I apologize for the gross error in judgment in Friday afternoon’s editorial about the notorious Stanford rape case.
I was 100 percent wrong.
I committed a main fault line that came in two parts:
- I stated, not merely implied, the victim shared blame.
- I stated, not merely implied, that the rapist’s ugly crime partially was ameliorated by the victim’s prior actions.
Both ill-founded assertions were worthless.
In this delicate situation, there probably is equal peril in saying too much or too little.
There is no way – nor should there be – to lighten the burden of wrongdoing and guilt that I have willfully saddled myself with.
What I, the author, intended and the offensive way in which it was presented are secondary, if not tertiary, at this moment to the deep wounds the essay – with prominently public regret — inarguably inflicted.
Several salient points are to be made:
- The young woman was 100 percent victim.
- The rapist perpetrator deserved the assigned penalty and more, a conclusion immediately reached by a wide cross-section of people, and regrettably belatedly by me.
It takes a big person to admit when he or she is wrong. Which is what you were. Good on you, Ari, for fessing up and taking your lumps.
Patrick…I don’t think you understand what Ari’s scheme was…Well…at least he fooled one person
I don’t know what you’re talking about, Doug, so I guess he did.
1. Ari is a real man to apologize for his mistakes (maybe Trump should take a leaf out of his book)
2. That other local paper is really nasty for turning his apology on him. I think they and their advertisers should be boycotted.
3. Ari did make a huge mistake by implying that the victim shared guilt.
4. If he were to write a tip of the day, I think it would be appropriate for him to write something like this:
“Tip of the day: Bad things happen at college parties with lots of alcohol. Protect yourself: Teach your kids to stay away from bars where thugs hang out and not to drink to the point that they lose control”
She was 100% victim and he was 100% predator, but she was also 100% stupid for hanging out in the wrong places with the wrong people.