Saturday, October 10, 2015

"How I Was Raped" by Viviana I. Maymi Analyzed

Here is an article  from the Harvard Crimson in which Viviana I. Maymi explains how she was raped at Harvard University.


  Analytical Question:  Is the subject truthful?

Over the years, analysis has covered many sexual assault cases and have found veracity indicators (see Bill Cosby) and deceptive indicators as the language guides us.

  We let the subjects own words guide us and the reference point being both the principles of analysis, and the many truthful statements by victims, including those victimized in childhood.

We have questions that must be answered:

A.  Did the rape happen?
B.  If sex occurred:   Was it consensual, or was it criminal?
C.  Was the subject sexually abused in childhood? If so:
D.  Is she perseverating on a childhood experience?

Sensory language is often used to conclude that memory is in play, but in perseveration, for example, sensory language could be the memory of what happened earlier.  Also, in deceptive statements, one can still use some form of sensory description, therefore, we view the statement in the whole.

 This leads us to ask:  Did it happen when she said it happened and how she said it happened?

We begin noting that the account is from 2013.  By publicly making this written statement the author invites readers to believe her, or not to.  What follows is the employment of the principles of analysis to determine not only veracity, but content.  Analysis is added in bold type.  The subject's written statement is in italics and not bold type. 

We note the Title is "How", which gives us the expectation of detail within the rape.  Therefore, the analyst, before actually "breaking down the language to smaller parts for examination" uses a simple measurement of reliability called "Form Measurement."

When someone gives a reliable account of what happened, the form of the statement, written or oral, takes on a specific general measurement.  The form will follow priority, as the rape statement will have the majority of words dedicated to it.  With the title "how", this is especially noteworthy.

I.  The Form 

A reliable statement has a basic form that follows the psychology of truthful accounts:  25% introduction, 50% of the event described, and 25% of the words dedicated to following the event.  This is from decades of research. The research has found that most wording of reliable statements is the priority:  what happened.  

Truthful accounts speak predominantly about what happened, or the "main text" of the account.  This makes psychological sense:  It is the most important part of the account. 

The percentage of 25/50/25 is to test form, and anything close to this is accepted.  When a statement tests reliable on its form, it does not mean it does not contain deception. This is just one of many tools of discernment employed in analysis.  With the topic (rape) and title (how) it should not surprise us if the subject gives even more than 50% of her words answering the title's question.  Rape is a very "personal" and "intrusive" event, leaving life long trauma.  This is expected in the language.  

Testing the Form:  


Here the statement is 1504 words.


The main portion of the statement is the rape, itself. The setting leading up to the rape if the "Pre" event, and what happened after the crime, such as "I called 911" or "I went to the hospital" is the "Post" event.  

The overwhelming number of deceptive statements have an introduction, or "Pre event" that is longer than 25%, often in rival to the event itself.  Rape statements proven to be true will exceed 50%, which should be noted.  

1.   PreThe subject used 486 words before the rape
2.  The Subject used 62 words to describe the rape, itself; 
3.  The subject used the balance of the statement to describe activities and events after the rape.  

She used 62 words to describe the rape, answering the title, "Here's How I Was Raped" and words to tell us what happened after the rape.


Pre Event:    32%

Main Event:    4%

Post Event:      64%


The main event is noted as extreme in its low volume.      

The form is, therefore:  Unreliable  technically

This is now a strong signal to the analyst that the subject may not be telling the truth and the analysis continues as we look for the subject, herself, to guide us.  We will see if the analysis affirms or denies the Form results.  




Here's How I Was Raped

The title begins with the description of "how" the subject was raped.  Therefore, what follows should be description, which should connect itself with strong pronoun use, past tense verbs, and the employment of descriptive and up close 'personal' language, as sexual assault yields.  In short, we expect her to verbally connect herself to the criminal behavior. 



On a chilly night in 2013, as the stress of the semester was coming to a peak, I had the most scarring experience of my life. In the moment, I wasn't aware that it was happening. Yet I will always remember the trauma. Being sexually assaulted—raped—shattered my self-image and confidence in my own voice

Please note that the subject began the account with passivity in speech. This is not expected given the date it is alleged to have occurred and the date written.  Rape is up close and very personal. 

Please note the order:

a.  sexual assault
b.  rape

"Sexually assaulted" comes before "raped" in her language.  This is not expected.  

PTSD from childhood rape can produce a type of passivity which is more often seen in statements of disassociation.  

We look for the victim to connect herself to the crime, through her language.  Here, she does not. 


In analysis, we know that the first sentence of a statement is always important, and sometimes, it is the reason for the statement.  This is where the person chose to begin, and should always receive emphasis in analysis:

On a chilly night in 2013, as the stress of the semester was coming to a peak, I had the most scarring experience of my life.

We note she begins with story telling language of a "chilly night", and introduces "the stress of the semester" which was coming to its peak.  Lastly in this opening sentence, is the "most scarring experience" of her life. 

We now must, in following the subject's own language, make "the stress of the coming semester" a priority, as it is a priority for her.  

How is the stress of the semester part of this account that alleges rape?

This is not expected in reliable accounts.  


My self-worth was stolen from me by someone I previously trusted. In hindsight, it’s painfully obvious that hedid me wrong. He violated me. He is to blame.

We always listen to the victim's identification of the rapist and follow the pronouns.  Here she calls him "someone" first.  We will continue to listen. 
Note "He is to blame" is an unnecessary sentence in a rape; therefore, any unnecessary statements are deemed very important. 

Why is it important for the subject to assign blame to the rapist? 


Still, I was the one who dealt with the repercussions.

Did the perpetrator deal with any "repercussions"?   Note the use of "repercussions" and not the stronger "consequences."


Since then, I have healed.

Please note date of the rape and the writing, with "I have healed."

There are two general times that a rape victim will claim to be healed as seen in her language. 

1.  Shortly after the rape.

This is often a signal to a medical or psychological professional that the victim is about to have a major depressive episode.  She has had a short time (sometimes this claim is made as early as one week after the rape, or a few days after being released from the hospital) to process, and has a powerful desire to "be okay", but the trauma is not yet confronted.  


2.  Decades later

This is where one has had many years of struggle to overcome the repercussions of trauma and symptoms have subsided to the point where the victim may even go months without feeling the impact (nightmares, depression, etc) and has experienced triggers that were dealt with.  

Please note that many victims never use this term, even though friends, relatives and well mean supporters attempt to assign it to her.  Only she, and those closest to her know what it is like, years later, to have horrific flashbacks, or to have a sudden, intrusive thought to end her life, followed by months of relatively symptom free periods in life.  The "survivor" has often learned to not be overly optimistic for example, after a month of relative freedom from symptoms.  

Please note that we find this word in more statements that are shown to be unreliable, or even deceptive. 


 I went through a process of denial, acknowledgement, sadness, anger, therapy. I now love myself more than ever before. Though I will always carry the burden of my experience—and the knowledge that human beings are capable of exploiting each other without the slightest hesitancy—I have healed. 

Please note the inclusion of "I now love myself" which uses the word "now", suggestive of previously not loving herself. 

Please also note that she calls a rape "my experience."  This is not expected language of a brutal criminal assault.


I want to share my story for several reasons: to paint an accurate picture of how rape happens at this prestigious institution, to encourage my peers to take an active role in prevention, to dispel the notion that sexual assault is a spectrum, and to tell other assault survivors that they are not alone and they are not to blame.

Note that the rape account is called "my story" and here the subject gives motivation for "sharing", employing words that are not expected in the brutal realm of rape.

1.  to "paint an accurate picture"  is not to report the truth.  Have "inaccurate pictures" been "painted"?

She wishes to do this to show how "rape happens at this prestigious institution" as her primary motive for writing. 

It is not that she was raped, and it is not for the rapist to be punished, but to "paint" a portrait about the university, itself. 

This is distancing language and suggestive of a motive other than a report of a crime.  

2.  Encourage her "peers", not fellow students.  This is to say that her painting has a specific audience.  Reporting a brutal crime is to alert all people to take precaution.  

3.  To dispel the "notion" that sexual assault is a "spectrum"

4.  It is lastly to address other "assault survivors" and not "rape victims" nor even "rape survivors" in her priority. 

Victims' language expectation does not have this listed lastly.  We expect to hear punishment for the rapist, in any terms, including "justice" calls, and safety for others following. 

The term "survivor" is a popular term, but not always heard from rape victims.  It is often many years, if at all, that a rape victim ever feels like a "survivor." 

Most that I have interviewed, never feel that way, even when tagged with the "heroic label" by others.  The depression, self loathing, fear, anxiety, and so on, stay with them for life and they often look at those making the claim of "survivor" as those seeking "status" and dismiss them as not understanding the impact of criminal and vicious rape. 

The term "survivor" does not mean it did not happen but it is a term often used in fake hate crimes.  This was highlighted by Charlie Rogers in her television appearance as she quickly grabbed this status label. 


It’s first semester sophomore year. A friend and classmate asks me to be his date to his team’s fall formal, held at a final club. My first date event! How could I say no to dressing up and getting free booze with Harvard athletes? 

Please note the use of present tense language at this point of the statement.  This is thus deemed "unreliable" in analysis.  

Please also note the question within the open statement.  This sometimes proves to be what one asked themselves, at the time of the event; and may not be strictly "rhetorical" for the intended audience. 

I agreed, but despite my anxious desire to experience what the chosen few did, I had reservations: On the second-to-last afternoon of freshman year, we had been smoking weed in his barren single, and his body language screamed of interest in initiating a make-out. I asked another guy friend on the same team whether, by going to the event, I’d be sending mixed signals where I wanted none. He assured me that my friendship with the soon-to-be perpetrator was solid enough such that I wouldn’t feel pressured to “do anything.”

a.  The word "agreed" generally indicates a debate or discussion of some form. 
b.  Note the reading of his body language 
c.  Note the "another guy friend" uses the word "guy", not "male", and is often the language of sexual interest.  This is important to the overall context of the purpose of the statement:  To tell "how" the subject was raped.  
d.  Social Introduction:  we measure the quality of a relationship by the social introduction yet we note that where one does not wish to reveal the identity, an incomplete social introduction is expected.  

It is always important to note the language used to describe the perpetrator before and after the rape. 

There is an expectation of change, along with anger, rage, and distancing language.  

"Mr. Cosby" and "Bill" became "Cosby", after the rape.

Pronouns

The pronoun "we" is the single most cited linguistic signals in rape cases in analysis.  They are 100% reliable.  The pronoun "we" indicates unity or cooperation.  This is instinctive in the English language; taking no pre thought, and in some cases, pronouns pre date language, as indicated by young children opening and closing their hand, motioning, "mine" regarding people or objects. 

Pronouns are, in fact, exempt from our principle that everyone has their own personal, subjective vocabulary.  Pronouns solve cases and are never "wrong" and, as is the expression, "pronouns don't lie."

I prove this through a variety of means, and a myriad of examples, but the most basic is this:

In rape, the pronoun "we" often enters a statement but once the rape has occurred, the rape victim will not use the pronoun "we" referencing herself and the perpetrator.  Each time it is in the statement, it has found to be deceptive.  

"We drove to the woods, where he attacked me.  Then he drove me home and I called police"  is an appropriate use of pronouns.  Once the "attack" took place, the victim has such a disgust for the rapist that her language reflects immediate and unremedied distance.  

We also note how the rapist is referred to before and after the assault.  

The rule of commitment in discerning truth from deception is:

Strong pronouns and past tense verbs.  This is what tells us if something happened.  When this formula is deviated from, weakness enters.  Enough weakness and sensitivity indicators and the analyst's judgment will be towards deception.  


That night, we get to the final club, and we’re each handed a bottle of Rosé. I look around and didn't 
recognize any of the girls. Take a sip from the bottle. I have a handful of friends on the team, but they’re lost in the sea of made-up girls and rowdy guys. Take a sip from the bottle. I stay by his side. We mingle with other couples, take a sip. The guys start singing a repetitive chant,Smile and nod with the beat, I guess. Take a sip. The bottle is gone. I’m 5’3”, 115 pounds. leaving the final club.I don't remember leaving the final club."

Here we have:

a.  "that night" distancing language 
b.  The pronoun "we" exists that includes subject and alleged rapist 
c.  The account has changed from past tense to the actual "what happened" on "that night" to present tense language.  This is unreliable.  The change itself, from the initial writing, is significant and noted.  
d.  We note anything in the negative.  We look for someone to tell us what happened, what she said, what she saw.  Here we have her reporting who was not there, "didn't recognize any of the girls...."
e.  "Take a sip from the bottle" drops the pronoun entirely.  This is both present tense (-) and now a dropped pronoun (-) as she removes herself from this activity.
f.  Note she has a "handful of friends on the team but they're lost in the sea of made-up girls..." tells us of some she recognized there.  Please also note the language of story telling, including "made-up girls", which is not something expected in an account of rape. 
g.  "Take a sip from the bottle" is in the present tense, is repeated, and is without the pronoun.  It is very likely that this is an indication of missing or suppressed information. 
h.  "We" is still used, with "mingling" with others and "sip" drops the pronoun.  

She then offers, in the negative, that she "does not know" what to do.   

This section of her statement is unreliable.  There is extreme sensitivity regarding alcohol use and not knowing what to do is unreliable as well. 

Please note:

In an open statement, a subject can only tell us what is remembered.  Therefore, when, in an open statement, the subject claims knowledge of what she does not remember, it is a signal of deception. 

"I don't remember leaving the final club." 

I also have no memory of the walk to his House, or the walk up the stairs, or the walk to his room. Next thing I do remember, 


Here we have both the declaration of no memory within an open statement and the temporal lacunae, or "passing over of time" with "Next thing I do remember."

This is to be "deception indicated" and is likely why she dropped her pronouns about "sip" with alcohol.  

A direct lie is very rare with more than 90% of deception via missing information.  Rather than say, "I was drunk", the subject intimates that she drank too much in order to persuade the reader that she does not remember due to alcohol.

Remember:  her words guide us.  We do not deal with intimation, but with words.  If she is unable to say "I was drunk", we cannot say it for her.  

"I don't remember" is the number one deceptive response in court.  In analysis, if it is found in an open statement, (that is, not as a result of a direct question), it is a signal of deliberately withheld information.  

I’m naked in his bed. I see his face—he’s on top of me, he’s inside of me, he’s sweaty. I vaguely realize what’s happening, and I explicitly realize that I don’t want to be where I currently am. 

a. Note the present tense language is unreliable.
b.  Note "vaguely realize" uses both "realize" and and makes it sensitive with "vaguely."  When "realize" or "come to understand" is used in an open statement, it is a signal that thought processing was taking place.  What caused her to realize?  What does it mean to "vaguely" realize? 

We listen for her to say, "he raped me."

Note the language tells us of her thoughts and not what she said.  Note as well that she went from vagueness in realizing to "explicit" realization.  What caused this dramatic change while under the influence of alcohol? What could have awakened her from only a "vague" realization (please note that with the processing that takes place to "realize" something, is an indication that time has passed) to an "explicit" realization?  There is nothing within the context to answer this question.  

Note that her "explicit" realization is regarding her location; not what happened, nor what she said, nor what he did or what he said. 

Note:  "he's on top of me" gives body posture in the present tense:  

Despite my confused state, I have an overwhelming instinct to leave. I get him off of me, 


Note also now that she went from "vague" realization to "explicit" and then to an "instinct" tat was "overwhelming" which led to an action:  "I get him off of me."

She does not say how she did this, and that she reported it in the present tense both show unreliability.  


and look for a way out. 

This is also to pass time.  She did not just walk out, she slowed down the pace of the account to say she "look for a way out" (also in present tense language) and then began to "walk":  

I walk into his roommate’s single, still naked. Wrong place. I walk through the common room, still naked, out the front door and into the hallway. I walk down the hall. I sit down and lean on a wall, maybe someone’s door. I black out again.

Please note that the police investigation interview should explore possible sexual abuse history, particularly in childhood.  Note "out the front door" in her language. 
Note also her body posture is important enough to mention, with "sit down" yet still in the present tense.  She reported to us that she remembers blacking out and uses the word "again" as to affirm prior black outs.  "I black out" is not to say "I blacked out."

Objection:  What if the subject's first language is not English?

Answer:  Note that the first part of her statement is in the past tense and when it came to the event, it changed.  This indicates an understanding of properly using past and present tense language.  


The next morning, I wake up alone in a foreign common room in a t-shirt that isn’t mine. 

Please note the inclusion of the unnecessary word, "alone" in her statement.  Why is this here?  If she had left the rapist, was there an expectation that she would wake up with someone else?

This is a strong indication that there was either an expectation of not being alone (did he ask her to leave?) or that she was with someone else.  


I have bruises staining my sore legs, evidence of a nasty fall or two—evidence to anyone I was with that I was too drunk to consent. Still drunk, head pounding, throat dry, I quickly remember, in blurred bits and pieces, what happened. I’m confused, I don’t have any of my belongings, and I want to go home. So I do. 

Alcohol induced memory blackouts are the most difficult to recover; more than narcotics.  Many experts feel that they are not recoverable.   Note "still drunk" continues to avoid using the pronoun "I" to connect herself to being drunk, and "quickly remember" is something that is not often heard:  the measurement of time while remembering something. 

This is something we do not find in open statements, instead, it comes when friends (or a therapist, or Interviewer) ask specific questions provoking memory.  

We have a small point which is significant. 

In analysis of statements, we note any explanation as to "why" something took place when not specifically asked, as being sensitive:  the subject anticipates being asked why she did something, and rather than wait to ask, offers it.  This is "unnecessary" information, which, to the analyst, is deemed "doubly" important. 

"I want to go home.  So I do."

It is to explain why she went home.  This should lead the interviewer to explore other reasons why she did not stay where she was.  

Also note that it is in the present tense language. 


*****
I’ve always been a strong woman. Like many of my peers, I’ve been the captain of a team, I’ve been the president of a club, and I’ve been confident in my academic and social abilities throughout my entire life. Perhaps so firmly believing in my power and worth as an individual made being a rape victim more difficult to accept. 

The subject had already written about how she loves herself, and here she goes on to give specific accomplishments to affirm the love she has for herself:  "captain of a team" and "president", and so on.  Note the phrase, "my power" is more associated with narcissism in language, as well as in liars.  Recall deceptive statements from liars, such as politicians, as having "power" or "authority"; Bill Cosby showed the "power" over what even what others might "hear" in their world.  This is a god-like perception of oneself.  The investigator should explore why this statement is being made.  


Here the subject tells us why the topic of alcohol caused her to drop the pronoun:  direct lying is to interrupt the process of memory, which moves in less than a micro-second of time.  This, alone, causes stress and the subject has not, thus far, said, "I was drunk" or "I was raped", instead goes into a lengthy use of words about alcohol.
This is an important tangent for her, away from the truth.  

She used 146 words, here, about alcohol. 

She used 62 words to describe the rape.  


In my case, and in many other cases of sexual assault on campus, alcohol played a role for the perpetrator as well. This does not excuse his guilt. Whatsoever.

Note the short sentence, "Whatsoever" as unnecessary, but very important.  What is it that she sees as his guilt?  She has not told us that he raped her, nor that they had sex.  This is what is implied:  but she does not say that they had sex.  The present tense language is to avoid making direct statements.  This means that if they did have sex, the present tense language lacks commitment to the context:  "How I was Raped"

Please note that the title has, at its core, the pronoun "I", and the statement is consistent regarding it:  it is not a call for justice, or punishment, or even safety for others.  

Look at it this way: Everyone that consumes alcohol is aware that it distorts cognitive function. When a drunk driver enters a car, he knows he is impaired, which is why he is responsible for the death of the person he runs over. Likewise, at a party, a perpetrator knows he is impaired, and should be held accountable for the drunken assumptions he makes and acts on. He alone is to blame for the assault—not the alcohol, and certainly not the victim. 

The alcohol "sermonizing" continued here.  This is not only a major tangent, but we note "sermonizing" in event centered allegations as more closely related to deception than truth.  

Of course, while I believe ending drunken hookups would be an extremely effective way to prevent sexual assault on campus, I’m not naive—this is an unrealistic goal. 

That she reports, of herself, to be "not" naive is interesting.  It is about self, it is in the negative, and it is concerning one who lacks discernment due to inexperience or lack of knowledge.  

Yet, she has made this a public article with the expectation that she will be received as a rape victim because she will be believed.  


More importantly, while alcohol is a risk factor, it is not the ultimate cause of the sexual assault epidemic. 

Please note the language employed:  "sexual assault epidemic" is the popular language of social justice warriors who have used false statistics for a narrative.  This phrase is not expected to be part of a statement that is entitled, "How I Was Raped"


Rather, the social factors underlying the manner in which we engage each other create an unhealthy party environment that far too often leads to assault. 

The "unhealthy engagement" is in context:  rape, and it uses the word "we":

A rape victim will not call rape an unhealthy engagement.  These words follow "sexual assault" above.  Would the pronoun "we" include herself?  Would it include the accused?  Would it include them both and all others in colleges where the "epidemic" is?


Education that emphasizes mutual respect and camaraderie among the student body, as well as the responsibility and accountability of the perpetrator, is indeed realistic. It’s also essential, and it’s also lacking.

Please note that rape is a violent crime of sexual contact.  We expect to hear that she was raped, and that the rapist needs to be punished, and others need protection from him.  We do not expect "mutual respect and camaraderie" to ever enter the language of a victim while talking about rape. 

Violent, intrusive rape is not remedied by "mutual respect" nor by "camaraderie" and do not belong in the same account where rape has taken place.  Those terms describe something other than rape.  Since the words are in her account, this may lead some to ask what happened that night between her and the male, that did not include "mutual", that is, two way "respect" and what caused a failure of "camaraderie" between them. 

This is called "leakage" in a statement:  while being deceptive, she literally gives away verbal indictors of truth.  

Rapists are those who are sexually aroused in violence and in subjugation of its victim.  While most men will never feel sexual arousal by a victim in fear or during rejection, this criminal element does.  

Next, the subject gives us another indicator of motive:  Absurdity.  


To avoid being a rapist, learn how rape happens, and don’t do it. 

This is the statement of the subject, who is a student at Harvard University.  

Not only would she not pass a polygraph, but she lacks the self awareness to realize that she cannot "teach" someone how to "avoid" being a rapist.  


There are no gray areas.
Take active steps to seek consent before you and the other party begin drinking. As sexual assault education on campus increases, we should develop the maturity, respect, and compassion to overcome the social awkwardness of asking someone how they feel about engaging in a physical relationship. The discomfort of soberly communicating that you’re “down to sleep together tonight” is nothing compared to the discomfort of being penetrated against your will. If this approach does not align with your party habits, then stop having sex with people after parties. If you feel like you need the aid of alcohol to convince someone to hook up with you, then you shouldn't be hooking up with that person to begin with. 

She continues to dedicate her wording to "alcohol"; dwarfing her words to tell us "how" she was raped.  

She continues to advise males on how not to rape:  

At a school that breeds goal-oriented individuals, it’s no surprise that this characteristic seeps into our hierarchical social scene where many seek and thrive on the self-validation of getting laid. Rather than hunting for the immediate gratification of sex on a Saturday night, here’s a thought: Get her number on Saturday, invite her over the next day to watch a movie, and see where it goes. We must curb the short-sighted perception that party nights are the only nights to have sex, and understand the fact that we are all equals in the same community with unique human desires and boundaries. It is imperative that we respect each other to make our school safe again. 
Yes, it’s on Harvard to provide better education. Yet it’s also on individual students to be better people.
Primarily with the support of my loving sister, the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response, and Mental Health Services, I did accept what had happened. I did accept I was raped. Upon doing so, I felt even more pain. But then, I felt relief. 
If you feel unsettled or wronged after any sexual interaction, you are absolutely entitled to your reaction. It’s your body. If you feel unsettled or wronged, or confused, or unsure—much like I felt the days following what was clearly a case of assault—reach out. It feels so, so, so much better to do so. Reach out to OSAPR, to MHS, your family, your blockmates, even to me. You don’t have to carry the weight of your experience alone, because you’re not alone. And no one should ever have to handle sexual assault alone.



I have ceased from analyzing the rest of the statement.  It is not in-depth analysis, but enough for a conclusion  The rest is her lecturing on how to not be a rapist, and nothing within it affirms rape.  Due to the inclusion of police numbers following the article, I do not consider this to be a satirical or comical lesson.  If I have missed comedic intent, please discount the analysis.  If this is not meant to be humorous, the analysis of her words show:

The subject was not raped


If she has filed a report with police, falsely accusing someone,  she could face  charges. 

If given a polygraph using her own words, she will fail.  

Like all "fake hate" reports, actual victims may see this and fear coming forward because of the reaction.  

This is an unusual example of deception, whereas most are not this simply discerned.  By testing its form alone, she gave us the most extreme sample I have ever encountered dedicated fewer words to the accusation than I have ever encountered, or read about from others.


90 comments:

Anonymous said...

It would be different had she not noted how many swigs of the cheap wine she took..."the bottle is gone." As if three or four sips did her in! Ha! No room the claim date rape drugs, either.

This is the type of person who thinks a Gofundme acct. should be set up to search in the event she can't find her way home after a drunken night out with the "guys." Another fake cause creator hell-bent on getting in the way of real rape victims that are beaten, tortured and sometimes murdered on their way home from the grocery store, work, school, etc.

Maybe she wants to help others and this is her cheap, tawdry way of doing so. I can only imagine real rape victims will not be amused.

Statement Analysis Blog said...

I am surprised by this being a junior at Harvard...I expected better writing, in the least, and a better attempt to masquerade her motive. She could have simply written an anti-alcohol letter, or gone to a school therapist to talk about rejection, or had gotten attention in so many other ways.

These fake hate reports have potential to harm actual victims.

A detailed analysis would show a profile...narcissistic tendencies are evident.

Peter

John Mc Gowan said...

"Yet I will always remember the trauma. Being sexually assaulted—raped—shattered my self-image and confidence in my own voice."

This is right at the beginning of her allegations. Yet she can bring herself to say:
I, first person singular, connecting herself to the event, was, past tense, "sexually assaulted (and)-raped" specific event. A much stronger statement would be.

Yet I will always remember the trauma. (When "i" "was") assaulted—raped— (it) shattered my self-image and confidence in my own voice."


Anonymous said...

Peter Hyatt said...

"I expected better writing,"

lol- back at ya

Anonymous said...


"Of course, while I believe ending drunken hookups would be an extremely effective way to prevent sexual assault on campus, I’m not naive—this is an unrealistic goal. "


Wonder if she is aware of the academic standards set for those studying medicine or law? An unrealistic goal? Perhaps no goal at all would have been a better explanation.

I have to take this one in spurts. It hurts...yes, it just hurts.

Juliet said...

'Yes, it’s on Harvard to provide better education. Yet it’s also on individual students to be better people.'

Well, that bit can stand. Comments are closed on her article, but there is this:

'In the event that we run something that is factually inaccurate, we are eager to correct the error. When a correction is necessary, it will run in a corrections box on page two. Please e-mail Managing Editor Madeline R. Conway (mconway@thecrimson.com) about corrections.'

It's surprising they ran the article, unless doing so is meant to form part of her education by way of consequence - doubtful though, as comments are closed.

BallBounces said...

Great case-study. Thanks for posting it along with your analysis, Peter.

I suspect the writer's definition of rape may be quite different from Peter's. According to her personal, subjective vocabulary, I think she does, at some level, believe she was raped. Remember, according to PC campus-think, if you weren't stone-cold sober when you gave your consent, it's rape. That's why for her solution she practically suggests a written agreement b/4 partying!

Having said that, if her memories are scrubbed, how does she know she didn't give consent? How does she know she wasn't willing, or an instigator, even? That makes what she said beforehand, about not wanting to get involved with the guy, important -- does it show signs of story-telling or deception?

I read recently that ⅓ of vegetarians admit to having eaten meat while drunk. Would the vegetarian claim victim status and insist the meat forced itself upon her? Is the meat responsible because the vegetarian was unable to give informed consent? Or did the vegetarian succumb to what she really wanted to do in the first place, and actually did when her defenses were down.

Juliet said...

One has to feel for any guy she has been on a date with, too, because who, believing her, would not be wondering 'Was it him?' She may not name any names, but it's still a low act. Parents need to worry for their sons as much as they do for their daughters.

I wonder what she'll grow up to be?

Well, If two people allow themselves to become stupidly drunk and then stagger back to one or the other's room, I'd call that a pretty gray area, whilst knowing that according to some, to take such a view is, apparently to support or to not recognise 'rape culture' and the 'rape epidemic'. It seems more a culture of kids drinking too much, and regretting it the next day - perhaps some set out with the intention of becoming 'victims'. She says that girls have the right to be as drunk as they like - maybe, but where did the concept of personal responsibility go, not to mention self respect?

What a sad abuse of her privilege, plus she doesn't seem too bright.

Juliet said...

'Too' because I do feel for her as what she is doing there seems pretty messed up and may yet have consequences. It's not going to make too many guys very eager to date her, at least.

Anonymous said...

I found another cause on the Harvard Crimson that echoed the same sentiment as the "raped." It was about the NRA, guns, mass shootings, etc. I lost it, and didn't read it all, though the author admits he is b ull sitting throughout.

Juliet said...

Update on DeOrr Investigation

LEADORE, Idaho -
'After a three month investigation into the disappearance of 2-year-old DeOrr Kunz Jr., law enforcement is going back to the drawing board and re-interviewing everyone involved that day.'


http://m.localnews8.com/news/3-months-still-no-sign-of-missing-toddler/35762562
Video there, too.

---

The news report expands on/ clarifies what Sheriff Bowerman was saying in his interview with Nate Eaton.


Juliet said...

A bit of drama developing around this screenshot - apparently Jessica sold a pair of size 2 little boy camo boots in Dec 2014 - what is size 2 in US children's' shoe sizes? Would they be a little big for a two year old? Wondering if all DeOrr's shoes were accounted for in the home and/or campsite and if he was just said to be wearing camo boots which had been previously sold.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1031979683490121&set=p.1031979683490121&type=3&theater

The discussion is on KIFI Local News 8 Facebook page. They are waiting for a response from Trina re the boots.

Juliet said...

More interesting would be a response from anyone who had bought them, if anyone did.

Lemon said...

"Education that emphasizes mutual respect and camaraderie among the student body, as well as the responsibility and accountability of the perpetrator, is indeed realistic. It’s also essential, and it’s also lacking." - quoted in post

I find the inclusion of "respect and camaraderie" almost disturbing. Why would "camaraderie" be on a 'rape' victim's mind?
Why this "closeness", when it would seem this would be the last thing on a rape victim's mind? It's odd and unseemly.

Unknown said...

Her description of what took place comes nowhere close to portraying a rape. While details are practically nonexistent, what she does describe shows no indication that she made HIM aware that she felt she was raped. She claims that she was able to get him off of her, and leave without any interference from him, and even describes taking the time to search for her clothes, and eventually walking through multiple rooms/areas naked. Her language portrays her as in control.

She claims to remember nothing leading up to the encounter, nor how it began, or progressed. She only describes how it ended, (*in present tense, distant language). Has she considered that she may have consented, or even pursued him? I find it interesting that she makes no mention of his reaction to her allegations. She uses soft, and in my opinion, 'affectionate' language toward him throughout her writing. There is no disgust, or anger toward him. She gives an impression of feelings of fond remembrance, rather than of a life shattering betrayal.

Shannon In CA said...

Well...actually there are two different size two kids' shoes in the us.

There are baby shoes. The toddler shoes, which go from 1 to 13. Then after 13...it goes back size 1 again.

My daughter is 5 and she wears children's size 1-2. So if the boots were children's size 2...they'd have been HUGE on a 2 year old. As in...he wouldn't have even been able to take a step. They'd have fallen off.

I suspect they were toddler size 2. And selling those wouldn't have been all that "off." The baby probably DID wear toddler size 2 within the past 18 months. So prob just her getting rid of stuff he grew out of, honestly.

Foolsfeedonfolly said...

Peter- Slightly OT here:

Thinking about the 25-50-25 statement form principle here, that makes sense psychologically because the actual event would be the focus of one's experience. Mentally, most people would begin by introducing what led up to the event because they're mentally reliving it as they recount it. The main action would be the bulk of the recollection because it would be the most exciting part (good event) or the most traumatic part (bad event), complete with sensory language. The post-event stage would be shorter in contrast.

Applying the 25-50-25 form, would you say that DeOrr and Jessica Kunz test reliable on their form in their initial interview? They didn't seem to spend anywhere close to 25% on the pre-event details (in addition to their statement being out of order chronologically). DeOrr, directing the interview, didn't seem to spend anywhere even close to 50% on the actual event (Little DeOrr's disappearance, their immediate reaction, and their response to the crisis). By contrast, he seemed vague and skimpy on details at that part of the statement. Moreover, he seemed to far exceed the 25% post-event figure, with a large amount of detail offered regarding the search and search equipment and what he is planning to do.

Am I understanding this principle correctly?

Thank you!

Statement Analysis Blog said...

Anonymous said...
Peter Hyatt said...

"I expected better writing,"

lol- back at ya
October 10, 2015 at 3:29 PM


more better?

:)

Statement Analysis Blog said...

Fools,

The formula for reliability is about an open statement and not an interview, but having said this....

in a lengthy response to an open ended question, "What happened?" we can, and should pay attention to the volume of words dedicated to "what happened" (the event) in comparison to the other elements.

So, yes and no.

Our volume of words is always important. We've seen Obama speeches with the pronoun "I" so excessive that even MSM picks up on the narcissism of it.

I regret not having a good interview with DeOrr the father. His tangents, themselves, are important, and I know that readers have grown accustomed to strong conclusion over the years.

This case has simply not given a good sample to work from.

As you know, I have my concerns, but nothing to the point of standing upon my record and making a definitive pronouncement: something I do often.

Peter

Tania Cadogan said...

Peter Hyatt said...

Anonymous said...
Peter Hyatt said...

"I expected better writing,"

lol- back at ya
October 10, 2015 at 3:29 PM


more better?

:)


Even betterer :)

BallBounces said...

Her account of what happened "prior":

"It’s first semester sophomore year. A friend and classmate asks me to be his date to his team’s fall formal, held at a final club. My first date event! How could I say no to dressing up and getting free booze with Harvard athletes?"

* "How could I say no to... free booze". She expresses her interest in alcohol. It is almost a preoccupation in her account. Is it "leakage" -- admitting that she is prone to rip-roaring drunkenness?

"I agreed, but despite my anxious desire to experience what the chosen few did, I had reservations: On the second-to-last afternoon of freshman year, we had been smoking weed in his barren single, and his body language screamed of interest in initiating a make-out."

* Were they by themselves? Just the two of them? Were they in some kind of relationship? "Second-to-last afternoon" seems like an odd detail to recall and/or recount.

"I asked another guy friend on the same team whether, by going to the event, I’d be sending mixed signals where I wanted none."

* "I wanted none." None what? Mixed signals? Make-out time? She's concerned enough about unwanted sex that she talks with another person about her concern. She does not talk to the alleged perp. What does this say about the status of their friendship?

"He assured me that my friendship with the soon-to-be perpetrator was solid enough such that I wouldn’t feel pressured to “do anything.”"

* "I wouldn't feel pressured". The language is about her, not the alleged perp. It is not, "he would not pressure me". She is preoccupied with telling the story of her emotional states, not his advances. It also leaves the door open to the idea that what is being said is something like, "he may indeed make advances, but you won't feel pressured to respond to them". I wonder if what is bothering her is that she may have in fact responded willingly to his advances.

At any rate, the story she is telling is this: she wanted to go in large part because of the booze, she wasn't interested in making-out with the guy, but was worried about him. Do you think that, having this concern going into the event, willingly getting blind-drunk is a responsible behavior?

And yet, she absolves herself of all responsibility. The man bears 100% responsibility.

Anonymous said...

I think the main point of this article is to shed light on how rape happens on college campuses so often yet it gets swept under the rug. It gets swept under the rug because more often than not the victim decides to not bring charges especially when rape happens in a post party situation involving drugs or alcohol. The victim knows he/she will encounter the victim blaming attitudes evident in your thread and in other threads subsequent to the publication of this story. It's alarming the amount of comments blaming the victim and questioning the victim because she either deserved it since she was drunk, or she must have consented to sex then she can't change her mind, or she's victimizing the guy in this case by claiming rape, or she's just lying since where's the evidence rape happened and how many cases are frivolous blah blah blah. You are all missing the point. This article does not attempt to build a case against the perpetrator, doesn't identify the perpetrator, doesn't mention whether charges were or were not brought against the perpetrator. This young woman decided to come forth with her story in order to help educate us on the topic of the type of rape that is silent and happens every weekend at every university throughout our nation. Rape does not necessarily involve a screaming person threatened with a gun or knife. Rape happens when there is no consent for penetration - lack of consent happens when the person penetrated is passed out or unconscious because as in this scenario, of alcohol consumption. Why are you analyzing this article in bits and pieces as though it were a frog to be dissected? Why must you treat it with such a distant and sterile viewpoint? Is it so threatening to you? In analyzing this article the way you have, you have missed its meaning. You have totally missed the point.

Anonymous said...

"I suspect the writer's definition of rape may be quite different from Peter's.

Clearly it is as he (here and elsewhere) inserts the words "violent" and "brutal" into his definition, whereas she clearly implies she was too drunk to be cognizant of what was going on and too under the influence to consent.

By Peter's definition, Bill Cosby didn't rape many of the women accusing him: they willingly drank or took drugs and woke up having had sex they hadn't intended to. Oops! No violent force, no rape.

The question the newspaper editorial (it is not a statement to police that the decades of Sapir's 25-50-25 research used) raises: if you get drunk with a male, are you consenting to sexual activity? Or should there be a culture (camaraderie) where men respect women enough not to screw them when they are incapacitated? Or is that just overly-PC social justice? Hence, the dis on Harvard-girl's writing which serves what purpose?

Is this why Jian Ghomeshi's accuser's present tense gets countered with a quick "PTSD" or other flags with a "she's embarrassed" explanation, and here, the Harvard girl with bruised legs doesn't get the same consideration?

But it comes down to this: if a woman takes drugs or drinks and ends up incapacitated to the point a man can screw her without using violence, has she been raped? If one's son calls- "Dad, I've got this girl sooo wasted. She's been a friend until now, but I think I'm in a position to take it to a sexual level. And I won't even need to hit her."

How would you want your son to react? If you think he should be respectful enough not to take advantage, then you agree with the thesis of Maymi's article.

Or:

"Whatever, son. Just don't hit her and it's okay."

Then you don't agree with her.

Anonymous said...

"more better?

:)"

Cute.

I'd suggest less "we" and "the analyst," more "I". I hear first person singular makes the assertion stronger and more believable.

Anonymous said...

Good thoughts to consider Anon 1:48. Had your thesis been inserted, then the "How I Was Raped" story would have bore signs of legitimacy.

As it stands, I agree with Peter: too little about the rape; too much about the cause. Hence, leaving out the pronoun "I" is more appropriate.

How's this: How You, Me, Oh Heck, Almost Almost Anyone, Could Be Raped.

Anonymous said...

I'm not arguing whether she was truthful or not. I'm arguing that Peter's questioning that her account lacks violence and brutality does not mean she was not raped.

Anonymous said...

If you have ten reasons you know why she's lying, it doesn't matter that two are BS. The conclusion stands.

Anonymous said...

Found this much more better/bestest read on the subject-more personal and touching imo:

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2015/10/9/the-very-bad-thing/

Anonymous said...

Right, he wants this newspaper editorial to fit form, content, and purpose of a statement to LE. It is not a statement to LE.

Does the victim have to remember the assault? It would seem if a victim can't, any statement without specific details could be flagged as "not fitting the form." This woman, who was deemed truthful, for example:

"The first time I was drugged for sure was in New York, when he invited me to dinner at his apartment. There was a chef, a butler; we had dinner, it was all fine. I had one glass of wine and then I blacked out. I woke up throwing up in the toilet, and he was standing over me, pulling my hair out of my face. I was wearing a white t-shirt that wasn’t mine, and he was in a white robe."

How is 50% of a statement she makes supposed to detail the actual assault when she can't remember it??

Anonymous said...

The conclusion of that news editorial "Very Bad Thing" is 75.3% of the form so it is, technically (red font) unreliable (end red font).

Though maybe her purpose isn't to report a crime but to share her shock at peers- and by that I mean fellow students- being dismissive of a boy thinking it was ok to screw her because she was drunk. An editorial about the culture of drinking and sex.

Anonymous said...

Anon 2:52-don't get yer panties in a wad! This blog is a tool in lie detection; not a lie detector. Often he is wrong. Often he is right.

I found her story a rambling, stumbling admission of drunken college sex she later regretted. If she thinks her tale will produce better individuals on Harvard campus, she is more than naive.

They are who they are before they arrive. Anything other demonstrates their intent other than higher education-at an institute many in America would jump at the chance to attend.

Some business editions are giving her rave reviews calling the piece "harrowing."

Peter here doesn't think so.

Neither do I.

Anonymous said...

"if you get drunk with a male, are you consenting to sexual activity? Or should there be a culture (camaraderie) where men respect women enough not to screw them when they are incapacitated?"

Yeah, and what if a woman gets drunk with a male, follows him home, throws off her clothes, jumps on his bed and says "FUCK ME!"

If the man complies, did he rape her?

"Or is that just overly-PC social justice? Hence, the dis on Harvard-girl's writing which serves what purpose?"

These days, it's considered quite "normal", perhaps even "PC social justice", for a woman to enjoy getting wasted and having a no-strings fuck, just like the stereotypical man would. Right?

The title of the analyzed article was "Here's How I Was Raped". HOW do YOU think the subject was raped?

kimisan03 said...

If you feel unsettled or wronged after any sexual interaction, you are absolutely entitled to your reaction.

Could this be the reason for the article? Not sexual assault but an unsatisfactory sexual experience fueled by alcohol?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the concern over my panties though I'd rather have answers to the questions I asked. Peter claims the form is unreliable. How can 50% of a statement contain the details of a rape the alleged victim can't remember? What percentage of Sapir's samples contained crimes where the assaulted was unconscious? What percentage of his samples were newspaper articles?

I'll hope for answers but brace myself, panties intact, for a Rolodex quip.

Anonymous said...

Oh, forgot one more:

If Avinoam Sapir is merely the grandfather of SCAN, who is its actual father?

Anonymous said...

The 11:42 post wasn't nearly as vulgar, thogh much more telling.

Anonymous said...

Here's another one that doesn't accept her little story:

http://www.dailystormer.com/harvard-hebrew-brews-fresh-bogus-rape-story/

Lemon said...

Anon @ 1:21-
Respectfully, I think you have missed the point.

"Why are you analyzing this article in bits and pieces as though it were a frog to be dissected?"

If you look at the top of the page, the name of the blog (not frog) is "Statement Analysis". The woman V. M. made a public statement, and her public statement is being analyzed.

Anonymous said...

Truth serves not only justice, but, humanity. Lies serve none but those who speak them.

Anonymous said...

No Lemon, you and Peter are the ones not getting it.

The young woman wrote an article with a stated purpose of doing more than simply reporting "what happened".

Peter even acknowledges this at one point when he says it is "suggestive of a motive other than a report of a crime." Yes, she tells us so.

Then he goes on to analyze it as if it is a "just tell what happened" statement given to police like those used in Sapir's research, flagging as unexpected and deceptive any language that goes beyond a reporting purpose and instead serves a journalistic purpose.

She never states she was "violently" or "brutally" attacked, yet the analysis repeatedly raises red flags for her "employing words that are not expected in the brutal realm of rape." He indicts her for "sermonizing" in an editorial she, again, admits serves a purpose well beyond telling "what happened". He then, in what is titled an "analysis" at the top of the page sermonizes about her sermonizing, criticizing her for having the audacity to attempt to tell incorrigible young men: "Hey, just because she drank with you doesn't mean you can screw her once she's passed out."

So, people can keep pointing to the "HOW I Was Raped" title, scratch their heads and ask "but where's the brutality? She promised the details of a rape!" Right then is when the point is missed and her stated purpose for the article is ignored.

Turtle said...

I think the percentages need to be adjusted when we're talking about an article, intended for publication, about rape. Obviously if the appropriate percentage is spent on the rape itself, that will result in a practically pornographic piece. Not suitable for publication, and even if this were a statement for police, the percentages might be off due to modesty or shame. many rape victims feel shame that would prevent a detailed exposition of every move.

Anonymous said...

Anon

You have used the word "screw" in some of your posts. What is your " personal, internal, subjective dictionary" definition?

Anonymous said...

To engage in coitus for physical pleasure regardless of emotional attachment to the person

LisaB said...

http://www.ebay.com/gds/Childrens-Age-Shoe-Size-Guide-/10000000015328632/g.html

This list was put together by an eBay seller to help sellers figure out what shoe size a child wears at different ages.

Anonymous said...

Viviana?

Anonymous said...

My daughter was sexually assaulted. She was not drunk or drugged, but did not tell me about it until several years had passed. The perpetrator was someone I knew and trusted, until she told me what he had done. I never doubted her, as her revelation helped me understand a change in her attitude after the assault.
I was devastated by what she told me. Parents are supposed to protect their children, and to discourage friendships with those people they think may harm them. When telling other people in our family how shocked I was, and how upset I was (with myself) for not having suspected that this person would harm her, my "story" begins years after the event that affected her. The event that affected ME was finding out about her assault, and my response was intense, though belated.
I did not know what had happened to her until she told me, so any chronology of it from my perspective is probably going to be deemed deceptive since anything I say about the assault will not come from experiential memory, but has to be included to inform as to what happened to shake my trust in my ability to judge people, which is the trauma I experienced directly.
The "event" (which is the traumatic point for her) is a fairly minor part of MY experience (at the time, since I had no knowledge of it for several years), while it was the revelation of it that impacted me more personally.

LisaB said...

Good points.

lynda said...

I have difficulty understanding the battle cry of this woman, much as I do with the cadet that recently came out saying she was raped at West Point. What I interpret is that they have a "date rape" situation or in the case of the cadet, I believe a revenge scenario is going on. I hate that word, "date rape." It's a name that has been accepted in our society of non-consensual sex between 2 people that are dating. The word is qualified with "non-consensual". In my opinion, it has minimized everything about the act of rape and unfortunately, it always seems to be while the 2 people involved are incapacitated with drugs and/or alcohol. Rape isn't non-consensual, it's an attack. You are being attacked. Whether there is a weapon involved or not, there is a fear that you will be murdered by the attacker. The fear is paralyzing. The pain is unbelievable. I don't hear any of that from this woman and I also suspect the phrase, "I got him off me." How exactly did that happen? Because there is NO WAY a woman can heave an attacker that is raping her, off of herself with their full weight on you. It's just a fact that women, no matter how good of shape they are in, do not have the upper body strength to overpower a man and "throw" or "Get him off you" by sheer force alone.

I was attacked and raped. I hate the word survivor. I "survived" the rape attack simply by not being murdered. I "survived" not because of anything I did, no kung-fu moves, no "establishing a rapport' no making him see me as a "human being", nothing. I survived the attack simply because he decided not to murder me for whatever reason. I was the victim of a piece of shit crackhead, that I was unlucky enough to cross paths with. It was brutal, violent, and extremely painful. The fear made me completely immobile. I had been stabbed twice and I remember an overwhelming sense of sadness that my daughter was going to have to live with the image of me, stabbed to death, on a sidewalk, with my dress hiked up and my underwear cut off. I don't want to talk to rapists, I don't want to have "communication" about respect and such. Advise men how not to rape? She is ridiculous and her article has done nothing but anger me. Rapists are no better than animals and how they don't rape again is by locking them in a cage where they belong. They are not fit to walk amongst free society. You can't talk to them, to talk to them means you understand on some level what they did and they can be talked out of doing it again because of "open communication" Bullshit. I call bullshit on this woman who is just trying to get her 15 minutes of fame. It's bullshit and it's a slap in the face to all REAL victims of rape by minimizing her alleged "rape" It's a disservice to ALL women. It propagates every single misnomer that society has about rape. All by herself, she is going to teach men how not to rape. She is our savior and sooo brave to come forward. She is an idiot and a danger...women like her are dangerous because somebody has given her a platform and she is going to milk it for all she's worth. Maybe a new law called, "viviana's law" will be enacted that says all universities will now have programs in place to "teach" men how not to rape. She will ride this all the way to graduation where she can place her published articled, her bravery, on her resume to give her a leg up in the hiring process. She really makes me sick and I wish they WOuLD charge her with something so she shuts up before she does any more damage. Rant over.

lynda said...

I have difficulty understanding the battle cry of this woman, much as I do with the cadet that recently came out saying she was raped at West Point. What I interpret is that they have a "date rape" situation or in the case of the cadet, I believe a revenge scenario is going on. I hate that word, "date rape." It's a name that has been accepted in our society of non-consensual sex between 2 people that are dating. The word is qualified with "non-consensual". In my opinion, it has minimized everything about the act of rape and unfortunately, it always seems to be while the 2 people involved are incapacitated with drugs and/or alcohol. Rape isn't non-consensual, it's an attack. You are being attacked. Whether there is a weapon involved or not, there is a fear that you will be murdered by the attacker. The fear is paralyzing. The pain is unbelievable. I don't hear any of that from this woman and I also suspect the phrase, "I got him off me." How exactly did that happen? Because there is NO WAY a woman can heave an attacker that is raping her, off of herself with their full weight on you. It's just a fact that women, no matter how good of shape they are in, do not have the upper body strength to overpower a man and "throw" or "Get him off you" by sheer force alone.

I was attacked and raped. I hate the word survivor. I "survived" the rape attack simply by not being murdered. I "survived" not because of anything I did, no kung-fu moves, no "establishing a rapport' no making him see me as a "human being", nothing. I survived the attack simply because he decided not to murder me for whatever reason. I was the victim of a piece of shit crackhead, that I was unlucky enough to cross paths with. It was brutal, violent, and extremely painful. The fear made me completely immobile. I had been stabbed twice and I remember an overwhelming sense of sadness that my daughter was going to have to live with the image of me, stabbed to death, on a sidewalk, with my dress hiked up and my underwear cut off. I don't want to talk to rapists, I don't want to have "communication" about respect and such. Advise men how not to rape? She is ridiculous and her article has done nothing but anger me. Rapists are no better than animals and how they don't rape again is by locking them in a cage where they belong. They are not fit to walk amongst free society. You can't talk to them, to talk to them means you understand on some level what they did and they can be talked out of doing it again because of "open communication" Bullshit. I call bullshit on this woman who is just trying to get her 15 minutes of fame. It's bullshit and it's a slap in the face to all REAL victims of rape by minimizing her alleged "rape" It's a disservice to ALL women. It propagates every single misnomer that society has about rape. All by herself, she is going to teach men how not to rape. She is our savior and sooo brave to come forward. She is an idiot and a danger...women like her are dangerous because somebody has given her a platform and she is going to milk it for all she's worth. Maybe a new law called, "viviana's law" will be enacted that says all universities will now have programs in place to "teach" men how not to rape. She will ride this all the way to graduation where she can place her published articled, her bravery, on her resume to give her a leg up in the hiring process. She really makes me sick and I wish they WOuLD charge her with something so she shuts up before she does any more damage. Rant over.

Anonymous said...

"A reliable statement has a basic form that follows the psychology of truthful accounts"

Complete bullshit. Next time, add a reference or two, for laughs.

I have a hard time understanding there are people that feel the need to use bullshit science to smear a victim of rape. But then, the holocaust also occurred.

lynda said...

Anon @ 11:01

Viviana's account is complete bullshit. Viviana, all by herself, is smearing real rape victims everywhere. Viviana got completely obliterated one night and may, or may not, have had sex with another drunken person. Peter had to stop analyzing her statement because it's so glaringly obvious (even to a novice at SA like myself) that her "story" is bullshit. What she hopes to accomplish is just what I said above. It's ridiculous and should be given ZERO validity.

BallBounces said...

This is not really a statement about a rape. It is an ideological advocacy piece in which the woman's personal experience is the centerpiece of the argument. Because of this, the 25-50-25 proportions are way off.

Her account omits what she did and who she told afterwards. Who did she show her bruises to? Did she seek treatment? Did she tell anyone? Report to authorities? Take pictures? Press charges? Because of this lacuna, it is difficult to ascertain the account's veracity.

Also, if this really happened and she believes it was rape, why does she not name the perp?

Anonymous said...

Good questions, BB, and I mostly agree. I've heard of many victims not name accusers or name quite some time after- Cosby's accusers for example.

lynda said...

I don't know what the statute of limitations there is for rape, here it is 7 years. Pretty hard to get a conviction on her story and I doubt whether a prosecutor would take it to trial.

Anonymous said...

Huh?

Anonymous said...

Not name perps that is

lynda said...

I stand corrected, our law was just changed in June 2015. Statute was extended to 20 years.

Bethany said...

I am so sorry you went through this Lynda. Just reading your post brought me to tears.
Amen to everything you wrote, and thank you for sharing.

BallBounces said...

Yes.

lynda said...

Very sweet Bethany and BB...didn't mean to go on rant but her fluff got my goat! Grrrr..

Sus said...

I am sorry for what you went through, Lynda. But I do disagree that rape has to be outwardly violent to be traumatic.

Whether this woman's account is true, or not, I do agree with her premise. Rape has become part of the culture at colleges, high-schools, and down in middle schools. It is so ingrained into the culture now that we don't call it rape, but it is. Penetration without consent is rape. And if a girl isn't of the age, mental capability, or under the influence of alcohol or drugs she's not giving consent, and it's rape.

I would argue our young girls are suffering irreparable harm from this. They're going through life feeling shamed, feeling like they were to blame. It's like Peter explains sexual abuse for children...because it is. It's what used to happen to victims of rape in our courts. They got blamed for their dress, for their past, for being in the wrong place.

Maybe this woman isn't going to teach boys at colleges how not to be a rapist, but someone needs to. Because right now, colleges are full of boys who think if a girl drinks, if a girl shows up at their fraternity party, or if a girl goes to an event with him, the girl is fair game.

Sus said...

Sorry, I didn't mean to publish this twice. I don't know how to delete it.

lynda said...

I think what has happened is the desensitization of rape because now we use terms like, "non-consensual sex" wth is that? Just like it's called child molesting instead of the rape of a child. Then we have of course, the media, video games, FB, SM, texting, etc. that also contributes to diminishing the crime. Penetration without consent as you say Sus, is VIOLENT. It's a violent act. Perhaps that is what is missing..we think non-consensual sex is non-violent. The ACT iTself is one of violence. You DON'T need to be bruised, battered, stabbed or shot but we as a society think that, and only that is violent. When a woman gets "date raped" or she has become so drunk that she passes out and a man shoves himself inside her..that is rape and it is man on woman violence. Put the word violence back into the act and maybe some people will start to pay attention again. This girl is doing no one favors by minimizing her own alleged rape.

Anonymous said...

This woman is absolutely pathetic! She expends more words portraying herself as a helpless victim than anything he may have done wrong.

Her minimizing starts with calling the acknowledged drunkfest a "date "event" not a date. She writes that she had reservations because the man had made it clear he wanted to have sex with her.

So instead of saying right then, clearly and firmly, to his face, "I'd love to go, but just as platonic buddies; I don't have feelings for you beyond that."

Which obviously would have lost her the invite and "free booze" that was so irresistable, so she asks somebody else if he thought her horny date would accidentally get mixed signals?

Then someone in a roomful of drunken strangers hands her pathetic little, 5'3",115 lb, Harvard-educated self and her horny date each a full bottle of wine.

Only hers made her a defenseless victim while his made him an exploitative monster.

Can you imagine this imbecile's, and her mother's faces in court, if a man who actually did rape her (this one did not) was set free by the jury because he was under the stress of semester finals on a chilly night?

Anonymous said...

You are completely missing the point even as you prove it! Knowingly having sex wirh somebody too incapacitated to resist or consent is as ugly and violent as using physical force.

Peter expects a real victim of such an attack to feel as violated and hurt as one assaulted by brute force, yet this idiot is obviously clueless, because she was not.

Now do you get the point you just helped Peter make?

lynda said...

Foodie - Are you directing to me that I am missing a point?

Lis said...

One thought about the question, how can a victim's account contain 50% of the event if the victim actually was blacked out and cannot remember it: my feeling is that the true victim would probably not go on and on about other subjects, dwarfing the telling of the event. i.e., if she cannot remember the event, she should first of all, tell clearly what she does remember in a reliable way (pronouns included, etc), and then should forego the sermonizing at length on what she sees as related subjects.

It seems like rather than a rape culture what we are seeing is a culture of women who feel they should be able to act irresponsibly and inappropriately and not suffer any unwanted after effects. Naive, indeed.

Lis said...

Lynda, right on right on right on.

Anonymous said...

"should forego the sermonizing at length..."

Good advice all around.

Anonymous said...

I am not an attorney, so anyone qualified, please correct me: doesn't the law apply as it was in effect at the time of the offense?
Or does it apply only to sentencing, not whether or not a crime can be charged?

Lynda, sorry for what happened to you, and thanks for being strong enough to reach out to help everyone better understand.

Anonymous said...

I was furious when I read this idiocy elsewhere last week! For exactly that reason, her callous exploitation of real victims in a pathetic bid for attention.

This man who made it perfectly clear he wants to have sex with her asks her to a notorious drunkfest that she refers to as a "date event" so she's concerned but doesn't want to miss her chance at "free booze" so she agrees.

Instead of telling the man straight to his face, "Sure, I'd love to go, but just as platonic buddies, right? I don't have feelings for you beyond friendship and we're going home separately after."

She asks some other random guy on the team if he thought the guy who she said had made it clear he wanted to have sex with her, would accidentally get mixed signals?

And how does she know who "pressured" whom if she woke up in mid-boink?

This emotionally stunted little girl is a disgrace to real rape victims and an embarrassment to intelligent, self-respecting women.

What a pathetic joke.

Anonymous said...

No, Lynda, I'm agreeing with you; sorry I didn't make that clear.
(I did fumble about for the LIKE button; I just forgot not finding it. :D )

Seriously, thank you for your insight and for being strong enough to share it.

Unknown said...

Rape, in itself, is an act of violence and brutality. The perpetrator does not need to employ the use of fists, or a weapon, in order to enter the realm of 'violence'.

Unwanted penetration, or forced sexual contact, (whether by chemical incapacitation, or physical dominance) is perhaps the most psychologically damaging form of brutality imaginable. It removes the victim's sense of control over their own body. Acquaintance rape, or 'date rape', by a person known and trusted by the victim introduces another level of betrayal, and trauma. The impact of such an intrusive, and brutal violation SHOULD be evident in the language of the victim, particularly when describing the encounter which inflicted their anguish.

Instead, we have:

"I’m naked in his bed. I see his face—he’s on top of me, he’s inside of me, he’s sweaty."

These words could easily describe a romantic, and pleasurable experience. There is no disgust, anger, betrayal, etc.

Next she says:

"I vaguely realize what’s happening, and I explicitly realize that I don’t want to be where I CURRENTLY am." 

Again, her language is soft and noncommittal regarding "what's happening". There's no anger, no disgust. She doesn't 'explicitly realize' she is being raped, only that she CURRENTLY doesn't want to be where she is.

Her language, along with the background information she provides, (and her tangents) suggest that her relationship with the accused involved sexual tension, which she did not want to pursue...yet, the excessive use of alcohol facilitated a regrettable hookup. That's not rape.

Regretting something you did while intoxicated, doesn't translate to a criminal act by the other party involved. (He may have believed that they were having a great night together.) Criminal acts require action, AND intent. She is leveling a serious charge against him, which will effect the rest of his life, even if formal charges were not filed.

John Mc Gowan said...

There can, not always, be an element of minimization, denial, passivity, and distancing language in cases of "rape" and "sexual assaults", alleged or otherwise. Pronoun usage, first person "I" connecting themselves to the above alleged crime is strongly reliant.

Adding to that. I would have expected a reliable and strong statement, on the lines of. "I" first person singular, connecting her to said allegation. "Was", past tense. "Raped and or assaulted", by xyz, specific event.

People place priority by order. Her "priority" was to say, (and this is important) "Being sexually assaulted—raped. This is not expected, in the order that is. What is her "personal, internal, subjective dictionary" of "assaulted" and "raped"?.

We see also, that there is no pronoun "i" connecting her to "Being sexually assaulted—raped. It is dropped. Now. She may have dropped the pronoun "i" to distance herself from the alleged. But, by reading her statement in full. I believe this is not the case. I believe she is distancing herself because it did not happen.

BallBounces said...

@Lis October 13, 2015 at 3:12 AM

"how can a victim's account contain 50% of the event if the victim actually was blacked out and cannot remember it:"

She could have spent considerable time dealing with what happened immediately following the "rape" -- who she told, where she went, what she did, etc. I think this would be considered part of the event description. There is nothing on this.

Unknown said...

Note also that she dropped any and all "we's" and "with's" during the explanation of the events leading up to "what happened" which leads me to suspect concealing identity. Also, which adds to that assumption is that she used the term "alone" when waking up as if to answer a question she's expecting.

There are no pronouns to include herself with anything after the party. Just a string of things she didn't remember.

The concealment of identity of the perpetrator is suspect in itself. Her lack of detail leads me to believe none of it happened, and is the language of, as Peter put it, a justice warrior. Her statement has more holes than a warship made of Swiss cheese.

Great analysis.

Unknown said...

I went over my comment in my head after posting and realized I perhaps wasn't very clear. I thought of someone at work saying "yeah, my buddy has one of those" or "my buddy did that" leaving out any specifics or identifiers about the person being spoken of. I always enjoy hearing the person I'm speaking with sputtering when I ask "what's the name of this buddy of yours?" The expression is one of a deer caught in headlights. That's what this reminds me of. She cares about the perpetrator enough to keep from saying what his nickname is, position on the football team etc. What would it matter to her if everyone knew? Which leads me to believe it didn't happen.

Unknown said...

What I find missing from this woman's statement, like so many others like it, is any advice/warnings to women on how they can use better judgement in order to avoid unwanted sexual activity, whether it be rape or just sex that is regretted the next day. If men are such monsters that they need to be taught to not rape (which is ludicrous) then where is the admonition to women to avoid drinking excessively in situations which are unfamiliar or could lead to sexual activity when they are in the company of men? It would appear that admonishing women to control their drinking to avoid such outcomes would be more effective than "teaching" men not to rape. Especially considering that her "rapist" was unaware that his sexual advances were unwanted. Are men to be mind readers now? If a woman has been drinking but actively participating in sexual activity, how is he to know that she is "too drunk" to consent? If he is also drunk and participating sexually, but too drunk to consent, have they raped each other? Short of outlawing sex between people who have consumed alcohol, I don't know how these types of things can be prevented. If I drink and get behind the wheel of a car, I am responsible for my actions. But if I drink and have sex, then I wasn't able to give consent? Can a drunk driver claim they were too incapacitated to consent to drive a vehicle and thus should not be responsible for his or her actions? As a mother of a son, I fear for him growing up in a world which demonizes his natural masculinity (calling it toxic) and puts the onus on him to read the minds of women and to magically know when they have had too much to drink.

lynda said...

Jen..foodie...Lis and John

EXACTLY. I so wish someone would call her out. I'm pondering writing a letter to "The Crimson" myself. It is just SO wrong what she is doing and that she got so much publicity from it.

I also find it interesting that it "was a chilly night" in her sophmore year. She is now a senior. Why is she speaking out now if not for her 15 minutes? Prospective employers will remember her, no one would remember her at "hiring" time if she would have come out when it happened. Much like the cadet who torpedoed a promotion for her 25 years ago "rape." This makes them both unreliable to me.

I give HIGH reliability to Cosby accusers. This has dogged him for over a decade, it can be traced back to 2005 when Andrea Constand accused him of drugging and molesting her. Media portrayed Cosby in a favorable light. In her civil lawsuit against him 13 Jane Does were added saying Cosby also drugged and molested/raped them. As the years drag on, more and more women come out with the truth because times have changed, they feel they will be heard this time, the want a sexual predator to face justice, etc. Bill Cosby should be in jail, for the rest of his life in my book. What a disgusting creature he is and it seems, always has been. The countless victims he racked up is dispicable.

Anonymous said...

Spot on, except you forgot one if the best parts: this self-professed intelligent, socially adept, Harvard-educated adult woman, when invited to a drunkfest by a man whom she is sure wants to have sex with her, she agrees without setting her boundaries, and considers asking some other random guy on the team if HE thinks her horny date will still want her when they're both hammered.

Would this imbecile happily accept him telling her he asked somebody in her economics class last week, and that woman assured him she'd want it?

Anonymous said...

Lynda...
This has been syndicated on Huffington Post and there is a comments section there. Maybe you could post the link to Peter's analysis and add your two cents.

Anonymous said...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/viviana-maymi/heres-how-i-was-raped_b_8277992.html

Unknown said...

I went over my comment in my head after posting and realized I perhaps wasn't very clear. I thought of someone at work saying "yeah, my buddy has one of those" or "my buddy did that" leaving out any specifics or identifiers about the person being spoken of. I always enjoy hearing the person I'm speaking with sputtering when I ask "what's the name of this buddy of yours?" The expression is one of a deer caught in headlights. That's what this reminds me of. She cares about the perpetrator enough to keep from saying what his nickname is, position on the football team etc. What would it matter to her if everyone knew? Which leads me to believe it didn't happen.

John Mc Gowan said...

I was also looking for the word "left".

Anonymous said...

Lynda, I agree about the Cosby accusors, and wouldn't be surprised if the still-silent ones number in the dozens or even hundreds.

The gross little rebel one though, is one of those who all through life feed their sociopathic egos by "stealing" boyfriends she doesn't even want for herself and disrupting relationships.

It's a safe bet ahe thought she could wrap this young (at the time) man around her finger and manipulate him to leave his girlfriend, likely boasting of her intent.

Oh, how it burned and clearly still does, that the woman she chose as her next rival and target not only dusted her off like so much garbage back then, but is still with him as the gross little rebel keeps obsessing over.

I wish both liars could do serious hard time for how much tougher they make it for real victims like Lynda, but I understand how that could add even more fear of coming forward for the real ones.

Jessica Blans said...

I'm shocked at some of the comments. Reading the article and analyzing it for deception is one thing, but I'm flummoxed that there are many who responded by demeaning the writer, blaming her for the described incident, accusing her of engaging in consensual sex and then writing this article because the sex was unsatisfactory.

Lynda -- your posts I understand and I am not referring to you or anyone else who posted reactions based on personal trauma.

I wonder if we have something of an age divide in the reactions here. Is it possible that the older generation (Gen X, baby boomers and older) define the word "rape" so narrowly that they dismiss the very real trauma that can happen in date rape situations? If I wrote this, I think my mom would defend and support me; but if she read this article written by an unknown woman, it is possible she might scoff a little.

The writer experienced a traumatic event that she identifies as rape because a man had intercourse with her when she was not conscious. Clearly the writer assigns a certain amount of blame to herself for higher risk behaviors (drinking, going to this type of college party). She reports that she was in counseling after the rape. Logically, since she expresses some blame for her actions, she has struggled with whether or not it was rape or if was due to bad decisions that were her fault (higher risk behaviors). This article indicates that although she made bad choices, the unwanted/unconsented to sex was an assault.

This is not unusual to me. I can imagine almost any of my friends expressing the same ideas if they had gone through the incident as described in the article. I can imagine myself struggling with whether or not being stupid about a smaller thing (drinking too much) made me responsible for a larger action (nonconsensual sex). I think I would feel shame. And if I were able to work through it with a counselor and recognize that even though I was foolish, he was responsible for the assault, I think I might want to write about it too. Try to get other girls to think about it and be more careful, but still recognize that an assault is not their fault. She does not discuss charges, and I suspect that she faults her own higher risk behaviors as reason enough not to pursue a court case. Better than punishing him is to turn her traumatic experience into an Aesops Fable, a morality tale, to warn others.

Someone said the author is narcissistic. I don't know if she is narcissistic from a pathological standpoint, but since she reports working through this with a counselor, than of course this article will be full of her thoughts, her processes, her, her, her. That's what counseling can often be -- intense focus on self. But it is not because of narcissism, it is because it takes a long time to convince yourself (or have counselor convince you) that you have inherent worth.

It is so clear to me. I don't know how or why other commenters don't see it. I understand her behavior before the assault, her guilt because of stupid choices she made, her shame, her efforts to deal with the assault through counseling, and her desire to help someone else. It's likely how many of my friends might handle it.

Jessica Blans

Crash said...

Just in case someone reads this thread in the future:

I was at a college tour. In all the bathrooms they have a poster that says:

"I've been drinking" means No
"I'm uncomfortable " means No
"I'm not sure" means No
"Maybe later" means No
"I'm not sure" means No

This is the message the author is emphasizing. A culture where consent is clearly communicated and consent is not given when the person is/was drinking.

Anonymous said...

And this is where our cultural lack of personal responsibility has led us.

She wasn't raped. She made some poor choices and wishes to assign the blame to someone else.

Russ said...

Jessica Blans, I don't get what you are trying to say. This Blog is about Statement analysis i.e analysing someone's statement to determine whether it is likely to be true or false. The conclusion from the analysis was quite clear: that the author was not raped i.e. it was not a "date rape" or a "date-rape situation" but that the author was lying. Lying about being raped is worthy of condemnation for many reasons, so it is unsurprising that people have reacted angrily towards her. The author may have her problems, but this does not excuse making false allegations. Believe it or not, people really do tell lies even about rape and Statement analysis is a way of determining whether they are telling the truth or not. That is why we are here.

TiffGGGG said...

As a woman, what I took from her statement is that she obviously remembers going up the stairs to his room. She does sound affectionate of him. She then, might have blocked out (IMO), came to and realized he was having sex with her, and was able to get him to stop, get her stuff and leave.

She does not speak as if she was raped. As you said, she speaks very little about the actual "rape" itself. This leaves me wondering, I as I said, if she blacked out (since this has happened before; she has an alcohol binge problem) and if she came-to and was naked and being "assaulted." However, her language shows that she was not disgusted by this act.

This does sound like a case of regret combined with too much alcohol, where the subject can not even recall, so thus ends up feeling affronted in some way.

Problems like this could be minimized if 1) the USA lowered the drinking laws (to prevent later bingeing and idolization of it) 2) we dealt with alcohol more maturely 3) we respected alcohol for the lethal and dangerous drug that it is.