Drummer faces wrath in ex-Stanford swimmer rape case
Brock Turner in a January 2015 booking pohoto. (Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
NEW YORK » Social media lynch mob or do-gooders done, well, good?
That’s for you to decide as we consider the week just had by 20-year-old drummer Leslie Rasmussen of the indie rock band Good English.
Rasmussen, who lives in suburban Dayton, Ohio, is a friend since childhood of ex-Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner who was convicted last week of felony sexual assault and attempted rape. The six-month jail sentence of the Olympic hopeful, who agreed to leave the prestigious school rather than face possible expulsion, unleashed a fury.
Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky cited Turner’s clean criminal record and the impact the conviction will have on his life. The outrage has lasted for days.
In the aftermath, a “character statement” Rasmussen wrote in support of 20-year-old Turner was leaked. In it, she blamed campus drinking culture and political correctness for Turner’s inebriated life choices after two bystanders caught him in the act of assaulting a drunken, unconscious woman near some garbage bins.
Said lynch mobbers or do-gooders then took to Twitter, Facebook and other social streams to demand Rasmussen’s band, which includes her two sisters, be dumped from at least four gigs that included some in Brooklyn clubs hosting a small music festival called the Northside Festival.
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In the aftermath of the aftermath, the music-focused website BrooklynVegan.com reports Rasmussen released a long statement Tuesday explaining the one submitted into the court record in California two months ago, ahead of Turner’s sentencing.
While Rasmussen’s home phone rang busy today, the statement posted by Brooklyn Vegan speaks of her sympathy for the victim in Turner’s case.
“Unfortunately, due to the overzealous nature of social media and the lack of confidence and privacy in which my letter to the judge was held, I am now thrust into the public eye to defend my position on this matter in the court of public opinion,” the statement said.
It continued: “Now, my choices to defer college to write and play music, to finally introduce 10 years of hard work to a national audience while working consistently and intentionally on my own personal and professional integrity, has led to an uproar of judgment and hatred unleashed on me, my band and my family.”
It appears Rasmussen is crying victim. That doesn’t matter to David Kyrejko, co-founder of Industry City Distillery, one of the Brooklyn venues that canceled Good English as soon as the world figured out Rasmussen was in the band and playing there.
Industry City and other venues, along with the promoters of Northside Festival and the festival itself, have been dealing with outraged New Yorkers over Rasmussen’s remarks. None immediately returned calls and emails seeking additional comment beyond what they have posted online.
Industry City was to host a number of artists, not just Good English, on June 11.
“Then this whole situation started to unfold and we immediately contacted the producers of the event and demanded that they be removed from the lineup,” Kyrejko said today. “We found out through fans. We were made aware of it Tuesday, almost instantaneously. Our response was that Good English was removed from the roster.”
Why? And what of Rasmussen’s right to free expression?
“It’s pretty simple in my opinion,” Kyrejko added. “The support of rape culture is not tolerated. That’s why we removed them from our roster. I think she can do whatever she wants, but if you’re going to preach that, you’re not welcome in our venue. The show will go on. It’s going to be a great show.”
7 responses to “Drummer faces wrath in ex-Stanford swimmer rape case”
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For Kyrejko to say Rasmussen believes that rape culture is fine is bordering on slander. That’s not what she said at all as far as we are told in the story. A lot of lying people identified in the story.
Have you read her two letters? She does indeed support “rape culture.”
She certainly didn’t do anything to prove the opposite. As the owner of the venue it’s his call anyway. Just so bizarre that a woman would support a rapist, friend or not. She’ll catch hell for it and she deserves every bit.
Decrying “political correctness” is conservative’s go-to defense when racism is exposed, and now that pathetic defense has been taken a step further –– it has been offered as an excuse for rape. The lesson for anyone who is tempted to excuse abhorrent behavior by saying that the people who call out that behavior are guilty of political correctness should reconsider. When you defend anti-social or criminal acts by saying that someone else is guilty of political correctness, it is probable that you’re identifying yourself as being guilty of enabling and excusing that behavior.
The following is from an NCAA publication: “The Benedict-Crosset Study, a review of 107 cases of sexual assault reported at 30 Division I schools between 1991 and 1993 found that although male student-athletes make up only 3.3 percent of the collegiate population, they represented 19 percent of sexual assault perpetrators and 35 percent of domestic violence perpetrators. The researchers’ conclusion — “male college student-athletes, compared to the rest of the male population, are responsible for a significantly higher percentage of sexual assaults reported to judicial affairs on the campuses of Division I institutions.”
Although this study is 10 years old, any argument that it is no longer representative of the current situation is illusory. In addition to the numerous incidents of violence reported in the past year, more recent studies have corroborated the Benedict-Crosset findings. For instance, one researcher concluded that these recent studies “indicate a disproportionate number of campus gang rapes involve fraternities or athlete groups.” “
I have followed this story since it first broke. Despite there being no evidence that a rape occurred, most people commenting say the woman was raped. Look at the facts. Both victim and perp were stinking azz drunk. The victim had no recollection of what occurred. When she woke up in a hospital, a doctor told her that might have been sexually assaulted, but there was no evidence that a rape had occurred. The perp’s blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit. It is hard to imagine how anyone with that much alcohol in them would be capable of having an erection. His penis was most likely like a wet noodle. I do not doubt that a sexual assault occurred, but to say that it was rape is a stretch.
So if they were both drunk then no rape occurred? If the dude couldn’t get it up then no rape occurred? Would you be making the same comments if it was your daughter?