I really don’t think the comments will be that “JOOOOO!!!”-y this week, but…
Was Mattress Girl really raped by whatshisname? Evidently not. Same with the Rolling Stone rape hoaxer. But…I have a feeling they, and many of their less notorious counterparts at campuses around the country—male and female—were sexually victimized when they were much younger, possibly by a family member.
My personal experience of childhood sexual interference, and my observation of others, have taught me two things: that it is almost physically impossible for most people to speak of these experiences in anything but the vaguest terms, out of a combination of fear and shame; and therefore, victims will often channel their frustration and confusion into destructive actions.
Being away from home for the first time, given a new vocabulary specifically designed to express grievances, and “safe spaces” in which to do so, it is no wonder that genuine victims of sexual (or some lesser form of) abuse (or neglect, or even their parents’ divorce) act out.
