So, what’s up with the “Chewbacca” question?

Oops! I’m sorry, Kell. I misread. It was Monkey Testicle that used the term in the post before yours and so my question should have been directed there. I asked because I’d never heard the term before, that’s all. In any event, thanks mythago, for the link to a definition of the term.

Kell: Point of information: what is the Chewbacca Defense?”

Sorry, I don’t get why you’re asking me. I wasn’t trying to “overwhelm with details,” I was being sarcastic about the importance Ryan M. seems to place on his team membership. (Immediately after the accusations hit the national airwaves, the team members were seen in a local bar chanting “Duke LaCrosse,” as if invoking their percieving privilege over others would somehow protect them.)

As for his attendance at the march, as others have said, he could have gone to try to bolster his defense.

So, what’s up with the “Chewbacca” question?

Also, doesn’t 500 attendees sound depressingly small a Take Back The Night event at a school the size of Duke? I went to a university with around 3,000 students and we’d usually have upwards of 1,000 attendees. I guess it’s just another statement about the climate on campus after what their peers did…

He has no care about how other women will feel about his presense at a sensitive event for many women. In my opinion, he’s a racist and a sexual sadist, who was trying to bring his fantasy life into reality through this brutal crime.

This wasn’t just a gender hate crime, it was a racial hate crime. When he pictures a rape victim, it’s obvious he doesn’t see Black women, or women who are hired to strip, or women who aren’t raped by men hiding behind a bush late at night. Maybe he believes the only type of rape that happens is if White women get raped by Black men. Maybe he believes that a consensual relationship between a White woman and a Black man is rape. It’s not inconceivable that his warped views of what rape is could influence his presense at the event. Of course, he could be doing the proverbial thumbing the nose at the authorities or trying to look sympathetic as well.

Also, there is a history of White men raping Black women either because they owned them as slaves or because they felt it was their right to do so. Those men did and do not consider it rape. They considered it their right. Those belief systems haven’t gone away. They still exist today and in many cases, they are backed by the criminal justice system.

I’m pretty sure that Sadly, No! started the term.

““Thanks.

Well, he was wearing his jersey, of course. Because his identity and being No. 40-whatever is so incredibly important there are Inuitt hanging out around the Northwest passage discussing the Duke LaCrosse team’s triumphs while seal fishing. (And, it’s a pretty obvious attempt to pretend he personally wasn’t involved or cheering while the crimes occurred.)

http://www.wral.com/news/8513890/detail.html?rss=ral&psp=news

RALEIGH, N.C. — Allegations made by a woman who told police that she was gang-raped by three Duke University men’s lacrosse athletes have raised questions about the character, credibility and behavior of all those involved.

The severity of the allegations raises questions about each individual involved in the events that transpired on March 13 and March 14, including the alleged victim.

Judging by this news story, written no doubt by an impartial paragon of journalistic integrity, those lacrosse players could mount the Chewbacca Defense and still win this case in the court of public opinion.

Hello?

(echo echo echo).

Anyway, when everyone found out, there were a few people (adults) who were absolutely devastated because he had listened so sympathetically to their stories of past sexual abuse (one situation was very similar to what he was accused of!). I mean, he was a really “nice guy”!

Very disturbing…

Before it all came out, I remember having a bad dream about him. When I saw him some time later IRL, I started feeling uneasy toward him and kept chastising myself about it. From that I learned I should trust my instincts more!