False Accusations of Rape & Feminism

This is an interesting piece, SAFAR: The Backlash!, by James Donald Anderson who supposedly was wrongfully convicted of rape. He's not in prison anymore according to the Oregon State DOC inmate locator, and I can't find him listed in the sex offender's registry, so I am wondering if he was cleared of these charges. If anyone knows, I'd love to find out. Anyway, for the most part I agree with this guy's sentiments, such as:

Women today have an extremely devastating weapon they can use against men. All they have to do is point an accusatory finger, cry rape, and some poor schmuck is going to prison. Like I said, most women would never sink this low, but some do. Women have long used false accusations to get back at men and have a variety of reasons for doing so: revenge, blackmail, regret, mental illness, extortion, to explain a pregnancy, for attention, and for sympathy, to name a few.

I have had my own experience with this, and came out shocked at and ashamed of the Canadian justice system. I believe I have mentioned before, I am a rape victim, though I hate the word victim. He was a friend who had feelings for me for years. We had been out of touch for close to 5 years because of this but after 5 years I figured he would be over it. Not so much. He got carried away with me while I slept one night and due to peer pressure and the pressure of my family, I decided to report it to the cops. I really didn't want to because I strongly believed that I was the only one in the world he would ever have done that to, and he posed no threat to any other women in his future. But I reported it anyway, a week after it happened. The sheets and clothes had been washed, and my word was the only evidence. I didn't think the case would even make it to trial.

But it did. A year later I was called into the prosecutor's office to talk and prepare for my testimony. Throughout our many meetings I continually asked her how she thought this was a fair trial, being as there was zero evidence. I constantly was asking her, what if I was lying? What if I made it up? I wasn't, of course, but it bothered me so much that they just took my word for it and were so fully willing to throw a man into turmoil he will probably never recover from, just because I said something happened. Those who know me, know I would never make something like this up. Especially concerning a friend and especially concerning an offense that would land him prison time. I have never, since becoming socially conscious before I was even a teenager, though prison was humane or the answer to crime. That coupled with the fact that I was still reeling from finding out one of my most cherished friends was serving a 9 year sentence in Ohio, made the idea of sending anyone to prison seem like the worst possible thing that could happen, even worse than being raped. But the problem was, the prosecutor, the courts, the justice system didn't know me. So how could they possibly trust that I was telling the truth enough to ruin a man's life? It just horrified me beyond belief.

A year earlier at a friend's birthday party, there was this girl who we all knew as being quite fucked up and promiscuous. I left before things got out of control, but apparently she was having sex with people in front of everyone else in the hot tub, among other places. Later on in the evening, she was found crying in the corner and when asked what was wrong, she claimed she'd been raped. By  3 different people, at 3 different times during the night. The cops were called and they interviewed everyone at length and eventually got it out of this girl that she was lying about two of the guys, but one of them really did rape her. Months went by and more interviews with witnesses were conducted and the police finally realized that this girl had a history of making such claims and they found more and more evidence that she was lying. The rape charges were dropped. But what if she hadn't been so blatantly crazy? What if she had only claimed the one rape to begin with and wasn't being promiscuous? The accused man, a lawyer who is still suffering the effects of the accusation, would have been charged and sent to trial and the only evidence would have been her word. According to the prosecutor in my case, he would have most likely gone to prison an innocent man.

I found out after my first couple of meetings with the prosecutor that the defendant had not qualified for legal aid. He was therefore representing himself. I blogged about it here. This just filled me with horror. Not only is there no evidence against this guy, but he hasn't got proper legal counsel. Not to mention the fact that I would have to be cross-examined by the guy who raped me?! I was in shock. In Canada, you haven't got the choice to drop charges against an attacker. Once a rape has been reported, it is up to the Crown to decide whether or not to press charges. I had always thought our criminal justice system better than the USA's, but I was very, very wrong. This was basically a lynching, like James Anderson calls it, a witch hunt. They were taking my word for something and they were going to ruin a man's life because of it. I couldn't stand for it. I was planning to move to Mexico to be with my family, and the trial was supposed to be just before I left. It was postponed and they expected me to stay. I hadn't been subpoenaed for the new trial date yet, so I left for Mexico as planned and told them if they wanted me there to testify, they would have to fly me back to Canada and put me up in a hotel. They dropped the charges.

Even though I was not lying, the trial was not fair, because in reality, I am the only one who knows I am not lying. When I asked the prosecutor how do they know who's telling the truth and who isn't, she says, "after years of doing this, you just know". What a pile of shit. This is a dangerous God complex that I am sure has landed many an innocent man in prison in Canada. I wasn't going to be a part of it, I was not a part of it, and I am proud of the fact that I stood up for what I believe in and that the man I accused of rape, though guilty, is free. I am glad.

But where I differ in my opinion from James Anderson, is in his view of women as having control over everything:

Let's face it, lesbians, feminists, and other man-haters are not too thrilled with men anyway and to them, the more men in prison the better, and what better way to get rid of men than to accuse them of a crime that needs no evidence (except the accusation) and that is impossible to defend against. This is why the media portray all men as predators and rapists at heart. Feminist propaganda against men have all but manipulated our media into mouthing whatever the feminists want them to say. If a newspaper dares question feminist-created myths or over-inflated statistics, they are accused of being sexist or anti-woman by the feminist storm troopers and their allies.

First, all men are portrayed as predators and rapists? I'm not so sure about that. Probably the most public man in the media right now is Barack Obama. He is portrayed as anything but predatory. As for a rapist? Laughable. Who knows what really lies in his heart, but the media does not portray him as these things. How about the most talked about man in Hollywood these days, Brad Pitt? I've never once seen any media outlet describe him as anything close to predatory. The media doesn't even portray truly predatory men as such. Take George W Bush for example. Or Dick Cheney? These men were never portrayed as people we should be afraid of, though in hindsight they probably should have been. No, the media does not skew the image of all men. I'm sorry, that's just not true.

Second, the media says what feminists want them to say. It strikes me as odd that if the feminists have that type of power, why would they use it to smear everyone's opinion of men as a whole, and not use it to get equal pay in the work place? I mean, as it stands right now, women earn about 20% less than men on average (Gender Wage Gap). Why would they not use it to put more women in positions of power? Have you sen the sausage fest that is American, Canadian and British politics? I suppose it's all part of the plan, right. Make them all think we have no power while we're running the whole show? Come on.

Listen, I am not a feminist. I believe if a western woman finds herself in a position, in this day and age, where she is being discriminated against because she is a woman, she has options. She can press charges, sue, leave that position and find another, etc. While that is all a hassle, there is never going to be a point in time where everyone is treated with the respect they deserve. Men, women, etc. I am not a feminist, though I do believe in equal rights. I think we are close enough and what minor issues we still have now pale in comparison to those of ethnic minority groups and homosexuals. I like to keep it in perspective. As a white woman, I have it pretty good compared to most of the world.

But just because I am not a feminist, does mean I agree that all feminists are bad and that they secretly control the media. That's absurd. I've heard some silly conspiracy theories in my time, but that one takes the cake.

More by James Donald Anderson:

How To Survive in Prison as an Innocent Man Convicted of a Sex Crime

The Personal Nightmare of a Man Falsely Accused of Rape

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