From the Cry Me A River Department, I’ve just heard that a Georgia Tech football player, Jerrard Tarrant (could we get a few more r’s in there, buddy?), has been accused of rape and that people who give a shit about college football think it isn’t fair. Somebody call the wahmbulance.
You might ask how I, a sports-hating media-avoider, heard about a case such as this. I mean, among what I assume are the thousands of cases of athletes who have been accused of rape, how did I hear about this one? I was driving down Ponce de Leon here in Atlanta, minding my own business, when I ran headfirst into the most egregious example of misogyny I’ve seen since, like, at least two days ago. I turned on some FM radio station in an attempt to avoid listening to Sean Hannity or whatever super-obscure band’s CD that Davetavius had left in the CD player, and I came across a talk radio show in which two people, a man and a woman, were discussing the case.
They weren’t discussing the details of what had happened, the problem of college and professional athletes’ extreme egotism and disregard for the law, or the difficulty a rape victim faces when her attacker happens to be (somewhat/a little/locally) famous. They were talking about how shitty the whole thing must be for poor Mr. Tarrant. That’s right.
They spent probably a half an hour discussing the different aspects of how unfair the whole thing was to Tarrant and not one second discussing the fate of the accuser. First they talked about how unfortunate it was that Tarrant, some kind of big deal or other as far as football goes, would be suspended for an entire season. It would suck for him because it’s coming right in the middle of his rise to college football stardom, and it would suck for Georgia Tech because it’d put their team at a disadvantage this season. They also pointed out that it would make Georgia Tech look bad in comparison to Georgia, because I guess Georgia’s had their fair share of scandals involving Natural Ice-saturated ‘roid monkey players tearing up bars, kicking people’s asses, raping people, and stealing shit, and there’s some sort of rivalry going on between the two schools over that and whatever other bullshit makes people who didn’t go to college give a fuck about one school or another. I know people in the South are a little fruity about their college football, but is the most important thing here really whether or not a team has to make do without one of its players for a season? Guess so.
These two radio dildoes then began to wonder aloud what it must feel like to be Mr. Tarrant. The poor guy has to go to class with a bunch of people who know he’s been accused of rape. Aw, that really sucks, man. (Wait, why the fuck hasn’t he been suspended from classes at the school?) The radio hosts didn’t wonder what it might be like for the victim, who has, you know, been raped and all, and who has to go to school on a campus where people are more concerned with football stats than women’s human rights. If these two local radio “personalities” are any indication, I’d be a little more likely to worry about the victim suffering harassment and dirty looks than Tarrant. They were also worried about his future, because once these charges are dismissed (and they will be dismissed, you know), people will always remember him as the guy who got falsely accused of rape. John Bender was right, the world is an imperfect place.
They stopped just short of suggesting that men accused of rape deserve the same anonymity the courts pretend to guarantee for victims, although it was implied in a fairly heavy-handed fashion. I’m serious.
I personally don’t give a fuck, flying or not, about whether this woman’s story is true. What I do care about is the fact that these assholes on this radio program, one of whom was female (I just learned what “kapo” means - think I can call her one?), are operating under the assumption that the accusation is false. As in, a conviction would surprise these two like Milli Vanilli putting out another album or Eric Nies making a comeback would surprise me (I really want all three to happen).
As much as I try to avoid hearing or talking about anything having to do with the sensational crime case du jour, I have had to suffer through ignorant discussions of the Duke rape case. I’ve also been forced to hear a bunch of MRA bullshit about the Kobe Bryant case. Two cases in which rape charges failed to stick, one a bit of an embarrassment, the other a fucking travesty (I bet you have to think for a second about which of them I’m referring to with which noun). TWO. And sports talk radio knobs everywhere go on to assume that any woman accusing any athlete of rape is full of shit.
Well, guess what, assholes? Kobe Bryant did it. He’s gotten away with rape on several occasions in other countries by paying off or intimidating victims and their families, and he managed to do so here as well by hiring legal assassins to make the victim out to be a slut.
That’s how it works. People who have money and status get away with rape, and our culture’s tendency toward idolatry makes certain that athletes have plenty of both. The coaches, fans, and sporting media, all of whom are personally and/or financially invested in the success of “their” teams, all do their part to make sure that the general population (and the jury pool) know where their sympathies ought to lie, and the net result is that athletes get away with rape even more often than rapists who don’t wear protective undergarments do. Don’t believe me? Read this.
There’s no other way to say it: we as a culture care more about sports than a woman’s right to not be raped. Remember that shit. Write it down. Whether Georgia Tech wins a game or two this year matters more than whether or not you get raped.
I don’t want to get down on the South. I mean, I just saw a guy ride by on a motorcycle with a lot of chrome flames on it and its own sound system blaring a song I’d only expect to hear at around 3 AM at a gay dance club. It’s funny here. I kinda like it. But I don’t know whether the reaction to this case would be quite as counter-intuitive, counter-ethical, counter-logical, or counter-sane in another part of the country. I know that sports obsession has allowed rapists to go unpunished nationwide, but I think the emphasis on college sports in this region might just work in Tarrant’s favor with the judges, prosecutors, and juries he may face to an even greater extent than it might elsewhere.
And people wonder why I don’t have a lot of good things to say about sports (that’s sports with a lower-case “s,” because I have plenty of good things to say about “Sports” by Huey Lewis and the News). Not only are team sports a training tool for creating jingoistic assholes who are incapable of independent thought, not only are they a huge waste of time, money, energy, skill, talent, and nachos, but they’re also yet another cultural institution that protects men who abuse women and who abuse the (totally flawed) legal system.
21 Comments
July 3, 2008 at 1:08 am
I remember a case in Sweden were three ice hockey players were accused of gang raping a woman who’d followed them to their hotel room.
Newspapers and opinion columns were full of shit like “what did she expect, going to their room with them?”. I can’t remember if they were convicted or not, but all three players were suspended for a game or two cos they had violated the team’s curfew -.-
July 3, 2008 at 1:38 am
Oh what the fuck. What is wrong with people period, but especially from the South?! My grandparents were born and raised (NC). Nothing but man-centered, woman-hating drivel oozed from both their mouths. Everything men did and said was right, everything women said and did (not centered around men or children, or perhaps laundry) was wrong.
I knew Kolbe Bryant and the rest were guilty from the start. Especially the Duke players. As athletes, and elite athletes in particular, they are born and bred for this. Sports culture is one big, loud, drunk, raping boys club. The players are revered as gods, and sooner or later begin to act as if they have no worldly accountability to anyone, but especially women. All women are whores to (male) pro-athletes. Including their poor wives, who are regularly stepped out on, and I suspect often abused in other ways as well.
These men have ceased to be men. They have become wild, hungry beasts whose self-importance has soared so high that they can no longer relate to their fellow human beings. Especially those with vaginas.
Fuck them all, and sorry you had to listen to that tripe. From now on, seek music or even (possibly) better, silence!
Much love,
Claire (CJ).
July 3, 2008 at 3:25 am
Yeah, no more talk radio until I get back to New York. Seriously.
July 3, 2008 at 12:49 pm
“I knew Kolbe Bryant and the rest were guilty from the start. Especially the Duke players.”
Except the Duke players weren’t guilty.
That’s the problem I see. Too many people are willing to hang someone who is simply accused of it, without any proof that they’ve done it. Then, even after it’s been proven that they’re innocent, people will still treat them like criminals.
July 3, 2008 at 12:55 pm
The South sucks, and I HATE that stupid accent!
July 4, 2008 at 2:08 am
From a very young age boys with a modicum of talent in athletics learn that they have a pass to walk over all other people with impunity, and that nothing they do is likely to result in disciplinary action. At my high school stealing another student’s belongings was an expellable offense, but members of the wrestling team repeatedly stole and hid my ex-boyfriend’s backpack, and when found out were given a lecture and let of without getting so much as a single detention. So is it any surprise that people who are allowed to break those sorts of rules when they’re seventeen; when they’re figuratively “picking on someone their own size” will decide a few years after this to allow their unchecked power to go completely to their heads and decide that nothing anyone says matters to them–if they want sex with someone they’ll take it, because no one can touch the Mighty Invincible Athlete.
And because men’s athletics are the most important thing in the world to many people in our culture, they’re probably right.
Patriarchy. Fuck it.
July 4, 2008 at 4:14 am
OK, what I am about to say will probably get me accused of racism. But reality is reality, regardless of how uncomfortable it makes us.
American urban culture is MASSIVELY misogynistic. The black male is under constant and immense social pressure to prove his (so-called) “manliness”. At a minimum, this is expressed through verbal violence. For example, hip-hop music.
Beyond that, he feels so out of control in the face of the law and economic pressures that he takes whatever control he can. The most expedient channel for that is women. And the ultimate control is rape.
I realize the above is very simplified, and certainly not a universal, but definitely more widespread than in most other cultures.
July 4, 2008 at 8:13 am
Bill:
I realize the above is very simplified, and certainly not a universal, but definitely more widespread than in most other cultures.
As someone who comes from the Far East, I can tell you that the mainstream American white culture looks as misogynist to me as does what you call “urban” culture. And the “traditional” “conservative” Chinese culture I grew up with was not much better. To say nothing of the reports we hear from just about everywhere else in the world.
They’re all bad, just operating in different ways and along different lines. (Sometimes. Sometimes they are exactly the same.)
I think what’s more likely is that you are more familiar with the hidden sexist assumptions of your own cultural background, and so something which is unusual to you strikes you with more force.
July 4, 2008 at 8:27 am
In a system where worth is measured by wealth, pro-sports players are elevated to the echelons of dude-deityness. Combine that with uber-masculinity and a patriarchal system that facilitates rape culture and we women really don’t stand a fucking chance in the case of sexual assault or rape by a sports billy.
Bill! You madzer! ‘Reality’ is that all teh men commit rape, not just poor men facing ’social and economic pressure’ and struggling to reclaim their masculinity from The Man. It’s not about poverty, it’s about patriarchy. Read over your strain theory, and perhaps take it somewhere that it might actually apply.
ps- white people are poor too
pps- you don’t listen to much hip hop do you?
July 4, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Hey Bill–I’d say that the same could be said for all males, particularly those not afforded much power in the greater culture. That’s not to make the “all men rape” statement, but American CULTURE, not just URBAN culture, is misogynistic. Men (in fact, all people) are constantly told that male=correct, female=incorrect. “Be a man” is synonymous with “be strong,” while women have long been referred to as “the weaker sex.” I have met PLENTY of white men who took out the fact that they had no real power in their lives on women, whether it was in the form of rape, abuse, or simply making her know that his opinions and thoughts were more ‘valuable’ than hers. I have also met several women who misguidedly try to negate the fact that they are women and misogynists will treat them like shit no matter what by being ‘one of the guys’ and cracking/laughing at rape jokes as if such a crime could never be committed against them.
So Bill, look beyond what you see in ‘urban culture.’ It’s just one tiny microcosm in the larger world. The blame for this rests not on the shoulders of black men but on those of the people with power.
July 4, 2008 at 5:42 pm
“‘Reality’ is that all teh men commit rape”
We do, huh? Nice viewpoint there.
July 5, 2008 at 7:57 pm
I remember I was listening to the radio, and a couple guys off of the Welsh Rugby team had been accused of rape. But that’s all I ever herd about it. It seemed like it was sweeped under the carpet pretty quickly. Which seems to be the trend here; woman accuses athlete of rape, athlete denies it. End of discussion. No one mentions it again and the athlete can carry on his career without having to bother about being called a rapist.
I’m not sure which is worse really. It seems we like to think we have a better attitude towards rape over here, but even I was shocked to find our (the UK’s that is, in case anyone reading this has no idea where Wales) stats are worse then America’s. So I guess the way over here is not to be openly misogynistic, coz you know, that’d wouldn’t be very PC, but still uphold the ideals that keep women in their place and such.
It’s a sad state of affairs really. Very sad indeed(yeah, I know, I keep saying that stuff makes me sad in all me comments, but it’s true. I guess things make me sad more then they make me angry).
July 5, 2008 at 8:07 pm
BlackThirteen–
Sorry, but you’re not the victim here. Not ‘all men,’ as in every single man in the world at some point in his life, will rape. Everyone is aware of that. No one said otherwise. The point, however, is that, unlike what Bill asserted, there is no one group of men who are more likely to rape women than any other group of men. It is just as likely for a rapist to be a rich white man as a poor black man (though the poor black man probably has a greater chance of getting convicted).
However, I WOULD say that men who protest too much about the fact that they’re not rapists? Probably run a greater chance of being so.
July 5, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Oh, and on the subject of sports; I can seriously not see any reason for things like football (soccer) to be single sex. I just don’t get it. It’s just saying that women can’t compete at the same level at men, which pisses me the hell off. I can understand it to a certain extent with things like rugby or american football, where it’s heavily based on strength and women are naturally weaker then men and bla bla bla. But I know that the women who play these sports build them up to the same level as the men, and are just as good. So what’s the issue? I think sports would benefit a lot if at a professional level it was mixed.
When I was younger I loved playing sports, I loved rugby so much. But then I got to secondary school and I couldn’t play with the boys any more, and was forced to do dance and aerobics instead. That was a fucking kick in the teeth. I hate that women and men can’t even practise together for sports. Luckily I found a sport that allows it; Tae Kwon Do. It’s laughable really, that I’m not even allowed to kick a ball around with a dude in a proper club, but kicking each other in? Yeah sure, that’s fine. Ok, technically we’re not allowed to fight each other in tournaments(we’re allowed to do patterns against each other though, due to the lack of contact), but at least we get to bloody well practise together.
tl;dr version; single sex sports suck.
July 6, 2008 at 12:35 am
“However, I WOULD say that men who protest too much about the fact that they’re not rapists? Probably run a greater chance of being so.”
Then I could say that the more women protest that they aren’t man-haters or gold-diggers or any other negative stereotype are more likely to fit it.
Fair?
July 7, 2008 at 6:03 am
Black Thirteen -
Geez, dude, this is a feminist blog. Patriarchy is all around us. We hear this stuff day in, day out. Every day. We don’t need to hear it here.
Are you here to learn something, or just call feminists who don’t like your intrusion ‘man-haters’? Because you are, in fact, intruding…and diverting the discussion away from the issues at hand and making it all about you and your gripes with feminism/women.
The Duke players are not innocent. They just got away with it. Most rapists do.
July 7, 2008 at 4:00 pm
BlackThirteen–
Say whatever the hell you want about me. Everyone does. Hence why I’m a too-fat too-thin ‘whore’ who can’t get laid. (Though your comment is particularly funny considering I can’t remember asserting that I wasn’t a man-hater, and I sure as hell never mentioned ‘gold-diggers’ either affirmatively or negatively.) Oh, and wandering onto radical feminist blogs nitpicking and stereotyping is a wonderful way to get people to come around to your side, right?
July 7, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Black Thirteen - Before I approve any more of your comments, please tell me why you come to this blog.
July 7, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Here’s a thought–what if cases that came up before judge and jury were kept out of any media spotlight until the case in question was either closed or dismissed? It is neither right nor fair for either the accuser or the accused to be condemned beforehand. (And yes, I am aware of how often the legal system fails, but it is important to maintain the presumption of innocence until guilt is proven–as it is equally important that the burden of proving one’s innocence is placed upon the defendant…and NOT upon a talk show host.)
July 12, 2008 at 5:46 pm
“People who have money and status get away with rape, and our culture’s tendency toward idolatry makes certain that athletes have plenty of both.”
Yup.
July 18, 2008 at 2:31 pm
[...] Deuce from Rage Against the Manchine writes about the misogyny of radio hosts in her post What About the Poor Rapists? These two radio dildoes then began to wonder aloud what it must feel like to be Mr. Tarrant. The [...]
Leave a Reply