And people who are accused are damned, period. I can see why mob justice can sometimes be the only options for victims, but the abuse potential is massive.
By the way, I see no reason a woman or a trans person could not make this statement.
I think people grossly exaggerate this. We have libel and slander laws. Individual companies aside, entire communities of people aren't that stupid. In my opinion, this is a really pessimistic view of people and also not based in reality in my experience.
At the end of the day, we need to be able to listen to victims. The amount of fake accusers compared to real victims is microscopic.
"And people who are accused are damned, period."
Not really. There are literally countless examples of accusations/allegations and nothing happening to people for whatever reason, usually influence/popularity.
> I think people grossly exaggerate this. We have libel and slander laws.
Yeah, but think about how those work. (IANAL).
If I can convince enough people that you are an awful person, I can ruin your reputation. As a recourse, you can sue me for defamation. But once you do that, we’ve switched sides—now I am the defendant and you are the accuser. Unlike a criminal defendant, the defendant in the court of public opinion never enjoys a presumption of innocence. Instead, he has to carry that burden of proof through a civil lawsuit just to clear his name.
> Individual companies aside, entire communities of people aren't that stupid.
If that’s true, why bother with courts of law in the first case? If the mob is capable of adjudicating questions of guilt or innocence, we’re wasting a lot of money on lawyers as a society.
I should note that my brother thought exactly the way you did, before this happened to him. Just an FYI.
He didn't move to Portland randomly. He's the most liberal of the liberal. Just remember that you almost never hear media coverage of accusations that turn out to be false. You just hear about the accusations when they are first made. Do you think the coverage of the Duke Lacrosse case was equally high after the accusations were proven to be fabricated?
>"I think people grossly exaggerate this. We have libel and slander laws."
I don't understand what those laws have to do with this? As if they somehow protect a potentially innocent party from incorrect accusations? At what point would an accusation such as the one in the blog post even constitute as libel/slander?
By the way, I see no reason a woman or a trans person could not make this statement.