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Author’s Note: This was written prior to April 26, 2018, when Bill Cosby was found guilty on three counts of sexual assault during his retrial.
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As a social interest group leader for The Good Men Project’s Conscious Intersectionality group, I regularly have the privilege of speaking with folks who seek justice for all … and they (we) strive to be mindful of justice and the effects of oppression in an intersectional way. Recently, I posed some questions to the group to challenge our intersectional lenses and I will ask again here…
With respect to the Philando Castile case…
1. When a black man is murdered by the police, who do you typically see defending their life and honor in the press?
Most answered: their family or mother.
Answer: Their black mother. In this case, Valerie Castile.
2. Who do we know to be the most invisible class/group of people in the US?
Collective answer: black women
What does this translate to? NO VOICE, NO JUSTICE. NO JUSTICE, NO VOICE. It becomes an insidious cycle of pain that is never heard and lives that never matter.
Reasons why we saw no conviction from a jury in the Castile case?
1. ‘Blue wall of silence’ testimony from Jeronimo Yanez’s partner.
2. Instruction by the court to jurors in cases involving police officers to judge the use of force from the perspective of the officer.
3. Instruction by the court to the jury specifically warning them against using the 20/20 vision of hindsight. The idea is that police officers are faced with split-second decisions and thus should be given some deference.
With respect to the ‘Cosby Case’…
1. If you are able to name your favorite Cosby episode, but cannot name Andrea Constand as the woman in this case, what does that say?
I asked the group to answer honestly, and many admitted to not knowing who Andrea Constand was prior to our call.
2. Why does it seem as though the existence of racism and the existence of sexism (read: guilty of rape) cannot both be present in this case?
Intersectionality tells us that we don’t have to choose…both can be present, alive, and operating well within our systems, and in individual cases like this one. Cosby is clearly not being treated the same way a Brock Turner would because of his race…but that does not render him innocent, nor in the same camp as Emmett Till.
If you are not able to even NAME the woman in the case, how can you honestly say that you have considered her story? Considered the other 50+ stories that were omitted from consideration in this case?
Reasons why we saw no conviction in the Constand case?
1. A sequestered jury. (They were not privy to much of what the public was in terms of Cosby’s pattern of abuse.)
2. Only Constand’s testimony was considered, thanks to a statute of limitations that barred the 50+ other accusers from having a voice in court. They were unable to show a pattern of behavior that would have been pivotal in this case.
3. A high prosecutorial burden of proof – in the case of rape and sexual assault, having to prove ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ heavily favors perpetrators of rape. In the case of Constand, it was called into question the length of time it took for her to report and also her communication with Cosby after the alleged rape (which was related to her job at Temple University)…this is victim blaming and shaming, and can be seen in many sexual assault cases. Being drugged alters memory, shame paralyzes victims, and a societal rape culture that blames victims and forces them to relive their trauma only serves to prolong or suppress their decision to come forth.
A sexist system places statutes of limitations and high prosecutorial standards on sexual assault cases that render women powerless and voiceless in these cases.
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In the end, structural bias in favor of criminal defendants is the common thread between the Castile and Constand cases. The system is designed to believe/favor police officers. The system is designed to believe/favor men over women.
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You can delete the comment as many times as you like, but this piece will still be dangerous, undemocratic gibberish.
There are many problems that I have with this article, but I will focus on one question that the writer posed: When a black man is murdered by the police, who do you typically see defending their life and honor in the press? Most answered: their family or mother. Answer: Their black mother. In this case, Valerie Castile This is not true. When Trayvon Martin or Eric Garner or Walter Scott Jr was murdered, Black men were at the fore front. Black men in their families were at the fore front. This is another attempt to smear the Black man… Read more »
Even worse its a further attempt at dividing black people even further than we already are. Fact of the matter is when black men speak up they are typically ignored precisely to feed the narratives of “black men are worthless” and “men don’t support women”. And honestly I think this is an unfair question: 1. If you are able to name your favorite Cosby episode, but cannot name Andrea Constand as the woman in this case, what does that say? It’s basically a leading question meant to shame you for not immediately recognizing a woman who just recently appeared in… Read more »
I will own that. The sole purpose of that question WAS to elicit an emotional response from those who failed to even hear her story or even know her name. It speaks to the credibility of those who would bash, blame, or shame the victim. It speaks to blind support.
But the emotional response isn’t going to be valid due to the nature of the comparison so why even try to invoke it.
You’re drawing a comparison between a childhood memory and a recent event as if that childhood memory actually influences one’s thoughts on the recent event.
It comes off sounding like you want to preemtively accuse anyone that doesn’t just instantly believe Constand and condemn Cosby of being blinded by their childhood as if that is the only possible reason one wouldn’t do so.
Nah, critical thinkers know what the question is meant to do…challenge them while possibly highlighting a blind spot that should make one feel a bit ashamed. It speaks to the impact of rape culture and the normalization of violence toward women. And if you don’t think that childhood memories of Dr. Huxtable don’t impact how the public views Cosby, wow, I don’t know where you’re coming from there. I haven’t asked anyone to believe Constand by posing that question, only asking the public to acknowledge her and hear her story, know her name…rather than blindly following a person who has… Read more »
Nah, critical thinkers know what the question is meant to do…challenge them while possibly highlighting a blind spot that should make one feel a bit ashamed. So invoking shame under the guise of critical thought. And if you don’t think that childhood memories of Dr. Huxtable don’t impact how the public views Cosby, wow, I don’t know where you’re coming from there. For the record I don’t think that. But to be clear what I’m saying is that comparing childhood memories to the recent reporting of a terrible crime is an unbalanced comparison because of the time factor. I haven’t… Read more »
It’s not a guise if I’m honest about it. No one in the group saw it as anything other than thought-provoking. And point of clarification, Constand’s original case was brought in 2004, but we didn’t hear about it…wonder why that is…
And with that, nice chatting.
It’s not a guise if I’m honest about it.
It is if you’re only honest about it when questioned about it.
And point of clarification, Constand’s original case was brought in 2004, but we didn’t hear about it…wonder why that is…
More suspense and leading questions. And even then the time gap is still pretty big.
This chat was good. I hope to do it again someday.
I don’t know what level membership you have with GMP, but it would be awesome to have you on one or more of our weekly calls! https://goodmenproject.lpages.co/conscious-intersectionality/
Thank you for the offer Emily but last I knew those calls took place on during the week at Noon EST and unfortunately that is right in the middle of day job. And as of right now I don’t have a membership (money is a bit tight) but the next bit of contribution I have my eye on is getting back to submitting articles for the site.
Again thanks for the offer.
Awesome! My group calls are Sunday nights at 9pmEST, but I understand. When you get around to writing again, feel free to put my name in the editor box if you don’t already have one! Have a good one!
Elevating black women does not smear black men. There’s a legitimate reason why black women are often found the ones standing at the podium…and it’s because a centuries-old system has targeted and exterminated black men. But your comment is a direct derailing of what the entire article is about…which is being mindful of intersectionality, while analyzing a system that is stacked in favor of police officers, and in favor of men. But continue projecting your pain…I will absorb it.
Lets ignore that Black men have been historically incorrectly charged with rape of white women. Yeah……
No one ignored it. But let’s not also act like this is a case of false accusation, when it is not. Also notable, is the fact that there only exists between 2-8% cases that even involve false accusations. The false accusation narrative is an insidious way to silence victims…..especially when we know that 63% goes unreported.
Sorry, this was not an Emmett Till case.
Very interesting article….Thoughtful as well….I think you are 100% correct in your assessment of both cases. I don’t know much about either but from what I’ve read and seen from both is a common theme that always takes places in rape cases and police involved shootings of black Americans. I believe in both situations that people HAVE to take the EXACT same positions to go along with their “Values” or how they were raised and groomed (right or wrong). I think it scares the daylights out of some people to look at things from all perspectives and not one sided.… Read more »
Thank you for your comment, Andre! I would say your assessment is correct, as well! I would add that, when people feel these grave injustices, they look for someone to blame. It’s easy to look at these trials and blame the jurors…until you see how they were instructed and what evidence they were allowed to consider. The system basically tells them who is innocent and who is guilty…and that system is steeped in racism and sexism. Thanks for taking the time to read and digest!
Absolutely…