Rolling Stone’s Jackie Story Is Patently Ridiculous

Leo McNeil ^ | December 5, 2014 | Leo McNeil

[LeoMcNeil]

A couple weeks ago Rolling Stone published an article about a 2012 gang rape that allegedly took place at a frat house at the University of Virginia. The article has come under scrutiny, largely because the writer never bothered to interview any of the alleged gang rapists or anyone else associated with the events of that night. It appears the writer only spoke with the alleged victim “Jackie.” Both conservative and liberal media members have questioned the article and its authenticity. The feminists are crying “rape denial” over a rape that was never reported to the police and likely didn’t occur. In the feminist world these days, facts and justice really don’t matter. All that matters is the storyline and how it furthers feminist political causes.

Jackie alleges that she was gang raped at a frat party. The gang rape is allegedly part of a hazing ritual at a frat wherein new pledges gang rape a woman. Having been gang raped, Jackie doesn’t file a police report. In fact, her friend even refuses to take her to the hospital despite cuts on Jackie’s back from having been raped on shards of broken glass from a coffee table. Apparently the friend doesn’t want to risk not getting invited to more gang rape frat parties. Jackie’s story doesn’t make any sense. If Jackie really has cuts on her back, which presumably she would if she was raped on broken glass, why wouldn’t she go to hospital? Why would her friend refuse to take her and even if she did refuse, why couldn’t Jackie go herself? If Jackie was brutally gang raped in this manner, what sort of friend wouldn’t take her to hospital or at least the police station?

The UVA response was to shut down all frats, despite the fact that there was no evidence that Jackie was even a real person. Campus feminists have engaged in a “slut walk” in order to raise awareness against “victim blaming and slut shaming.” A woman was brutally gang raped and campus feminists want to cry about victim blaming, which no one is doing, and slut shaming when no slut or her shame exists in this story. Campus professors want students to take back their party and oppose gang rape. It appears professors support the campus party culture, so long as drinking to excess is “safe.”

Missing from nearly everyone’s response is justice for Jackie. If Jackie was brutally gang raped, she needs justice not a slut walk. If campus feminists really believed Jackie was brutally gang raped, they would demand a police investigation and charges against the rapists. Most rational people would even join the feminists in this cause, including campus Republicans. After all, who wants to live on a college campus (or anywhere for that matter) where violent gang rapists are allowed to walk free? Frankly, people should be questioning why Jackie and her friend didn’t go straight to the police after the gang rape occurred. In not doing so, those two created an environment where more women could be brutally attacked by gang rapists.

The reason why the feminists at UVA aren’t demanding justice is because there was no rape and there probably isn’t a Jackie. The story written by Rolling Stone is likely nothing more than a work of fiction wherein feminists imagine a brutal gang rape that no one cares about. This furthers their rape culture agenda, which essentially seeks to blame men for any and all sexual interaction between the sexes. Jackie’s story doesn’t have to be real, so long as it furthers the agenda. In fact, the feminists will go so far as to attack anyone who questions the story. After all, if you question whether a woman was raped you’re clearly creating an environment that makes women feel like they can’t come forward with rape allegations. In other words, women are to be believed no matter what. Thus even a story as patently ridiculous as Jackie’s must be believed lest you hate women and support their rape. Feminism has become a cesspool of fake rape stories and slut walks. Truth doesn’t matter, all that matters is the furtherance of an agenda.

[FamiliarFace]

I thought Jackie wasn’t real, too, that maybe she was a composite. However, I read that she has been contacted by Slate reporters, whom she agreed to talk with, and then backed out. Also, someone from the Washington Post has also contacted her, and an article is supposed to be coming soon, according to the Slate writers.

Still, Jackie’s story is full of holes, as you have mentioned. It really strains credulity.

[Soul of the South]

A few questions that no reporter will ask, and no future story in the press will report, whether or not Jackie is real.

1) The alleged incident occurred during the first semester. Rush and pledging occur during the second semester at UVA. If this was a pledge hazing incident, how did it occur when there were no pledges to haze?
2) The legal drinking age is 21. Jackie was a freshman at the time of the incident, presumably age 18. Why did she choose to violate the law by drinking and drinking excessively?
3) If alcohol abuse and underage drinking is commonly known to be frequent and out of control at fraternities why did the university administrators responsible for overseeing student groups allow the situation to become out of control? The Rolling Stone article suggests the problem is “cultural” which means it has been going on, and ignored, for years. Shouldn’t some of the outrage be directed against school administrators and shouldn’t they be held accountable by losing their jobs?
4) The fraternity houses are located in the city of Charlottesville near the campus. If it is well known misdemeanors and felonies are frequently occurring in fraternity houses, why aren’t the Charlottesville police, and state alcohol control agents, walking through through fraternity houses when the these houses are open to the public for parties? When private property is open to the general public, law enforcement officials can lawfully enter the premises without a warrant.
5) If feminists on campus were disturbed about bad behavior at fraternity houses, why didn’t they file a formal complaint with the student run Judiciary Committee, which governs misconduct by students and student organizations?
6) For context, in the last ten years how many student rapes have been reported in and around campus? What were the locations (dorms, fraternity houses, apartments, automobiles, etc)? Who were the perpetrators - students or outsiders?
7) Why are we seeing greater publicity and concern about an undocumented and alleged crime involving an anonymous victim and unidentified assailants at the University of Virginia than we are seeing regarding the very real and very recent female student victim (Hannah Graham) of kidnapping, sexual assault and murder at the hands of a University of Virginia employee (Jessie Matthew). In this very real case the accused was apparently involved in multiple prior assaults and murders of college women? Where is the mainstream press and public outrage against an identified man accused of committing multiple brutal criminal acts against women for which there is actual evidence including dead bodies?

[LeoMcNeil]

The feminist narrative is that the police don’t bother investigating rape because our culture hates women. I find that almost impossible to believe and yet the feminists make that very argument.

Most universities look the other way when it comes to underage drinking. For the purposes of full disclosure, I believe the drinking age should be 18 rather than 21. Having said that, at UVA the faculty created an event called something like Save The Party. The purpose was not to discourage underage drinking or even drinking to excess. Rather its purpose was to support such practices in a “safe” environment presumably free of rape.

It would be interesting to see what sort of cases and how many were filed with the Student Judiciary Committee. However, such committees are nothing but kangaroo courts the results of which ought to be treated as highly questionable. Furthermore, my experience at college (I went to Michigan State in the 90’s) is that most students don’t know about or don’t care about nonsense like student run judiciaries. If a real sexual assault or rape has occurred, the place to file a complaint is the police station not the student run campus kangaroo court.