolis, I thought "hey, it's the stereotypical white rapist" -- and almost said something to my friends about it being made up. But I didn't want to appear insensitive. Next time I'll go right ahead and make up my own mind before the facts come in.
posted by fnirt at 10:11 PM on July 27, 2001
posted by fnirt at 10:11 PM on July 27, 2001
The scary thing about this is, what if they had found someone- anyone- in their manhunt, some vagrant or layabout? The poor sorry bastard would have had the combined weight of the community venomously against him- fair trial be damned (and the girl never would have confessed at that point, because the more it went on the more terrified she'd be of saying anything!)! And even if he was acquitted for complete lack of any evidence but her questionable testimony, there'd still be people who would never believe he wasn't a child molester; anyone see that HBO documentary on the McMartin preschool trial? Even after being exonerated twice, some wingnuts still believed all the satanist child abuse hysteria, shouting expletives and sending anonymous hate mail...
posted by hincandenza at 2:05 AM on July 28, 2001
posted by hincandenza at 2:05 AM on July 28, 2001
I know we're always supposed to believe kids when they tell of some form of abuse or another, but it's getting increasingly dangerous to always take their words at face value. I know of a story about a teacher who was falsely accused of molestation by a student who was pissed that he threw her out of class for a disruption, and the end result was that the girl in question admitted she made the whole thing up, but not before trashing this man's good reputation in the community first with her actions.
Her motivation, as revealed by some of her friends whom she tried to coerce into going along with it all by relating their own "molestation" by this teacher?
"C'mon, guys, we can get on tv!"
That was her whole motivation. To get on tv. Seriously. And even after 30 years of completely law-abiding, dedicated service teaching the children of the community, the community chose to believe the girl's account. It was quite a disgusting display, and hincandenza's post makes me even angrier to think that folks in that community might still give him a doubletake for it. So you can imagine how bitter I was to hear about this little bitch trying to get a piece of attention for herself. Children who behave in this manner should be punished severely because it adds more confusion to the mess when a child with a valid complaint tries to come forward. How are we to know who's being truthful? What's the matter with these kids' parents that these children believe it's okay to lie and potentially ruin other people's lives in the process? Did they miss the lesson on how lying is wrong? We expect this type of behaviour from adults, but children are supposed to be believed without question from the get-go. How many more incidents like this will we have to hear about?
posted by evixir at 7:17 AM on July 30, 2001
Her motivation, as revealed by some of her friends whom she tried to coerce into going along with it all by relating their own "molestation" by this teacher?
"C'mon, guys, we can get on tv!"
That was her whole motivation. To get on tv. Seriously. And even after 30 years of completely law-abiding, dedicated service teaching the children of the community, the community chose to believe the girl's account. It was quite a disgusting display, and hincandenza's post makes me even angrier to think that folks in that community might still give him a doubletake for it. So you can imagine how bitter I was to hear about this little bitch trying to get a piece of attention for herself. Children who behave in this manner should be punished severely because it adds more confusion to the mess when a child with a valid complaint tries to come forward. How are we to know who's being truthful? What's the matter with these kids' parents that these children believe it's okay to lie and potentially ruin other people's lives in the process? Did they miss the lesson on how lying is wrong? We expect this type of behaviour from adults, but children are supposed to be believed without question from the get-go. How many more incidents like this will we have to hear about?
posted by evixir at 7:17 AM on July 30, 2001
fnirt: You have to remember to say those things out loud. Even if it makes you look like a clod.
Back when Susan Smith hit the news, we were watching it at work. Something triggered in me and I said "I think she killed them."
I spent the next year declining to pick lottery numbers and boxing matches.
posted by obfusciatrist at 11:25 AM on July 30, 2001
Back when Susan Smith hit the news, we were watching it at work. Something triggered in me and I said "I think she killed them."
I spent the next year declining to pick lottery numbers and boxing matches.
posted by obfusciatrist at 11:25 AM on July 30, 2001
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posted by gleemax at 3:18 PM on July 27, 2001