From comments to Steve Sailer:
* I expect the story to drop off because it is no longer fulfilling its cultural “function” as an outrage to get worked up about. At this point it is a debunked horror story.
There will probably be continued discussion of “rape culture”, but, in all fairness, if the media were really serious about this they would pick up the 3 other gang rape stories that Steve itemized a week or so ago.
So I guess it will be back to Bill Cosby, unless one of Woody Allen’s children gets moody during the Holiday season.
On the other hand, for those who live by knowledge and information, there are always new things to know; not necessarily to publicize, but to have in hand.
* Erdely’s is toast. Her fate is destined to be worst than that of Steven Glass. Glass is done in journalism, although (how is this for coincidence) Rolling Stone hired him for one article. He attended law school, but has been denied admittance to the bar.
Erdely is not as talented as Glass. She will be the example used in Journalism schools around the country for at least a few years (until someone tops this) of what not to do. Why would anyone want to hire her? Unsullied journalists are available. It isn’t as if she will be missed. And, who really cares enough to take a chance on her?
She is highly expendable.
* I am Facebook friends with several members of the young left-wing pundit class, and they are currently arguing among themselves whether they need to take stock and learn lessons from the Rolling Stone debacle or double down on the narrative instead. The divide between the ones who are actually committed to things like facts and the truth and those who want to keep pushing the narrative no matter what is pretty striking.
* The Erdely story is about to be swamped by the Happy Holidays tsunami (including intensive weather & airport-traveler coverage), by New Year’s lists of Great Events & Men of the Year and 2014′s celeb bucket-kicks (and the usual pro-&-con palaver on New Year’s resolutions), and by the usual megaphone ramp-up frenzy to the Stupor Bowl.
And if none of those media cycles submerges the Erdely story, then there’s the coming evil Republican clutch on both houses of Congress for Enemedia-Pravda to assail.
Into that infotainment cycle mix, toss also the predictable and the unforeseen – most likely more sports figures (mis)behaving; holiday season disasters; a litany or two of ISIS atrocities; Christmassy puff pieces on illegal aliens & other foreigners in our midst; the usual footage of homeless in shelters feasting on donated turkey & fixins’;whatever Putin gets up to (Russian-Eastern Orthodox Christmas follows Western Christmas by a fortnight, giving Putin more time to pull something swift while the Western public is fuzzy from feasting and guzzling eggnog); perhaps a sighting of Kim Jong-Un(seen); the holiday death of some celeb or Big Shot; holiday travel highway accident carnage (& gridlock); a few local and national pieces on Those Heroes In Uniform Far Away Who Keep Us Safe; politicians spewing lies about Peace On Earth & Good Will Toward Persons; at least one “in-depth” report on how The People of Ferguson are Bravely Rebuilding while Finding Ways To Build Bridges Through Holiday Cheer; Marine Corps Reservists handing out Toys For Tots; some “fresh” liberal outrage or two (bet on race angles); a bad fire that Tragically Took Lives At This Time of Year; cute Holiday Fuzzy Puppy Stories; the Still Somehow New Pope’s Christmas Message and Hugging Of All God’s Children; a blurb on Christians’ Christmas pilgrimages to Bethlehem (with just the right amount of mention of “tensions” underlying the peace).
Then there’ll be the usual reports on holiday movie box office (boffos, bombs & sleepers), and loads of other such Happy Holidays infotainment pabulum.
So, you see, loads of mass communication megaphone fodder are massed to submerge the Erdely story, and probably even to eclipse and diminish public interest in “Jackie” herself.
You know the drill.
* There is one way to stop these malicious, feminist-inspired persecutions of White men: Whatever the penalty would have been for an accused man found guilty is given to the woman who maliciously accuses. That is the only way to get off the slippery stairs to a totalitarian feminist state.
* NYT reporter Ravi Somaiya:
> what is certain, as the story continues, is that none of those involved have gained anything.
Actually, Mr. Somalya, it’s pretty easy to identify people who have “gained something.”
1. The fraternity members who were falsely accused of gang rape and torture by Sabrina Rubin Erdely. True, everybody at UVa knows their identities, and “where there’s smoke there’s fire” suspicion will dog them for years. But ask the Duke Lacrosse Rape Hoax students what it means to have the media give the full Google Mud treatment to your name.
2. Rolling Stone‘s insurers. The settlements on the libel cases are sure to be less than they would have been, had the progressive hate-porn fantasy played out more fully.
3. Future victims of false accusations of rape.
* I recounted in the “Megaphonics” thread on Dec. 10th that my civil, on-topic, thoughtful submission to an All Things Considered story had failed moderation. In contrast, my follow-on stupid, bombastic comment passed without difficulty. My approved comment has now run away with “Best of Thread”, garnering 57 Likes (second place got only 10 votes).
Here is that comment.
“Kudos to NPR for covering the campus rape crisis. It’s a sign of progress that none of the Senators or victim advocates mentioned “due process” or “rights of the accused” in their interviews. These are merely smokescreens, used by rapists to evade the consequences of their despicable actions.”
* Distrust of the mass media is infinitely more important. Let’s hope this makes a bit of a dent in our reflexive trust in the authority of the mass media.
