I’m outraged.
It’s clear the jury believed Carrol was credible and Trump wasn’t. They nailed him on almost every count. But shied away from branding him the RAPIST you and I, and they goddamn well know Trump is and more importantly was that day he RAPED E. Jean Carroll.
They lacked the guts to say so.
This is an appalling reminder of the Brock Turner case. The Stanford swimmer who was touted as such potential star and future bigwig that would go big places in life. The promising white boy from the “proper” upbringing, so much so that golly gee it would be a shame to “ruin the rest of his life” – because he was wasted enough he had trouble getting his nasty dick hard enough to pump away to orgasm.
And THAT my friends is what I think the standard is that the jury applied in this case. Unlike Turner’s victim Carroll was conscious and actively fought to get free. She testified for sure he penetrated her with his fingers and was pretty certain with his penis too but she was fighting to free herself so unlike say Stormy Daniels she couldn’t give a description of Trump pumping away with his shortish mushroom headed dick for a few minutes and shooting his wad.
Like Brock Turner Trump didn’t manage to get his rocks off. To blow his load. For too many people including I firmly believe these jurors that means something to the effect, “well, he tried and maybe if she hadn’t fought him off he’d have completed the act – but since he didn’t it’s not quite rape.”
For me that is some sick, apologetic reasoning but I wish I could say I was completely surprised some folks on this or any jury decided to rationalize what Trump did to Carroll this way. “No load blown – no Rape.” What was Carroll (or any rape victim) supposed to have done? Resisted and said no up until she felt his dick slipping in then calm down enough to make sure she could give an accurate acount of how deep it went? How many times it pumped away? How big or small it felt? How long it took her rapist to reach orgasm? Tragically, that’s how way too many people (including some women I’ve known who I’ve had discussions about sexaul assault and rape with – talking about cases in the news) still think.
I mention that last part because I heard on Katy Tur’s show from a reporter some new details about Carroll’s testimony, that she couldn’t say for certain Trump got his dick in. She was pretty sure he did for a bit but at that point her focus was on getting out of his clutches and somewhere, anywhere the hell away from him!
So the COWARDS on the jury let Trump off the hook.
They are anonymous and may remain so. However, if I ever meet one of them and learn they ruled the way they did I wouldn’t hesitate for one second to call them out. In way stronger language than I’ve used here!
One last thing. Trump will of course appeal. IF these jurors who have been anonymous thinks that letting Trump off the hook for rape, for only hitting him for sexual assault will stop him and his minions from sparing no effort to learn who they are and Doxx them they are incredibly naive. I think the time will come when they are shoved into the spotlight and each and every one of them will come to regret their attempted “splitting the baby” verdict. I’m partial to the old saw “If you’re gonna be a bear then be a Grizzly” and this verdict tells me in their hearts the jurors believed Carroll. That Trump RAPED her.
They just didn’t want to say so.
Did the witness intimidation by Trump’s lawyer Tacaopenishead (making a big deal about getting their names and personal info.) and Trump’s threatening (basically calling on MAGAs to find out who these people are and make them pay for even sitting on the jury) public statement have an effect? Probably.
Right now I’m too disgusted to say anything else because I keep typing words and statements not allowed here and having to delete them.
I hope others are as angry and disgusted as I am right now.
I’m with you Denis, outraged as hell. For me, the “mere” forcible entry of fingers into a woman should be considered as rape. It’s a violation in every sense of the word. Trump’s victim was struggling to escape him, with his filthy fingers already inside her vagina, so no wonder she wasn’t sure his penis was in too. A sad day for a very brave woman.
You might want to read what Murfster has to say on this. There are solid legal/evidential reasons for the verdict. I can’t say I like it either, but that’s how it is. They definitely convicted him of enough to require him to register as a sex offender, and there’s a petition up at The Petition Site (went up withing a couple of hours of the verdict) demanding that he be so required.
I did read his thoughts on the matter. Reasonable people, even a couple of Cubs fans from Illinois can respectfully disagree. He makes a worthy point about legal technicalities. At the same time, while I haven’t heard from him on this I doubt he’d disagree with some of my thoughts on how for like forever people (not just guys) have viewed rape and what does or doesn’t constitute rape. Or how to judge whether it or sexual assault up to and “almost – but couldn’t quite ‘complete’ the act” did or did not take place. Including those stereotypes about whether a woman should have been in a position where she could be attacked in the first place. If she might have “given out signals” she was “available”, did she fight hard enough to prevent it and so on. And, as I noted while in this rape(and I still maintain it was rape) Carroll testified she thought fingers had been replaced by Trump’s penis at that point she was fighting so hard to get free she was no longer focused on that aspect of things – and couldn’t say 100 percent for sure but she was pretty sure. It was on THAT detail the jury hung its hat. My anger still exists because they punished her for her HONESTY.
And here’s the other thing. If you’ve never lived through a traumatic event (I have) the brain plays funny tricks which as a neuroscientist Dr. Christine Blassey-Ford described to the Senate Judiciary Committee and the nation. Memory lapses that can be seconds or hours. Believe me I had flashbacks to when I was barely 18 and somehow survived with minimal injury a car accident that should have killed me. I almost got arrested by a State Trooper who happened upon the scene right after before anyone had even been dispatched! Because he ordered me back, refusing to believe I’d been in the car who’s roof was almost flattened into the seats by that big old post hole drilling truck/rig. He had me pinned and his handcuffs out when others convince him they’d seen my still pretty skinny ass work my way out of that car. I have flashes still of those minutes afterwards – for roughly a half hour it’s a mix of still vivid memories and brief blank spaces. And then, down the road at the hospital that last memory of from the open exam door room I was in seeing the ER door open – and then NOTHING for about three hours. That period of time in my life is blank. I don’t remember how or when I got home. Who I encountered during that time or even what I’d eatern for dinner although I must have eaten and well because that far into the evening I wasn’t the least bit hungry.
So, that’s why I believe Carroll was correct in her belief Trump got his nasty dick into her, but that given her focus was on getting away she was honest enough to admit that although she thought that happened her memory of it was so short (like his dick?) that as I said she wasn’t a hundred percent sure. However, given my own life experience (there were others when I should have died and didn’t) had I been on the jury I’d have recounted what I just wrote as well as other things. And I’ll bet that it would have made a difference. But again, there are deep seated biases and tropes that get ingrained into us and the #MeToo movement has only move the needle so far. Women are definately more likely to be listened to but that doesn’t mean they will be fully believed unless a lot of people’s built in prejudices I’ve noted can be set aside.