"There are contradictions! The woman must be lying!"
"She just wants attention!"
These are
very familiar lines, because they're used pretty much every time a (white) man is accused of rape.
First, again, there are reasons besides lying or deceitful intent why a rape survivor might give contradictory accounts over the years. I'm admittedly no expert on the psychology of trauma victims, but its pretty well known that memory can be unreliable, and traumatic memories particularly. Hell, I got laid off a couple weeks ago, under far less stressful circumstances, and I couldn't give you exact quotes of what was said between me and my manager if I was asked to under oath. This is well-understood, just as it is known that such contradictions are routinely used to assassinate the character of rape survivors and claim that they must be lying. And its why you should be very, very careful before dismissing an accusation by treating contradictions as proof of lying.
Again, I cited an expert who said he found Ms Reade's story credible. You, surprise surprise, simply asserted again that the contradictions "clearly" cannot be explained- then go on to insinuate that my source is being dishonest.
If I understand you correctly, you are essentially arguing that the firing was a separate incident than the rape, so the trauma of the rape could not be used to explain inconsistencies in the account of the firing. I admittedly lack the psychiatric knowledge to refute this point without further research, but I'm also pretty sure that you lack the expertise to make it. You also never actually refuted the argument from my source, that the specific details offered about the alleged rape give credibility to Ms. Reade's story. You've just tried to argue that inconsistencies about a subsequent event destroy the credibility of
anything Ms. Reade says.
So, again, I ask you: Where's your degree? What credentials do you have to assume that you can tell when a woman's story is credible in a case like this? And to assume that you know better than an actual fucking professional in the field?
As to why she would say complimentary things about Biden, you yourself offered a possible explanation. She wasn't ready to come forward with her story, and decided that Biden's policies outweighed his personal sins. That does not mean that she thereby waved the right to ever change her view, or that anything she says must be presumed to be a lie.
As to the attempts to verify her story, I'll note two things:
-Three of the people they contacted said they didn't recall her telling them about it. What about the other two?
-They found one "longtime friend" who claimed that they did not believe her and that "she has always been one to seek attention" (an accusation thrown at practically every woman who's ever alleged rape ever). Yeah, definitely sounds like someone you would say about a friend.
Interesting that they don't give the person's name, though.
Is it still
possible that Tara Reade is lying? Sure. But there is no getting around three simple facts which add considerably to her credibility.
1. As you're probably aware, false rape allegations are pretty rare, much less rare than the constant fear-mongering about lying women out to frame powerful men make them out to be. The reasons for this should be obvious: women (and men for that matter) make such accusations at considerable risk to their reputation, financial security, emotional well-being, and even physical safety. These risks are amplified when the subject of their accusations is as powerful a man as a Presidential candidate with millions of supporters and massive resources to dig up dirt on the accuser and try to assassinate their character. Most women are not going to be willing to subject themselves to that for political ideology, much less "for attention", and anyone who thinks they are is, frankly, a misogynist.
2. Related to the above, Joe Biden has a Presidential campaign backed by the full power of the Democratic Party and the support, official or tacit, of most of the major news media outlets. I have absolutely no doubt that Tara Reade's allegations and reputation are being gone over with a fine-tooth comb for evidence that she is lying, that she was bought, etc.
In past cases of fraudulent allegations from the Right, like the ones they tried to set up against Mueller, it came out pretty quickly that they were fake, that women were being offered money to make them, etc. That hasn't happened here. The best they've got is "She said some nice things about Putin" and "She supported Bernie". Which tells me they haven't found anything better to discredit her.
3. Tara Reade is not the only woman to have accused Biden of inappropriate conduct. She is the only one, thus far at least, to accuse him of outright rape, but numerous others have alleged inappropriate touching or harassment, and IIRC at least some of this is backed by photographic evidence. So it is not as though the idea that Joe Biden is a creep is based on only one woman's word.
"I know its easy to be defeatist here because nothing has seemingly reigned Trump in so far. But I will say this: every asshole succeeds until finally, they don't. Again, 18 months before he resigned, Nixon had a sky-high approval rating of 67%. Harvey Weinstein was winning Oscars until one day, he definitely wasn't."-John Oliver
"The greatest enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan."-General Von Clauswitz, describing my opinion of Bernie or Busters and third partiers in a nutshell.
I SUPPORT A NATIONAL GENERAL STRIKE TO REMOVE TRUMP FROM OFFICE.
