PZ accuses Shermer of rape.

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

"Peezus"...Lol.

[laklak]

Pee Zee Herman.

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

Hehe. Puerile humour - Still the best.

[laklak]

I'm not sure we even rise to "puerile" most of the time.

[JacksSmirkingRevenge]

If you say so, Mr. Poopypants.

[laklak]

I'm rubber, you're glue.

[Robert_S]

I'm rubber, you're glue.

It's arts and crafts time?

OK then, I'm a popsicle stick.

[laklak]

Nope, sorry, too many innocent children have gotten terrible splinters from popsicle sticks, and they encourage obesity. For playtime today we'll wrap ourselves in cotton batting and sit quietly while Captain Planet talks to us about saving baby seals through composting.

[Robert_S]

Nope, sorry, too many innocent children have gotten terrible splinters from popsicle sticks, and they encourage obesity. For playtime today we'll wrap ourselves in cotton batting and sit quietly while Captain Planet talks to us about saving baby seals through composting.

[Seth]

The question is did she consent to have drinks with him with the foreknowledge it may lead to sex, did he force them down her throat with a funnel, or is she simply retarded. Sex with a retard is always rape as they're never able to consent.

What the fuck are you meaning to imply? Consent to drinks is not consent to sex. Should women take it on the chin if they are raped by someone with whom they'd hitherto been enjoying drinks?

Are men entitled to have sex with any woman who has drinks with them?

No, but consent to sex while voluntarily intoxicated is still consent. Not that I would undertake to act on such consent, it being illegal to do so and all, but the point is that if you go out and get voluntarily intoxicated on anything to the point of stupor or losing capacity to make decisions, you are VOLUNTARILY HANDING YOUR BODY OVER TO SOMEONE ELSE TO TAKE CARE OF. You are expecting them to take care of your body the way you would like it taken care of. But if you get drunk and flash your boobs and make sexual advanced to someone you're telling them that you want them to have sex with you and you'd like to do it by giving over complete and absolute control of your body, and your safety, to them. You have a right to do exactly that, just as a non-drunk sexual masochist has a right to give over control of his or her body to a Sadist. Just because you might have done so unwisely because you were drunk is no reason to shift the blame for your actions to someone else.

So why then is it a crime for the person to whom you have given explicit, though drunken and therefore perhaps unwise, consent and control over your body to go ahead and do what your ACTIONS THEMSELVES tell them you wish to do?

YOU got drunk/intoxicated. YOU chose to do so voluntarily, knowing the consequences of doing so. YOU engaged in sexualized and/or suggestive behavior. YOU turned over custodial care of your body to the person you're with. Why should YOU be completely and totally responsible for the consequences of your voluntary, knowing actions? Why should you (and I'm talking the abstract "you" here, not you personally) be permitted by the law to wake up later likely not remembering clearly exactly what permissions you actually gave and then complain about what happened to you. You're the one who got drunk, you must accept ALL the consequences of doing so.

If you wish to avoid such consequences the answer is very, very simple: Don't become voluntarily intoxicated to the point where you are incapable of caring for yourself.

[Cormac]

I don't understand why PZ published a claim with so little actual... anything to it. Not only are the accusers anonymous-- we don't even know exactly what it is Shermer supposedly did, except that it was bad. Really bad. PZ admits no evidence, but is willing to seriously smear one man on the witness of a two women he takes on faith. What the hell kind of scientist is that?

I don't get this at all. But my opinion of PZ, already low, has dropped even lower on this account.

I mean, why not investigate? Why not discuss the situation with the conference organizers? Why not do something substantial to try to help this woman he thinks was raped, without simply tossing her story to the gods of blogdom and reveling in the hits and the drama?

This and the share of advertising revenue he gets every time someone refreshes a page on his blog.

[Cormac]

Yes, it is hard to imagine PZ would do this unless he was confident he would be validated. I have no idea if he should be confident but yeah, I also think he believes his friend.

I just don't know why he would refer to the information as a grenade and go public with their allegations like he did.

I wouldn't be at all surprised. The man is a monumental jackass, with a history of spinning molehills into scandalous mountains, not to mention the additional income he'll generate fromthe controversy.

[Robert_S]

Lousy Canuck weighs in...

http://freethoughtblogs.com/lousycanuck ... -accusers/

[Cormac]

OK, PZ's a little quick on the judgment sometimes, (as most of us know very well) but he's not entirely stupid.

There has to be more information. There has to be something more on its way.

Why does there have to be?

He didn't hesitate to declare that everyone on Rationalia is a rape promoter.

He is a jackass, and I for one hope that this accusation is false, and that he ends up being bankrupted for it. I despise him.

[Pappa]

The OP. I sometimes wonder if some blogger types forget they inhabit the real world. If this was printed in a newspaper - so and so said such and such and so and so confirmed it - all second hand - all innuendo and in effect rumour with not a shred of direct evidence then you would be sued into bankruptcy.

I have no idea of the truth of the allegation but he must have had a total brain fart to come out with it this way.

PZ is a total brain fart. Typing without thinking is his thing. Regardless of the facts, it is horrific that he would post such an allegation on his blog. This sort of thing is for the police to deal with, not to be spread maliciously just to get more hits. His use of "Boom" is quite telling too. What a fucking repugnant arsehole.