Two Hockey Players and a Fine Whine

Just this week two University of Ottawa hockey players were acquitted of sexual assault. Predictably enough, a “politically-correct” advocate stepped up to complain, “Every time we see a high-profile sexual assault trial result in an acquittal, it sends women back 50 years.”

Let me rephrase that: “Every time the man is not found guilty, no matter the facts of the case, it sends women back 50 years.” Let me rephrase it again: “Unless you convict in every single case, you send women back 50 years.” (Parenthetically, fifty years puts us back to 1968, an era of “burn the bra” and free love. But don’t let me rant.)

Let’s put aside the statistical and logical difficulties of her strident assertion and consider the actual facts of the case: the trial judge, who was female, made unambiguous and strongly-worded findings that the complainant was not credible precisely because she changed her story multiple times, particularly whenever confronted with unbiased independent evidence.

This was no coin-toss. The two hockey players were tried in a Canadian court where the judge, who applied stern and time-tested rules of evidence, found that there was a reasonable doubt and acquitted the accused. That’s the test you’re going to want if you ever find yourself in the prisoner’s box.

And if the prosecution doesn’t think the judge or the law was correct, we have an appeal route in this country to make certain that the system itself is held to account. That’s how we ensure that we are all treated fairly, equally and predictably before the law.

But here’s the true irony: this kind of nonsense is logically indistinguishable from the racist, misogynistic and antidemocratic railings of the Donald and his lackeys. The “politically correct” left and the fascistic right both scorn facts, freedom of thought, and due process. They’re evil twins, and the world won’t get any better if we excuse either.

Forgive me if this sounded like a rant, but for those of us who value clarity, fairness, and common sense in communication, maybe it’s time to call BS when we hear it.