Though many of us have seen many different renditions of the “Damsel in Distress” movies/cartoons, I would like to write about a different type of damsel in distress – or is she? I would like everyone to click on the following link and read the entire article prior to reading the rest of this blog.
http://www.timesunion.com/ASPStories/Story.asp?StoryID=838584
Many individuals right off the bat would side with this young lady. She looks like a good, wholesome, girl next door and she’s giving her story as (she states) it happened, but with most stories there are three sides. Since we have been discussing the role media plays in women and how they exploit them. Let’s share how in this particular article Ms. Smith (which I have never met) has manipulated the media for her own personal vengeance and to do nothing more than slander a man’s name in community he has served for over thirty years. Granted, the reporter should have done due diligence and researched his story prior to running it ten days before an election, but sex scandals sale and that was its intent – MONEY.
“I’m not going to hit them in the change purse, which is what seems to matter to people, then I’ll hit them in the court of public opinion.”
I take offense to this quote and to this article. I too, like many would’ve probably sided with this young lady if it weren’t for my daughter’s friend who read the article and stated she had heard of Ms. Smith and Ms. Aubrey-Almy and what they were stating and how they were portraying themselves were all lies. Within minutes, I found pictures on MySpace and Facebook that would challenge the credibility and intent of these young ladies. The fact is that they manipulated the reporter to get what they want. Were they really victims or were they using this scandal as a means to destroy his chances in office?
If it was so easy for me to find pictures, blogs, and quotes from these ladies (if I posted all their information, I would be writing for days), why wasn’t it just as easy for the reporter who wrote the article to research the credibility of such “victims”. I did more research on this entire story and in my opinion if an “alleged” sexual harassment case took place over twenty two months ago, why wouldn’t you have said something sooner? Why would you not have fought harder and gone to the police, attorney or exposed it twenty two months ago? Why now? Were they being compensated by the opponent running for office against the accused? We will never know, but one thing is for sure. These ladies bamboozled the media by playing the damsel in distress card and they weren’t.
YOU DECIDE……
September 26, 2009 at 12:52 am |
I’ve been trying to post my blog for hours. Hope this works. Thanks
September 26, 2009 at 5:36 pm |
I’m not sure I can agree with your very critical assessment of these young ladies. You say that you began to think they were lying because your daughter’s friend told you so. How well does she know these girls? Where is her information based? Your other evidence is the girls’ social networking profiles. It does not seem like the photos you posted are hard evidence to prove they are lying about the sexual harassment. To me they look like photos many people post on such sites. A bad decision on their part maybe, but I don’t think it necessarily invalidates their claims. You may not be wrong about this, but I think you might be making some quick judgments and assumptions as well.
September 29, 2009 at 11:37 pm |
You make good points. Apparently, this woman making the accusation was a camp counselor for my daughter’s friend. The kids giggled because they knew of the camp counselor and an intern she was supervising liked each other and were constantly hiding inside her office. These are not my words, these are words of minors (they don’t always equate to hard evidence, but she was there). When confronted by the director about the behavior, especially around young children, her employment became jeopardized. Apparently, he was furious because the intern was a minor. Rightfully so. Again, as per the interpretation of my daughter’s friend who was close enough to have a MySpace page with this person making the accusation, that’s how I was able to share the photos on this blog. Next thing you know the counselor leaves employment and charges the director with sexual harassment. What’s troubling is that if it’s easy for me to get this information, where was the media in all of this? None of this information may be “technically” substantiated. However, indicators exist which leave a troubling impression in my mind, especially when she seeks to challenge this individual in the court of public opinion. To me, the media has no problem printing a women’s claim without doing due diligence.
September 29, 2009 at 8:25 pm |
I’m afraid I don’t understand how these photos disprove the point. Just because someone posts sexy photos of herself does not mean she was also not sexually harassed by someone at work.
Are you saying she deserved it? I think I need more information. Dr. Conaway
September 29, 2009 at 11:58 pm |
Dr. Conaway,
I appreciate your posting.
Taking a second look at my original blog, I now realize how easy it is to unintentionally leave out pertinent information. I failed to disclose that the camp counselor is alleged to have had an inappropriate relationship with a co-worker who was about 10 years younger. Worse, the person was a minor. This was a critical point missing from my original blog, and was a running joke between the kids who were being supervised. Granted, I too am taking it from the mouth of a minor, but with regards to the photos, I can only evaluate the credibility of what is presented to me. Seeing is not necessarily believing, but it does seem that the reporter did not research deep enough and made the story lopsided.
September 30, 2009 at 1:46 am |
I am unaware of how to update the time stamp on the blog. It’s only 9:45pm and it’s stating a different time. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.
September 30, 2009 at 4:00 am |
I have to say that the pictures do not seem inappropriate. They may be a little “risque,” but many people (including myself sadly) have taken photos like these when just hanging out with friends. I was sexually harassed at my old job and proved it, and I was not lying because I had taken pictures like this… Many women who are sexually harassed do not come forward for some time because they feel ashamed and like it was their fault. Because many people look at picture like the above ones and say “They wanted it.” I do not agree with you on this one.
So many women are sexually harassed at work each year and are too afraid of the back lash they will get to report it. Those pictures prove nothing, except that the girls enjoyed having fun and partying together, with close friends apparently. This women also stated she was not after any money. Why would she make this up for no gain of her own? Just ruining a mans career is not enough for her to make up these lies. She also had numerous witnesses… Seems to be people gossiped about her, and spread rumors, and judged her… Hmm… why would it take so long for her to come forward? I know!