[Tuthmosis]

I've been starting to notice a growing pattern of the vague use of the term "sexual assault" in alarmist news stories involving young (and usually attractive) chicks and scary, unknown (and, of course, male) assailants. Although this certainly not new, I first noticed it in this thread about college-campus "assaults," but have since been noticing a rapid proliferation, in everything from the various stories on toughened "sexual harrasment" laws in Europe to the example I've included below.

I needn't state how problematic, dangerous (and probably deliberate) the deployment of this catch-all phrase can be, since it allows its users, male and female, to conflate everything from a brutal rape, to an ass-grab, to a "leering look," into one convenient umbrella term.

Its power, of course, lies in its very ambiguity.

Here's another recent example:

   

(Full story)

Quote:

Interview with Jenn Gibbons, who finished 1,500-mile row for charity despite sexual assault

On Tuesday, Jenn Gibbons finished her 1,500 mile row around the perimeter of Lake Michigan, despite being sexually assaulted earlier in her two-month-long journey. She undertook the long row to raise money for her non-profit, Recovery on Water (ROW), a rowing team made up of breast cancer survivors, which promotes exercise as a way of preventing a cancer recurrence. [Full disclosure: Jenn was a coach for my high school crew team, and I volunteered for ROW.]

On July 22, the 27-year-old said she was sleeping alone in her boat in an isolated area of the Lake, when a man crept on board and sexually assaulted her. After contacting the police, Gibbons received extra support to ensure her safety in remote areas and forged ahead with her trip, which helped raise $113,000 for her charity.

Yahoo News caught up with Gibbons on the phone about her social media presence, how she's coping with the assault and how silence can be painful.

(continues)

Needless to say, the story never elaborates what actually happened on that boat.

EDIT: Also note that this vague incident resulted in a $113,000 donation to her cause.

[Samseau]

Wow, so easy to scam someone when you're a woman

[Basil Ransom]

The article doesn't say she got the 100k from the assault - that was just the total she raised.

IMO, modern mainstream media is colossally flawed and is probably to blame here. Reporters no longer know anything about what they're reporting. They're just SWPLs who like the idea of being journalists, thus journalism school. Anyone who isn't a hack actually studies a field besides journalism.

Anytime I see say, coverage of a major event, like say a shooting, the most basic, elemental details are omitted. If you're lucky, obvious details are buried in the eighth paragraph. Reporters often don't even know say, the difference between semi-automatic and automatic rifles.

For these reporters the actual content of what happened is almost irrelevant. More important is that a woman feels has been made to feel uncomfortable.

On what basis are you saying the assault against the rower is bullshit?

[Timoteo]

True. A guy could "attempt" to grope a chick, or tug at her clothes or something, and that's categorized as some form of sexual assault.

Journalism has slipped badly in this generation. Everything is about sensationalism, and very few journalists are hardcore investigative writers. Most newspaper reporters give you the basic who, what, when, and how. Sometimes the why is known immediately, sometimes not. It's the follow-up that can be severely lacking. The news cycle often dictates that they move on to something else, and not put the time and energy into getting the story right. The average reporter doesn't care about getting the little details. If a story isn't getting enough eyes, either on tv or online, it gets abandoned. The melding of news and entertainment has been seriously detrimental to true journalism.

[Samseau]

(08-19-2012 03:34 PM)basilransom Wrote:  

On what basis are you saying the assault against the rower is bullshit?

Are you kidding me? Women make up false rape/sexual assault/sexual harassment stories all the time.

It happened three times, once per year, at my college. And each time it happened it make front page local news, but after it was cleared up to be 100% fake they never showed a front page story claiming it was fake.

And her assault just happens to mysteriously occur right during her rowathon. Great way to generate publicity, no?

It's all about the $$$

[Tuthmosis]

(08-19-2012 03:34 PM)basilransom Wrote:  

On what basis are you saying the assault against the rower is bullshit?

Just to be clear: I'm not necessarily saying this particular assault allegation is bullshit. She may very well have been "assaulted," but we have no way of knowing what actually happened to her from this story. I was merely using this case as one of a growing pool of examples. What I'm pointing out is not the preponderance of false accusations (which, as we all have seen in recent months, is significant), or that this case is one of those. It's the increased use of this problematic term--"sexual assault"--to mean just about anything that I find disturbing.

Rapists, gropers, and "leerers" are being thrown into the same pot by irresponsible "reporters" and "gender" ideologues. This lumping is a subtler, and more insidious, component of this social control against men and their sexuality, I'd argue.

[Basil Ransom]

(08-19-2012 06:17 PM)Samseau Wrote:  

(08-19-2012 03:34 PM)basilransom Wrote:  

On what basis are you saying the assault against the rower is bullshit?

Are you kidding me? Women make up false rape/sexual assault/sexual harassment stories all the time.

Therefore sexual assault and rape never happen...

I've skimmed several articles on her now, and they're all extremely vague. They don't say anything more than that a 'sexual assault' occurred. The Daily Mail says she said she got raped.

Considering that you can press assault charges for fairly minor things, it follows that you could file sexual assault charges for something minor too. Not that that's a good thing in either case, but that seems like the status quo.

(08-19-2012 06:31 PM)Tuthmosis Wrote:  

(08-19-2012 03:34 PM)basilransom Wrote:  

On what basis are you saying the assault against the rower is bullshit?

Just to be clear: I'm not necessarily saying this particular assault allegation is bullshit. She may very well have been "assaulted," but we have no way of knowing what actually happened to her from this story. I was merely using this case as one of a growing pool of examples. What I'm pointing out is not the preponderance of false accusations (which, as we all have seen in recent months, is significant), or that this case is one of those. It's the increased use of this problematic term--"sexual assault"--to mean just about anything that I find disturbing.

Rapists, gropers, and "leerers" are being thrown into the same pot by irresponsible "reporters" and "gender" ideologues. This lumping is a subtler, and more insidious, component of this social control against men and their sexuality, I'd argue.

Fair enough. I agree, I think it's a mix of the *endemic* journalistic incompetence you see today, and a special misandric component as well. I'm sure there are dozens of feminists out there ready to make the wacky argument that leering is 'almost' sexual assault, and sexual assault is 'practically' rape. Mix everything under the category of 'assault' and suddenly every guy that bats an eye the wrong way has the status of a rapist.

The fact that the details of the sexual assault were not mentioned is inexcusable. It's incredible that you can publish an incident like that without the most salient concrete details, as if they were irrelevant. There wasn't even a sentence saying, "details regarding the alleged assault were not available." Whenever you want real coverage, you invariably have to wait for something like the 60 Minutes bit that airs months later to get any answers.

[Samseau]

I edited this into my post probably too late for you to see:

Quote:

And her assault just happens to mysteriously occur right during her rowathon. Great way to generate publicity, no?

I don't believe her. The incentives for her to lie are just too big.

[Cookie]

Never knew that "leering" counted as sexual assault. That's retarded.

Also in my entire life I've never heard of a random dude actually sneaking into someone's living space and "assaulting them."

I guarantee that her "assaulter" was some dude she had either previously banged or that she had lead on. Then, once he showed up uninvited, he became a "creeper" and "sexual assailant."

[Roosh]

I think it's clear that sexual assault is NOT rape, but it is made to sound like it is to keep the hysteria at a fever pitch. My instinct says it is groping, perhaps around the genitals or breast, that does not include penetration.

In the past: "I got groped on the train by a creep."

Today: "I got sexually assaulted on the train by a potential rapist."

[j r]

(08-19-2012 06:47 PM)Cookie Wrote:  

Never knew that "leering" counted as sexual assault. That's retarded.

Also in my entire life I've never heard of a random dude actually sneaking into someone's living space and "assaulting them."

It happens all the time. Google "the Georgetown Cuddler."

Sexual assault happens, just like rape happens. The problem is the expanding of the terminology to include all sorts of actions that are neither assault or rape.

[speakeasy]

Quote:

The National Center for Victims of Crime states:[5]
“Sexual assault takes many forms including attacks such as rape or attempted rape, as well as any unwanted sexual contact or threats. Usually a sexual assault occurs when someone touches any part of another person's body in a sexual way, even through clothes, without that person's consent.

I've touched many women's "assets" without their permission. So I guess I'm guilty of this crime myself.

[Samseau]

The entire concept of needing permission for sexual contact with a female shows how clueless people are over female nature.