still more

One of the posters in the forum I'm engaged in asked the few of us who are still standing up for Nicole, "who and what are we fighting for?" My reply.

I’ll just speak for myself. But I’m “fighting” against our dangerous tendency to uncritically assume whatever is presented to us which makes us so predictable and easy to manipulate. Especially knowing that we have a government that is famed for its duplicity in maintaining and pursuing its self-interests and self-preservation even if it means trampling on individual rights.
The “recantation” which has triggered this backlash has already been shown to be dubious and not even a recantation. Yet, from a lazy reading of it or by depending on media’s interpretation of it, people justify their condemnation of Nicole. I still don’t understand why people are condemning her.
This brings us to the issue of women and rape. And it’s frightening to see what kind of notions and attitudes are emerging, mostly following a trend that women must have done something to deserve being raped or it’s not rape if the woman wasn’t acting properly. I think that’s worth fighting against. Like I said, I don’t understand how we can condemn her in this culture that we’ve created, at least not without condemning ourselves in the process too.
And on people thinking she sold out. We call her a hypocrite but how many people have already left and how many want to leave this country? Why do they want to leave this country? We call her a “prostitute” and a “whore” but what are the conditions in this country that have reduced our women to that? And if ever, who are we to judge these women for trying to survive in these conditions that are stacked against them?
it seems to me that the irony is that another country (even the one of one's abuser) would be more preferable and more of a safe haven than one's own country. ok, people have been very vocal about what they think that says about Nicole. but what about what it says about us? or are we happy to just let Nicole be the villain and exonerate ourselves for letting this kind of culture persist that makes not just Nicole but so many others want to leave the country?
and since it was an exchange, what about the issue of who offered the US visa? why aren't they being crucified or even being considered? i think the US is the only one that can give a US visa. Now why would they want to give a US visa to some girl who's accused one of their boys of rape and got him jailed? why aren't their motives being considered? isn't that the more worrying aspect? or is our venom only reserved for one of our own, the easiest target?

my intention is not to stop people from crucifyng her, but to at least get people to ask why this is their reaction. so when your last nail is pounded, then can we ask these questions?

And to the lady who labels Nicole a prostitute for being too weak to stand up against the US, I think that sends a dangerous message. First of all, she did stand up. And she was villified for it from many camps. it seems to say to our women and future rape victims, if you can't handle being a symbol of the country and stand up against the world's most powerful country, then you're just a little whore.

yes, people did support her. but people also used her for their own agenda and people also maligned her from day one. i don't blame her for wanting to take her destiny into her own hands.