Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax faces second sexual assault allegation

Bazza

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(CNN)A second woman has come forward to say that she was raped by Democratic Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax.


Meredith Watson alleged that Fairfax's assault on her was "premeditated and aggressive" when they both attended Duke in 2000 and that the two were friends but not romantically involved, according to a statement from her legal counsel, the firm Smith Mullen.
"Ms. Watson shared her account of the rape with friends in a series of emails and Facebook messages that are now in our possession. Additionally, we have statements from former classmates corroborating that Ms. Watson immediately told friends that Mr. Fairfax had raped her," the statement reads.
LINK

https://twitter.com/abc/status/https://twitter.com/TerryMcAuliffe/status/1093993726257569792?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet


What about "due process"?

Or is it different when it comes to "politics"?

:rolleye2::conf2::blush:

 

Bazza

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Three components to these things.

Political - what are the optics?

Legal - will it be investigated and handled like any other alleged crime?

Moral - what are the moral obligations here for all?

======

All that said.....regardless of statute of limitations, I think the political party and/or congress should conduct a thorough investigation before making any decision on the future of the accused party.

The public trust deserves this. The accuser deserves this. And certainly the accused deserves this.

Any investigation though has to be done quickly - maybe less than a week, I'm thinking.

Just my 2 cents.....
 

Tidewater

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I would only add that, for the victims to get some measure of justice, it is indispensable that the victim come forward as soon as possible so there is corroborating evidence so law enforcement can nail the perps to the wall. I want rapists to be hammered like a tent peg. Prompter's reporting and corroborating evidence is key.
The biggest up side to the "Me Too" movement is (I hope) women feel more empowered to come forward immediately so the perp does not survive to rape again.

That said, I do not know if Lt. Gov. Fairfax is guilty of rape or not, so a note of caution to myself not to get out over my skis.
 

TIDE-HSV

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I would only add that, for the victims to get some measure of justice, it is indispensable that the victim come forward as soon as possible so there is corroborating evidence so law enforcement can nail the perps to the wall. I want rapists to be hammered like a tent peg. Prompter's reporting and corroborating evidence is key.
The biggest up side to the "Me Too" movement is (I hope) women feel more empowered to come forward immediately so the perp does not survive to rape again.

That said, I do not know if Lt. Gov. Fairfax is guilty of rape or not, so a note of caution to myself not to get out over my skis.
I agree totally. I hope that we don't go so far that an uncorroborated accusation for years earlier can scuttle a career. If so, it certainly didn't get applied to a certain SCOTUS justice...
 

Tidewater

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I agree totally. I hope that we don't go so far that an uncorroborated accusation for years earlier can scuttle a career. If so, it certainly didn't get applied to a certain SCOTUS justice...
I do not want women to have to relive the assault and I understand that defense attorneys may ask stupid questions like "What were you wearing that evening?" and "How much did you have to drink that evening?"
I just want to nail rapists because I think it is a despicable crime. Women coming forward at the time will help that effort immensely. (Unless the perp is a quarterback at Florida State and legit candidate for the Heisman Trophy. I still hope that case gnaws at the police and the prosecutor in Tallahassee.)
 

Bazza

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Why sexual assault victims do not come forward:

1. Fear of reprisal from their attacker
2. Ashamed of what some may think of them
3. Worry about how it could damage their career aspirations/current position
4. Economic and/or other fringe benefits (related somewhat to #3 above)
5. Concern about how process all works

Those are just 5 off the top of my head. I'm sure there are others.

Is this topic being discussed enough by those in the public eye who are on record as activists in the #metoo movement/cause?
 

92tide

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Why sexual assault victims do not come forward:

1. Fear of reprisal from their attacker
2. Ashamed of what some may think of them
3. Worry about how it could damage their career aspirations/current position
4. Economic and/or other fringe benefits (related somewhat to #3 above)
5. Concern about how process all works

Those are just 5 off the top of my head. I'm sure there are others.

Is this topic being discussed enough by those in the public eye who are on record as activists in the #metoo movement/cause?
it is being discussed a lot. and in detail. is there anyone you won't concern troll?
 

CharminTide

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Why sexual assault victims do not come forward:

1. Fear of reprisal from their attacker
2. Ashamed of what some may think of them
3. Worry about how it could damage their career aspirations/current position
4. Economic and/or other fringe benefits (related somewhat to #3 above)
5. Concern about how process all works

Those are just 5 off the top of my head. I'm sure there are others.

Is this topic being discussed enough by those in the public eye who are on record as activists in the #metoo movement/cause?
Wikipedia - Donald Trump sexual misconduct allegations

The reality is that only one of the two major parties has taken responsibility for sexual assault and racism within its ranks. The political cynic in me is wondering whether that is now being weaponized in Virginia. The top three Dems being accused in rapid succession, opening the path for the first Republican in the line of succession for governor? Way too much of a coincidence, IMO.

Don't take this as me excusing such behavior -- I absolutely do not. But let's just be honest and admit that if both parties held themselves to the same standard, Donald Trump wouldn't be president, Steve King would be unemployed, and Brett Kavanaugh wouldn't be sitting on the highest court. To simultaneously support a president who has been accused of sexual assault by 19 women while shouting down another politician with 2 allegations is some Olympic-level doublethink.
 

Bazza

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it is being discussed a lot. and in detail. is there anyone you won't concern troll?
Maybe you misunderstood.

The topic I was referring to was how victims can cope with these attacks - how to overcome the list I posted.

Sure, I see a lot of publicity of the incidents - but solutions? Maybe I missed it....
 

Bazza

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Wikipedia - Donald Trump sexual misconduct allegations

The reality is that only one of the two major parties has taken responsibility for sexual assault and racism within its ranks. The political cynic in me is wondering whether that is now being weaponized in Virginia. The top three Dems being accused in rapid succession, opening the path for the first Republican in the line of succession for governor? Way too much of a coincidence, IMO.

Don't take this as me excusing such behavior -- I absolutely do not. But let's just be honest and admit that if both parties held themselves to the same standard, Donald Trump wouldn't be president, Steve King would be unemployed, and Brett Kavanaugh wouldn't be sitting on the highest court. To simultaneously support a president who has been accused of sexual assault by 19 women while shouting down another politician with 2 allegations is some Olympic-level doublethink.
All well and good but as I said....not much I see on specifics of how to overcome the 5 items on my list. Maybe I am not looking hard enough.

Is it somewhere on the Democratic Party's website? I haven't looked at the #metoo website - but I bet they have a lot of guidance.
 

CharminTide

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The topic I was referring to was how victims can cope with these attacks - how to overcome the list I posted. Sure, I see a lot of publicity of the incidents - but solutions? Maybe I missed it....
All well and good but as I said....not much I see on specifics of how to overcome the 5 items on my list. Maybe I am not looking hard enough.
We are not obligated to restrict our responses to the topics of your choosing.
 

NationalTitles18

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Wikipedia - Donald Trump sexual misconduct allegations

The reality is that only one of the two major parties has taken responsibility for sexual assault and racism within its ranks. The political cynic in me is wondering whether that is now being weaponized in Virginia. The top three Dems being accused in rapid succession, opening the path for the first Republican in the line of succession for governor? Way too much of a coincidence, IMO.

Don't take this as me excusing such behavior -- I absolutely do not. But let's just be honest and admit that if both parties held themselves to the same standard, Donald Trump wouldn't be president, Steve King would be unemployed, and Brett Kavanaugh wouldn't be sitting on the highest court. To simultaneously support a president who has been accused of sexual assault by 19 women while shouting down another politician with 2 allegations is some Olympic-level doublethink.
Ya think?

Seriously, I've given consideration to the exact same thought: It's awfully convenient that the three people ahead of a R are under fire right now - regardless of the merit of the charges (not to diminish the importance of same).

This is the problem I have with some of the movements (metoo, anti-racism, and so on): There is a (sometimes reasonable) outrage that leads to demanding the destruction of careers over past mistakes and wrongs and at times with little to no evidence the accusations are true. Some are saying we should just believe the accuser without reservation/validate their story. Well, let's first consider the very definition of "validate" and that absent truth there is no worth to the story and that because of multiple reasons for people to lie, man or woman, credence cannot simply be given without consideration.

What Republicans are doing is taking the very weaknesses in the social justice movements they criticize (again, sometimes rightly so) and weaponizing those very things against their opposition even as they insulate themselves against it. It is shrewd, ruthless, and brilliant from a political perspective; but it is also rude, insensitive, and has potential to backfire.

But let's not pretend Democrats haven't done the same thing; faking concern (in some cases) while maximizing the political impact to R's whenever possible (not to say that is true of everyone, but I'm quite cynical for good reason).

Meanwhile, when we could use opportunities to learn and grow and bridge divides we tend to drive that wedge further in and learn little to nothing other than "hide your past and your real thoughts" if you want to achieve/maintain success.

Even my (I feel) rational discussion above would be reason for some to want bad things to happen to me. There has to be a better way.
 

NationalTitles18

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All well and good but as I said....not much I see on specifics of how to overcome the 5 items on my list. Maybe I am not looking hard enough.

Is it somewhere on the Democratic Party's website? I haven't looked at the #metoo website - but I bet they have a lot of guidance.
I didn't even think they had a website, but in under a second of typing "metoo" into google and hitting the enter key....

https://metoomvmt.org/
 

92tide

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Maybe you misunderstood.

The topic I was referring to was how victims can cope with these attacks - how to overcome the list I posted.

Sure, I see a lot of publicity of the incidents - but solutions? Maybe I missed it....
that is not surprising in the least.
 

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