'Me, too'

Presuming a woman is telling the truth about rape or sexual assault, simply because it is about rape or sexual assault, is fucking absurd.

 

I absolutely believe Reese Witherspoon is telling the truth. And I absolutely believe an investigation would confirm it.

That is a completely separate issue.

 

My mom posted a me too

 

'Reveals' denotes truth.
'Claims' and 'alleges' do not. They simply denote that an accusation is made without evidence or proof.
'Says' is the simplest and most accurate. It does not denote or connote truth or untruth. It is the most accurate word choice.
She didn't accuse anyone. She said something happened.

 

Let me rephrase:
She did not accuse a specific person. She said something happened and indicated a time frame and a profession.

 

Revealed is a dangerous word.

 

NO. NO. NO. "Alleges" has come to mean no such thing. Just because many journalists and journalism outlets misuse it does not mean that it has come to a different meaning than "offers without proof." Allege and its variations are a nightmare any journalist who thinks they are helpful needs retraining.

 

God no. Please purge any such thoughts from your brain.

 

The interesting thing about the Me, Too stuff isn't learning which of my friends have been sexually harrassed, it is wondering how many of my FB friends are responsible for behavior that prompted someone to say "Me, Too." I'd like to think none of them - but I'm not naive. And it isn't like I hang out with a bunch of "bros" or a-holes or tolerate such behavior.

 

I was speaking mostly as a human being. As a journalist, I'd check it out before I ran with it. But either way, I would start with the premise that the person was telling the truth. I mean, most stories start with the premise that the source is telling the truth. For some reason (I wonder why!), women have had their accusations of sexual assault doubted and disbelieved for centuries. That's fucked up.

And back on "revealed," I think we're hearing it, not incorrectly, as a stronger version of "claims," more solid and irrefutable. I think a lot of people would use it to mean something else: divulging a secret, as in, "a magician never reveals his secrets."

 

If a director were to sue her, wouldn't he or she be opening him or herself up to an accusation they would then have to defend themselves against? Nobody in their right mind would sue Witherspoon for what she said.

That said, reveal is an absurd word to use in this instance. It absolutely should be "alleges," "claims," "said," et. al. Saying she "claims" gives the statement some level of warranted skepticism in the absence of proof.

 

Just out of curiosity, does anyone here think she's not telling the truth? I think she is.