Very well said. Unfortunately most men, even the ones who don't actually rape, don't have the cojones to stand up to their fellow men. Bottom line. They don't want to be the odd one out.
Thank you for saying this. I'm 74 and soooooo tired of hearing "his life shouldn't be ruined for one mistake". YES IT SHOULD.
Your dog analogy is perfect. I was bit in my 20s by a doberman while riding my bike. 4 young boys were egging the dog on. I turned around went to the front door knock and waited for an adult. The boys were standing there behind the man. I explained what happend and added: "I'm fine, but if I see that dog not controlled again I will call the police and make sure that dog is put down.
Boys learn early how to beat the system. I have so many levels of anger at Cornell, those boys, their parents, the system . . .
Your intro had me! I was thinking "what an underreported story! So 1 in 3 people are like me, attacked by dogs" (as a young boy riding my bike & a small dog ran up to me & bit my ankle), which traumatized me for life, imagining a huge pit bull lunging for my throatI A bit of an exaggeration, but it brought home the point being made here, that being a victim of rape is a life traumatizing event that isn't publicly taken with the seriousness it merits.
REMEMBER: Western civilization, A/K/A white men, have had all the power for centuries. If they wanted to support women, children, immigrants; provide health care, housing, food; stop wars and genocide; they could have at any time and still can. THEY CHOOSE NOT TOO! They only care about themselves. It's time to take the keys away.
Thank you for publishing this! I’m sending it to my mid- teen grands ( one female, one male) and to their mothers! And I will have a conversation with them all when I visit them in Europe this winter. This cannot stand! We have gone so far deeper down the rabbit hole since when women’s liberation was a thing. Now we are in this bleeding, pitiful, victim-centered white male ‘woe is me’ bullshit sinkhole that makes me reel and reminds we how much everyone else becomes at risk with their stranglehold ! We have our work cut out for us… but nothing is impossible. Time for a better world with more responsible and diverse leadership!!
I can't disagree with a single word you wrote. Well said and thank you. But you end the article with this: I need men to act with the urgency as if they got that text, because for all intents and purposes, the data shows that if you know at least three women in your life, at least one has suffered sexual assault. You’ve received that text, whether you want to admit it or not.
The question is, what are you going to do about it? --My question is, what *can* I do about it? And I mean that literally, What steps can I take to help affect change? My niece and nephew recently went to college. I gave them the book "Missoula" by Jon Krakauer prior to them going to school. I wanted them both to be educated on the perils ahead. My niece for obvious reasons; my nephew for reasons less obvious but very important. But what else can I - and millions of men & women who want this scourge to end - do to stop it?
I have done this since reading your article and writing my post: I have emailed the Cornell leadership team (pictured above) and strongly suggested they resign. That does nothing to help the victim and little to affect change, but if they resign it sends the right message to women and men everywhere. It's a small step, but I hope it's better than nothing. The University Leadership page on the Cornell site is down, reporting an error, so thank you for posting the pic above. I wonder why it's down?
Thank you, Qasim, for writing about this. I recently read something that explained how boys grow up learning to defend and protect their friends who are boys, but not girls. It’s a good old boys club identity that produces men who will almost always believe a man’s word over a woman’s. And I have witnessed this in my own social group. A friend of mine was groped at a party (all friends in the same group) out of view of anyone and almost everyone believed his version of what happened, not hers. She is the only single woman in our group (her husband passed away). It was truly eye-opening for me to see the lack of response in her defense. And saddest for me, were even the women who did not step forward in her defense.
I know one man who made headlines bragging about grabbing women by the p****, and then I know I saw all the Republicans rally in his support.
Where were the two women on the board when these decisions were being made?
Very well said. Unfortunately most men, even the ones who don't actually rape, don't have the cojones to stand up to their fellow men. Bottom line. They don't want to be the odd one out.
Thank you for saying this. I'm 74 and soooooo tired of hearing "his life shouldn't be ruined for one mistake". YES IT SHOULD.
Your dog analogy is perfect. I was bit in my 20s by a doberman while riding my bike. 4 young boys were egging the dog on. I turned around went to the front door knock and waited for an adult. The boys were standing there behind the man. I explained what happend and added: "I'm fine, but if I see that dog not controlled again I will call the police and make sure that dog is put down.
Boys learn early how to beat the system. I have so many levels of anger at Cornell, those boys, their parents, the system . . .
Your intro had me! I was thinking "what an underreported story! So 1 in 3 people are like me, attacked by dogs" (as a young boy riding my bike & a small dog ran up to me & bit my ankle), which traumatized me for life, imagining a huge pit bull lunging for my throatI A bit of an exaggeration, but it brought home the point being made here, that being a victim of rape is a life traumatizing event that isn't publicly taken with the seriousness it merits.
Campus Accountability and Safety Act (CASA),
the bipartisan Senate bill by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
and co-sponsored by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
The US Senate bill was reintroduced in 2015, 2017, 2024, and 2025,
but it has been repeatedly stalled or remained in committee.
May this bill get traction during attention to the Cornell 7 case.
on-target commentary
Of course the "not all men" trope is sickening and, it is also true, that YOU prove it true.
Thank you for being an exceptional man and writer!
Yet the story is even bigger. See this post about Cornell’s ties to the Epstein network.
https://substack.com/@zazzysub/note/p-217554563?r=1o04re&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action
REMEMBER: Western civilization, A/K/A white men, have had all the power for centuries. If they wanted to support women, children, immigrants; provide health care, housing, food; stop wars and genocide; they could have at any time and still can. THEY CHOOSE NOT TOO! They only care about themselves. It's time to take the keys away.
Thank you for publishing this! I’m sending it to my mid- teen grands ( one female, one male) and to their mothers! And I will have a conversation with them all when I visit them in Europe this winter. This cannot stand! We have gone so far deeper down the rabbit hole since when women’s liberation was a thing. Now we are in this bleeding, pitiful, victim-centered white male ‘woe is me’ bullshit sinkhole that makes me reel and reminds we how much everyone else becomes at risk with their stranglehold ! We have our work cut out for us… but nothing is impossible. Time for a better world with more responsible and diverse leadership!!
I can't disagree with a single word you wrote. Well said and thank you. But you end the article with this: I need men to act with the urgency as if they got that text, because for all intents and purposes, the data shows that if you know at least three women in your life, at least one has suffered sexual assault. You’ve received that text, whether you want to admit it or not.
The question is, what are you going to do about it? --My question is, what *can* I do about it? And I mean that literally, What steps can I take to help affect change? My niece and nephew recently went to college. I gave them the book "Missoula" by Jon Krakauer prior to them going to school. I wanted them both to be educated on the perils ahead. My niece for obvious reasons; my nephew for reasons less obvious but very important. But what else can I - and millions of men & women who want this scourge to end - do to stop it?
You asked the right question and found a good answer. EVERYone should be asking the individuals pictured above to resign. Thank you.
I have done this since reading your article and writing my post: I have emailed the Cornell leadership team (pictured above) and strongly suggested they resign. That does nothing to help the victim and little to affect change, but if they resign it sends the right message to women and men everywhere. It's a small step, but I hope it's better than nothing. The University Leadership page on the Cornell site is down, reporting an error, so thank you for posting the pic above. I wonder why it's down?
everyone needs to read this!
Thank you, Qasim, for writing about this. I recently read something that explained how boys grow up learning to defend and protect their friends who are boys, but not girls. It’s a good old boys club identity that produces men who will almost always believe a man’s word over a woman’s. And I have witnessed this in my own social group. A friend of mine was groped at a party (all friends in the same group) out of view of anyone and almost everyone believed his version of what happened, not hers. She is the only single woman in our group (her husband passed away). It was truly eye-opening for me to see the lack of response in her defense. And saddest for me, were even the women who did not step forward in her defense.
Great article, sound arguments shedding light on the plight of women in a land of the free and the fearless.
If we find this unacceptable (and it is), then we’re also not going to like what’s happening in our military services.