Paul Jacobson

Incredulous! That is the word.

I think I have avoided the daily updates in the Zuma rape trial because the more I hear the more incredulous I become.  It is hard to believe that intelligent people can come up with some of the notions that have been expressed in this trial.  The following factors serve to undermine the credibility of the complainant, according to Zuma’s counsel, Advocate Kemp J Kemp:

The woman walked around Zuma’s house as a guest wearing only a  wrap and no underwear.They had a definite sexually-charged conversation about the unsuitability of younger men and her lack of a boyfriend.She had been raped, on her version, at least four times, so it was unlikely that she failed to see the signals.There was no suggestion that she was injured. In fact, Zuma himself stood a greater risk of injury given her HIV-positive status.She was close to his weight and she had shown the court that she was assertive.

With Zuma’s insistence that the motivation for the allegation of rape is political and designed to prevent Zuma from becoming President, I hope that, whatever the outcome, the court arrives at a proper decision based on persuasive facts.  If the judgment is vague it will fuel the fires on either side and the true victim of this trial will go unnoticed.Technorati Tags: ,

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  1. David Wilson avatar
    David Wilson

    i followed your ‘true victim’ link but i am still not clear on who you may think the true victim is? just curious

    my take is that since Zuma is clearly ignorant about AIDS, and he is the chairman of the South African AIDS Council, the victims are the men, women, and children suffering and dying of AIDS in South Africa

    or is that too simple minded?

    i like your blog and have bookmarked it for future visits, one thought – it might be good to tell people that the email and url are mandatory fields, i usually don’t just to avoid being confused for a spammer, but this time i had to type it all twice :-))

    Reply
  2. David Wilson avatar
    David Wilson

    i followed your ‘true victim’ link but i am still not clear on who you may think the true victim is? just curious

    my take is that since Zuma is clearly ignorant about AIDS, and he is the chairman of the South African AIDS Council, the victims are the men, women, and children suffering and dying of AIDS in South Africa

    or is that too simple minded?

    i like your blog and have bookmarked it for future visits, one thought – it might be good to tell people that the email and url are mandatory fields, i usually don’t just to avoid being confused for a spammer, but this time i had to type it all twice :-))

    Reply
  3. David Wilson avatar
    David Wilson

    i followed your ‘true victim’ link but i am still not clear on who you may think the true victim is? just curious

    my take is that since Zuma is clearly ignorant about AIDS, and he is the chairman of the South African AIDS Council, the victims are the men, women, and children suffering and dying of AIDS in South Africa

    or is that too simple minded?

    i like your blog and have bookmarked it for future visits, one thought – it might be good to tell people that the email and url are mandatory fields, i usually don’t just to avoid being confused for a spammer, but this time i had to type it all twice :-))

    Reply
  4. David Wilson avatar
    David Wilson

    i followed your 'true victim' link but i am still not clear on who you may think the true victim is? just curious

    my take is that since Zuma is clearly ignorant about AIDS, and he is the chairman of the South African AIDS Council, the victims are the men, women, and children suffering and dying of AIDS in South Africa

    or is that too simple minded?

    i like your blog and have bookmarked it for future visits, one thought – it might be good to tell people that the email and url are mandatory fields, i usually don't just to avoid being confused for a spammer, but this time i had to type it all twice :-))

    Reply
  5. Paul avatar
    Paul

    Hi David

    Thanks for your comment. Sorry about the hassles with the comments fields. I am relying on the default installation at the moment and didn’t realise there was this issue (my other blogs are TypePad blogs and those things are pretty much taken care of).

    To me the true victims are women who are still marginalised and subjected to the domineering male mentality that seems to pervade South African society in addition to people living with HIV/AIDS and who are largely ignored or whose disease is not taken seriously by men who believe that having sex with a virgin or with a child cures them of AIDS.

    That may be just the tip of the ice berg.

    Thanks for taking time to read this blog!

    Reply
  6. Paul avatar
    Paul

    Hi David

    Thanks for your comment. Sorry about the hassles with the comments fields. I am relying on the default installation at the moment and didn’t realise there was this issue (my other blogs are TypePad blogs and those things are pretty much taken care of).

    To me the true victims are women who are still marginalised and subjected to the domineering male mentality that seems to pervade South African society in addition to people living with HIV/AIDS and who are largely ignored or whose disease is not taken seriously by men who believe that having sex with a virgin or with a child cures them of AIDS.

    That may be just the tip of the ice berg.

    Thanks for taking time to read this blog!

    Reply
  7. Paul avatar
    Paul

    Hi David

    Thanks for your comment. Sorry about the hassles with the comments fields. I am relying on the default installation at the moment and didn’t realise there was this issue (my other blogs are TypePad blogs and those things are pretty much taken care of).

    To me the true victims are women who are still marginalised and subjected to the domineering male mentality that seems to pervade South African society in addition to people living with HIV/AIDS and who are largely ignored or whose disease is not taken seriously by men who believe that having sex with a virgin or with a child cures them of AIDS.

    That may be just the tip of the ice berg.

    Thanks for taking time to read this blog!

    Reply
  8. Paul avatar
    Paul

    Hi David

    Thanks for your comment. Sorry about the hassles with the comments fields. I am relying on the default installation at the moment and didn't realise there was this issue (my other blogs are TypePad blogs and those things are pretty much taken care of).

    To me the true victims are women who are still marginalised and subjected to the domineering male mentality that seems to pervade South African society in addition to people living with HIV/AIDS and who are largely ignored or whose disease is not taken seriously by men who believe that having sex with a virgin or with a child cures them of AIDS.

    That may be just the tip of the ice berg.

    Thanks for taking time to read this blog!

    Reply
  9. Paul avatar
    Paul

    I had a further exchange with David Wilson by email after these comments. Here it is:

    “thanks for the comment but you have not approved it?
    i don’t get it … whatever …
    ?
    in any case?i see that you subscribe to the ideology of victimhood, nonsense, so be it, be well, David

    “Hi David

    The comments are automatically held over for moderation.? I get quite a bit of spam.

    I am generally not a big fan of the notion of a victim but I just couldn’t think of a better term for what I was trying to express.

    “ok then, really i would rather see exchanges like this published, email is ok but the benefit (if indeed there is any :-)) has to be in others being at least passively involved

    camille paglia has set me to wondering about victimhood, she is more than a bit mouthy but makes some good points – it is almost automatic (for Canadians at least) to side with the underdog, when i saw George Weah vs Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf i assumed Sirleaf would win, it took another Canadian, Gwynne Dyer, to open the wide angle lens for me on that one

    but … look man, this AIDS business is sexual, and it takes two to tango, dig it! or do you think that every case of AIDS is the result of rape? men have to be dying of it at about the same rate as women, if we daemonize the men and make all the women victims then i can’t see any way out of it that i am willing to contemplate, and ANYWAY such judgements as these are obviously divorced from any reality whatsoever, you seem like a smart guy, i hope you can fill in the holes in my sketch

    be well, David.”

    David has an interesting perspective. I wonder how applicable the principle is to South Africa where gender inquality is ingrained and often women don’t recognise the choice that they have?

    I am hardly an expert on these issues and I am interested in anyone else’s views.

    Reply
  10. Paul avatar
    Paul

    I had a further exchange with David Wilson by email after these comments. Here it is:

    “thanks for the comment but you have not approved it?
    i don’t get it … whatever …
    ?
    in any case?i see that you subscribe to the ideology of victimhood, nonsense, so be it, be well, David

    “Hi David

    The comments are automatically held over for moderation.? I get quite a bit of spam.

    I am generally not a big fan of the notion of a victim but I just couldn’t think of a better term for what I was trying to express.

    “ok then, really i would rather see exchanges like this published, email is ok but the benefit (if indeed there is any :-)) has to be in others being at least passively involved

    camille paglia has set me to wondering about victimhood, she is more than a bit mouthy but makes some good points – it is almost automatic (for Canadians at least) to side with the underdog, when i saw George Weah vs Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf i assumed Sirleaf would win, it took another Canadian, Gwynne Dyer, to open the wide angle lens for me on that one

    but … look man, this AIDS business is sexual, and it takes two to tango, dig it! or do you think that every case of AIDS is the result of rape? men have to be dying of it at about the same rate as women, if we daemonize the men and make all the women victims then i can’t see any way out of it that i am willing to contemplate, and ANYWAY such judgements as these are obviously divorced from any reality whatsoever, you seem like a smart guy, i hope you can fill in the holes in my sketch

    be well, David.”

    David has an interesting perspective. I wonder how applicable the principle is to South Africa where gender inquality is ingrained and often women don’t recognise the choice that they have?

    I am hardly an expert on these issues and I am interested in anyone else’s views.

    Reply
  11. Paul avatar
    Paul

    I had a further exchange with David Wilson by email after these comments. Here it is:

    “thanks for the comment but you have not approved it?
    i don’t get it … whatever …
    ?
    in any case?i see that you subscribe to the ideology of victimhood, nonsense, so be it, be well, David

    “Hi David

    The comments are automatically held over for moderation.? I get quite a bit of spam.

    I am generally not a big fan of the notion of a victim but I just couldn’t think of a better term for what I was trying to express.

    “ok then, really i would rather see exchanges like this published, email is ok but the benefit (if indeed there is any :-)) has to be in others being at least passively involved

    camille paglia has set me to wondering about victimhood, she is more than a bit mouthy but makes some good points – it is almost automatic (for Canadians at least) to side with the underdog, when i saw George Weah vs Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf i assumed Sirleaf would win, it took another Canadian, Gwynne Dyer, to open the wide angle lens for me on that one

    but … look man, this AIDS business is sexual, and it takes two to tango, dig it! or do you think that every case of AIDS is the result of rape? men have to be dying of it at about the same rate as women, if we daemonize the men and make all the women victims then i can’t see any way out of it that i am willing to contemplate, and ANYWAY such judgements as these are obviously divorced from any reality whatsoever, you seem like a smart guy, i hope you can fill in the holes in my sketch

    be well, David.”

    David has an interesting perspective. I wonder how applicable the principle is to South Africa where gender inquality is ingrained and often women don’t recognise the choice that they have?

    I am hardly an expert on these issues and I am interested in anyone else’s views.

    Reply
  12. Paul avatar
    Paul

    I had a further exchange with David Wilson by email after these comments. Here it is:

    “thanks for the comment but you have not approved it?
    i don't get it … whatever …
    ?
    in any case?i see that you subscribe to the ideology of victimhood, nonsense, so be it, be well, David

    “Hi David

    The comments are automatically held over for moderation.? I get quite a bit of spam.

    I am generally not a big fan of the notion of a victim but I just couldn't think of a better term for what I was trying to express.

    “ok then, really i would rather see exchanges like this published, email is ok but the benefit (if indeed there is any :-)) has to be in others being at least passively involved

    camille paglia has set me to wondering about victimhood, she is more than a bit mouthy but makes some good points – it is almost automatic (for Canadians at least) to side with the underdog, when i saw George Weah vs Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf i assumed Sirleaf would win, it took another Canadian, Gwynne Dyer, to open the wide angle lens for me on that one

    but … look man, this AIDS business is sexual, and it takes two to tango, dig it! or do you think that every case of AIDS is the result of rape? men have to be dying of it at about the same rate as women, if we daemonize the men and make all the women victims then i can't see any way out of it that i am willing to contemplate, and ANYWAY such judgements as these are obviously divorced from any reality whatsoever, you seem like a smart guy, i hope you can fill in the holes in my sketch

    be well, David.”

    David has an interesting perspective. I wonder how applicable the principle is to South Africa where gender inquality is ingrained and often women don't recognise the choice that they have?

    I am hardly an expert on these issues and I am interested in anyone else's views.

    Reply

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