Pen-Elayne on the Web

Idiocy Not Withheld

I have practically no opinion on the whole Kobe Bryant sexual assault matter, but something in this article (via Jeralyn Merritt, link at sidebar) disturbed me. Not the salacious bits wherein "The alleged victim was at a party three days before the charges were filed and appeared to be in a good mood, '...bragging about it,' party host Steve Evancho told NBC News." and "The victim described Bryant’s anatomy when asked about it at the party, the host said." I mean sure, that's disturbing, but as the article notes surprisingly quickly, "Another friend gave a different impression of the victim, saying she was still 'shaken up' by what happened," so that lends doubt to its veracity. However, look a bit further up, where the article mentions how "Tom Leykis, host of a radio talk-show based in Los Angeles and aimed mostly at young men, began using her name on the air and told Reuters that he has no plans to stop." His reasoning? "We’re told that rape is violence, not sex, and if that’s true there’s no reason she should feel shame or embarrassment." So if you consider rape to be violence rather than sex, why are you playing this up before your mostly young male audience? Besides which, it's not only a shame thing that's at issue when you withhold someone's name. I regularly read the police reports in my local paper. If someone is a victim of an alleged crime, their name as a rule is withheld because they're the presumed victim, not the presumed perpetrator, scumbag. Update: Tom at TBOGG has more.