COMMENT: This afternoon, I received an email from a woman who claims to be Una Hardester, the subject of our previous post. The text of her email, my response, and her response appears below this comment. She seems indignant that we would suggest charging Ms. Hardester with false rape reporting -- because she was only ten-years-old at the time of the rape lie. She suggests that Ms. Hardester's young age is, in fact, the reason she was not charged.
The problem with any such assertion is that we see case after case after case after case of adult women who also are not charged for false rape reporting. So Ms. Hardester's age might have been a convenient excuse for not charging her, but the fact is, this crime is not taken very seriously by police, by prosecutors, by legislatures around the world. And even when women are charged for this crime, they are given a monstrously light sentences.
For some reason -- and, gee, I can't imagine why -- the email writer's assertion regarding the reason Ms. Hardester wasn't charged (she was only ten years old) reminded me of this story:
Three boys, ages 8 and 9, were being held Monday in a detention center on charges of kidnapping and raping an 11-year-old girl near a suburban apartment complex, officials said.
The alleged attack happened Thursday and the girl's mother reported it to authorities Sunday, Acworth police Capt. Wayne Dennard said.
"The victim said they were playing outdoors and the girl was forced into a wooded area where she was sexually assaulted, where one of the boys raped her," Dennard told The Associated Press.
The three boys — an 8-year-old and two 9-year-olds — appeared in juvenile court Monday afternoon, dwarfed by the courtroom chairs and wearing navy blue jump suits and shackles. Their names were withheld because of their age.
Cobb County District Attorney Pat Head said the boys could not be charged with felony crimes because of their age but could be tried for alleged delinquent acts that could place them in a juvenile facility for up to five years. Read the rest here.
Did you get that? Three boys, eight and nine years olds, in navy blue jump suits -- and shackles. And they were dwarfed by the courtroom chairs.
Why? Because they were born male, of course.
No age, it seems, is too young to punish for that crime.
To her credit, Ms. Hardester has finally done the right thing by taking responsibility for her lie. Many women never do that.
HERE IS THE EMAIL EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE PERSON WHO IDENTIFIES HERSELF AS UNA HARDESTER AND ME:
FROM THE WOMAN WHO IDENTIFIES HERSELF AS UNA HARDESTER:
You write:
The Irish woman, now living in New York, whose rape lie caused a man's reputation to be sullied and his name to be blackened as a "rapist" for twelve years will not be asked to return to Ireland to face charges. That simple. No charges. None. No explanation provided. No rationale given. A woman or girl can lie about rape and face no charges whatsoever, and the press doesn't even seem curious why.
Actually, members of the press know why: because I was ten years old at the time.
What possible purpose would prosecuting or incarcerating me at 22 serve? How would that be in the interest of justice? I went back to clear Feichin Hannon's name as soon as I was able. And, though it's just a small factual error, it hasn't been twelve years, it's been almost ten, since the wrongful conviction.
I have made it clear that I would go back if charges were brought against me.
To direct your future vitriol, here's a photo of me six months before, in the summer of 1996. Post that on your blog.
--
Una Hardester
FROM PIERCE HARLAN:
How do you feel about the eight year old boy who was handcuffed and charged with rape? Or was that somehow different?
FROM THE WOMAN WHO IDENTIFIES HERSELF AS UNA HARDESTER:
How do I feel about that? Handcuffing and charging an eight year old boy or girl with anything is ridiculous and cruel.
Please just make the correction. I do not want to argue with you.
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14 comments:
pierce, you are a bold and righteous man, sticking up for 7 and 8 year old boys who have never even heard of gender feminism before.
Thanks, Scott. While I think Ms. Hardester did the right thing in admitting her lie, I grow so weary of this deadly double-standard that treats suspected male criminality with far greater severity even PROVEN female criminality.
What possible purpose would prosecuting or incarcerating me at 22 serve? How would that be in the interest of justice? I went back to clear Feichin Hannon's name as soon as I was able.Wow, you went back to clear his name, which never should have been besmirched in the first place. Very nice of you.
Justice? JUSTICE? You have the audacity to speak of justice? This man spent 10 years of his life in hell because of you, and you dare to speak of justice? Personally, if I were your boss, I'd fire you. There is no way that I would ever trust your word. EVER.
This is despicable.
This isn't exactly an apples vs. apples comparison between Ms. Hardester and the two boys.
She came forward of her own accord - albeit it 10 years after the fact -but she DID attempt to right her wrong.
Unless I missed reading it, the two boys did not come forward voluntarily to admit their wrongdoing, or make any attempt to undo the damage they did.
I personally have never come forward years after the fact to admit I GREATLY wronged someone, and ask for their forgiveness.
The takes a lot more guts than I have right now.
I'm just not on board with punishing someone who otherwise didn't have to do the right thing.
If she had been caught red handed at the time, and not treated as severely as the little boys, then yes - you've got me on your side with this argument.
My son went to jail for a month during the school year - 5 states away from where we live.
His teacher passionately believed his innocence, wrote him every day, collected school work for us to take to him, so he wouldn't be too far behind. She had the class sign a card, letting him know he was supported and people cared about him.
She tearfully told me she had falsely accused a neighbor man of molesting her as a child. She thought God sent my son into her life to see what a horrible thing she had put that man through.
She WAS being molested - but not by the man she accused.
She panicked when questioned at school over her obvious sexual precociousness and blamed the neighbor, not wanting to get her father or Uncle - the real culprits - in trouble.
Nothing came of the investigation, and the molesting continued until she left home. The neighbor was investigated, and nothing came of it.
She never considered the impact her accusation had on the accused neighbor 30-40 years before until my son was in her class.
I read of a case where a man, through the 12 step program, wrote a woman apologizing for his part in a frat party rape 10 years before.
She was too drunk to identify him, but she had not willingly participated.
She successfully pressed charges, and he went to prison.
...which to me is more of an 'apples to apples' comparison to Ms. Hardester.
And personally - I disagree with punishing Ms. Hardester after she tried to right a wrong, and I don't feel it was right to put the man in prison.
But, like you, it just doesn't seem right just saying "Gee, Thanks!" ...either.
Sgt. Mom, the three boys in the story were merely CHARGED with rape -- accused, just as your son. We don't know if they were convicted, so to suggest that little boys who were charged with rape (and that makes sense, doesn't it?) did not recant makes no sense.
I have written extensively on about the need for rewarding early recantations. But not 10 years after the fact, long after the hard has been done, motivated by a guilty conscience. The toothpaste is already out of the tube, the man's life has been ruined. An early recantation needs to be rewarded. But once a male is arrested, even an early recantation requires some punishment. Am I suggesting she should go to jail? Not necessarily, but there should be some punishment.
sg. mom
"I'm just not on board with punishing someone who otherwise didn't have to do the right thing."
anon says. the problem here folks is the legal system no longer punishes women/girls who do the wrong thing. Enabling false rape accusations to flourish in our legal system is causing some men/boys to feel seriously violated, and we may be even fostering criminality.Is a legal system rotten to the core, if it no longer protects innocent men/boys from false rape accusations??
I believe the folks that enable false rape accusers should feel what it is like be falsely acussed (since they cry that false rape accusations cause no REAL HARM??)
Let them get shot, and or beaten to death by the boyfriend she told the lie to, or let them try to tell their friends that she was lying, when no one believes you didn't do it.
The bottom line here folks is the guys in our legal system that are enabling false rape accusations to flourish with impunity, should have to feel the wrath of a false rape accusation.
We don't know if they were convicted, so to suggest that little boys who were charged with rape (and that makes sense, doesn't it?)No it doesn't. But neither does kids shooting each other in schools, doing drugs, theft, bullying, or tormenting each other to the point where the victim feels that suicide is the last resort. I'm not saying that they are guilty, but in this day and age....
What I wonder is, what would you have the 11 yr. old girl do if it really did happened, just keep quiet?
Immediatly disbelieving & discounting a person reporting rape allows predators to escape time, allows evidence to lapse, suppresses the little courage a victim may have...I'm not saying that no one should speak out about false reporting. But at the same time a victim who was actually raped may not come forward because of the assumption that she was most likely lying.
I'm just trying to look at this from both sides.
This woman waited ten years after-the-fact to confess . . . two years after she became an adult.
Now just think about this: if a boy is having consensual sex and delays for just FIVE SECONDS in pulling out after the girl tells him to "stop," he is a rapist (true case, by the way).
Get it? He's a felon for delaying five SECONDS.
This woman delayed TEN YEARS -- when every second of every one of those ten years, she COULD have done the right thing by releasing this man from the unspeakable agony of a false rape claim.
So I say this most respectfully to Sgt. Mom (because I DO respect her): if a boy can go to prison for delaying five seconds to do the right thing, this young woman needs to be punished for waiting ten years to do the right thing.
". . . the problem here folks is the legal system no longer punishes women/girls who do the wrong thing."
Amen, anonymous!
See new post on this topic:
Boy who delays five seconds withdrawing from intercourse is a rapist; girl who delays ten years to recant a false rape claim is not charged
sweetbonyrose:
I'm not saying that they are guilty, but in this day and age....And yet that's exactly what you are implying/saying. Stop trying to be coy. Speak up and say what you really mean. One thing about this site, is you aren't likely to be banned or censored. Wish I could say that about several feminist sites I've tried to post on.
What I wonder is, what would you have the 11 yr. old girl do if it really did happened, just keep quiet?The "what if" question. It's really a distracting tactic, much like the 'women were oppressed' line. Tell me what it has to do with the hear and now. Nothing, is the answer. Deal with what is, not what might have been.
But at the same time a victim who was actually raped may not come forward because of the assumption that she was most likely lying.That is the same standard line that feminists have been using as a cop out, and why I say that there MUST be some form of punishment for false accusers. The false accusers are the ones to make real rape victims reports questionable, so wouldn't it make sense to punish harshly the false accusers?
Pierce stated, over on Glenn Sack's blog a few days ago the following statement. It cuts to the heart of the matter of reporting rape and the stigma that feminists say goes with it:
Funny, isn't it? We are ever so concerned about rape accusers not coming forward, but for all the ordeal of making a rape claim, this somehow doesn't discourage the false accusers from coming forward, does it?
That hits the nail on the head right there. In 2 sentences, it puts the lie to everything that people scream about women facing so many problems when reporting a rape.
It's all white noise intended to distract. Nothing more.
I'm constantly told that I don't care about the 'victims'. Yet, when I say that I am concerned about the victims, but I care about a larger group of victims. Those who have been raped AND those falsely accused. The 'rape industry' simply refuses to give any consideration to the falsely accused.
And there aren't 2 sides to this. It's the same problem. Reduce false rape claims so that those who are truly raped can come forward and be seen as credible, so that convictions will increase and we can get rapists off the streets.
Modern Feminism is a hate movement. They long ago ceased to be about equality. Here's a challenge, go to a feminist website, find an active post on rape, and leave a comment that false rape claims are a problem (post under a name that is obviously male), and watch what happens. Then compare that to how you are treated here. It should tell you quite a bit. If you do this, please let us know what happens.
Thanks
wolfboy is, of course, Steve B., our co-writer on this site. He makes some great points. He is dead on -- there are not two sides to the rape/false rape story. False rape claims are a reality, and they hurt both innocent men and real rape victims. Because they hurt innocent men, feminists refuse to acknowledge them. In the process, they refuse to do anything to stop false rape claims, which only makes it more and more difficult for actual rape victims to come forward. Feminists care more about using rape as a symbol of male oppression of females than about helping actual rape victims. In their hearts, they know this is true. And Steve is right -- their refusal even to be sympathetic to men falsely accused indicates that modern feminism has morphed into a hate movement.
False accusers deserve the maximum sentence. Lock them up!
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