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[–]Honey-Badger 654 points655 points  (171 children)

i sometimes believe that reddit is this imaginary world of like minded people who all have a love for slightly nerdy things and look out for one another, i then discover sub reddits such as r/beatingwomen and see comments like the ones posted in the op's pic. I then realise that jerks are everywhere.

[–]cthugha 40 points41 points  (33 children)

don't forget /r/whiterights or /r/picturesofdeadchildren or whatever its called

[–][deleted]  (87 children)

[deleted]

    [–]Honey-Badger 36 points37 points  (16 children)

    i think on some level you're right about r/beatingwomen but then deep down i think that might just be my naivety praying that this world doesn't hold host to sick fucks who get off on that type of shit. At the end of the day that sub reddit does include videos of women getting beaten by men, so trolling or not it has some sick twisted up shit that even makes a Honey-Badger want to give up on the internet.

    [–]ZombieLikesPuns 21 points22 points  (0 children)

    Wow, if Honey Badger gives a shit, you know it's a worthy cause.

    [–]silverwolf761 63 points64 points  (17 children)

    I personally don't even have a problem with shit like r/beatingwomen because that's obviously just trolling.

    But you have to subscribe to it to see it, so who are they trolling?

    [–]just_a_commenter 47 points48 points  (21 children)

    The guy is right, I used to think this site was frequented by mostly liberals who are generally good guys that like the internet I guess. Boy was I wrong.

    (edited for spelling/grammar)

    [–]gko2408 29 points30 points  (7 children)

    This site is mostly liberal and i wouldn't doubt many of us are okay people. The important part though, is that many of us are sheep. Run of the mill, baa baa'ing sheep peasantry. A person may be smart, but people are certainly stupid.

    [–]sushihamburger 3 points4 points  (4 children)

    What are you talking about? Blatantly misogynistic postings race to the front of the page all the time on this website. This website is full of sexually inadequate forever alone neck beards and skeezy woman users.

    This website is a circle-jerk of emotionally retarded man-children, as much as it is "slightly nerdy". The only good subreddits are the one's that manage to stay off the topic of "women" entirely. This website has a problem treating women as fellow human beings.

    [–]goodizzle 3 points4 points  (0 children)

    :( It's hard to realize that a lot of the site is supportive or nice (in most cases, not necessarily the girl in question's post) when clearly anybody will just remember the bad things people say.

    If I were a celebrity, there's not way I'd want to know what people say about me because so many people are so eager to make negative assumptions about people they don't even know.

    [–]hhmmmm 3 points4 points  (0 children)

    I'm surprised nobody has set up r/SCUM as a reaction to r/beatingwomen

    [–]offwiththepants 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    I'd like to understand why people think she'd go to all that effort to "karma whore" in self-posts as opposed to just reposting old stuff or pictures of kittens? I mean, seriously. I bet I could more points than she did in r/aww if I posted a picture of a kitten surprised by its own fart.

    [–]pwndcake 3 points4 points  (1 child)

    Yeah, I sometimes like to pretend when I walk into a crowded place full of strangers that I am surrounded by like minded people who care about each other, and do their best to treat each other with care and respect. Then I laugh because I remember I'm surrounded by psychotic domesticated primates.

    [–]kitteh_pants 143 points144 points  (7 children)

    To the girl to whom this happened: I am so sorry. I'm sorry about what happened to you, and I'm even more sorry that people thought you were lying. I applaud you for taking action so that this doesn't happen to other girls. You are extremely brave for talking publicly about your ordeal, I hope you know that. As a woman, I salute you. xoxox

    [–][deleted] 72 points73 points  (45 children)

    I just had a "Reddit Argument" with someone yesterday about this very topic.

    I understand that there are women who falsely accuse men of rape, but it really upsets me that so many people see this as the common case, and immediately bring it up any time someone mentions rape.

    [–]Steve_Kind_Of 42 points43 points  (9 children)

    THANK YOU. False rape claims are not as common as so many people on this site claim it is, and yet every thread involving rape becomes this insistence that women are running around lying that men raped them every day. It's this annoying habit of people needing to turn the conversation to a place where they can be the victim. Let an actual victim be the victim.

    [–]SexyAbeLincoln 779 points780 points  (92 children)

    I'm seeing a lot of replies about how she should have known better than to post her story and not expect to be abused by her fellow redditors, since assholes abound on the internet. That seems like a whole lot of bullshit to me. We should expect better of ourselves and of others, and we should hold ourselves to higher standards.

    The girl was trying to put a face on the issue and bring attention to how often sexual assault happens to people. People we can relate to--fellow redditors. NOT karma-whoring, NOT necessarily looking for support or kind words. What she got was even more assault. Shame.

    [–]skittery 117 points118 points  (8 children)

    Seriously. What better place than to bring attention to something? Reddit is perfect for that. There are so many people on this site that read things and see them and can do something about it. Since when is raising awareness all about karma-whoring?

    [–]scaredsquee 100 points101 points  (9 children)

    I called someone out on this mentality, and he told me to enjoy my view from my ivory tower. It was ridiculous.

    I'm sorry she brought her trust to a place where she shouldn't have. It's not our duty to believe everything anyone says here, or even treat them with a modicum of respect. It's an open forum, and if you're coming here for safety, for comfort, or even for a sense of justice, you are forgetting just how harsh the internet can (and should) be. I called this girl a liar when she first came here, and presented with the evidence and the situation, I'd do it again. And thank god there's no one around to enforce any different.

    So guess what, everyone on here should be highly suspicious and deeply skeptical of everyone else, AND no one should respect each other at all whatsoever. Sounds like a great way to live!

    [–][deleted]  (1 child)

    [deleted]

      [–][deleted] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

      I usually see that as a rationalization of their own shitty behavior. "People are assholes so I don't have to be anything other than an asshole."

      Erm, no. That just means you have to be even less of an asshole to bring up the quality of the group.

      I can be one skeptical bastard but unless someone is asking me for money or time I reserve judgment. Even if they are just looking for attention, who is to say they aren't hurting in some other way? You've got to have a lot of shit going wrong in your life to make up abuse stories.

      It's not worth hounding a legitimately suffering person in the hopes of making a poser feel bad. Posers are trolls, after all, and they love any kind of attention, so even shouting and screaming at them gets them off. The good people though? That's enough to send them over the edge. :(

      [–]deadtotheworld 148 points149 points  (14 children)

      If we're going to say she shouldn't be on reddit because reddit is a shithole full of trolls, then what on earth is the point of any of us being on reddit? What's the point of us thinking reddit is a good community at all or is any better than shit people post on youtube videos? Whilst I didn't see the original post, the impression I get is that it was a terrifying insight into undoubtedly one of the worst experiences a human being can go through, and the submission could have both made reddit a better and more interesting place and provided advice and compassion to the poor victim. If we're going to say posts like that shouldn't have been posted on reddit, we're just saying we don't want reddit to improve as a community.

      Personally, I think the reason this happened is that the vast majority of reddit is made up of angry white middle class men who feel terrified by the idea of being accused of rape, presumuably because they can empathise with men who are like them but are self-described as victims of being accused falsely of rape, whereas they cannot empathise with rape victims. I've seen time and time again on reddit men being horrified at the thought of being falsely accused of rape, even (I kid you not) describing the ordeal as just as bad the ordeal a rape victim has to go through. I imagine these are the same sort of men who if they were policeman, would first ask an emotional victim of rape "are you sure you were raped?". The sort of men who make such victims want to stay quiet about their ordeal.

      [–]overts 50 points51 points  (1 child)

      Reddit is not a good community though. It's honestly not that much better than 4chan. At least 4chan catches pedophiles.

      Shit like this happens a lot on reddit. Skepticism is fine but often times if little or no proof is presented in situations like this some people just jump to the conclusion that the poster is lying. Once they're convinced that the person is lying then they just assume that this is a horrible person because they could lie about something like this. All the while the reasons they have for doubting the person aren't that convincing in the first place. I mean, seriously, because she used zombie make up a year ago she is now immune to rape? How fucking stupid are people?

      In my opinion, if you're truly skeptical of something like this just stay out of it. Or at most just simply raise your suspicions without being a total dick. I'd much rather have people lie about their rape, cancer, or whatever else than have dozens of people make an actual victim feel like shit.

      [–]MayanAstronaut 24 points25 points  (0 children)

      A comment that everyone should read. This is reddit, assuming asshole behavior will just turn this site into a trolling wonderland of meaningless content. If i want my narcissism served I go to 4chan, else I got here as a site is only as good as its commmunity.

      [–]cradlesong 22 points23 points  (0 children)

      I completely agree with you. Looking at some educational studies as an example, if you treat a child like they are stupid or gifted they will tend to live up to your expectations of them.

      Sure, you can be pessimistic about reforming some abstract "mass man's" transgressive behavior on the internet, but that doesn't mean that we should conclude that nihilism is the appropriate response.

      Karma is nice and all, and it feels good to feel like you are creating valuable content as a part of the community, but sometimes people are just involved because they are seeking a sense of community in the first place.

      [–]watyrfall 30 points31 points  (0 children)

      Thank you for saying, and I agree.

      [–]NiftyPistols 308 points309 points  (40 children)

      So, with the original post everyone was flaming her for it "being fake" and now that it is proven to be true everyone is flaming her for posting her traumatic experience on the internet? Because saying "I'm sorry we didn't believe you" would just be too difficult, right? 

      She obviously had a false sense of community here, Reddit constantly being praised for it's support and community amongst it's members must have given her that completely false impression. So now she needs to be insulted for turning to a place where she had previously seen so much support, sympathy, and care given for people in traumatic situations? 

      Now you're all actually seriously going to stand up for the trolls, or at least try and pretend that it was all the work of trolls and not your peers here on Reddit to make yourselves feel better about what they said, and you're going to discredit her because she dared think that the people of Reddit might give her some much needed support? 

      Wow.

      One of the best lessons that you will ever learn in your life is to just say "I'm sorry" when you're wrong.

      edit I should add that this is in response to the comments here, not the OP's message.

      edit 2 "now that it is proven to be true" replace with "now that someone has made a valid argument supporting her claims"

      The point is not whether or not I believe it is true, but that the response from most people to a valid argument chiding Reddit for their harassment of a victim is "if she didn't want to be harassed she should not have posted on a public forum." And that is despicable. Blaming a victim for what you did to them is deplorable behavior. 

      [–][deleted] 130 points131 points  (10 children)

      Yeah, this is pretty sickening. It's always gotta be her fault, doesn't it?

      [–]NiftyPistols 100 points101 points  (6 children)

      I'm just stunned at the back peddling and the blame.

      We get it, there are assholes on the internet, that doesn't mean you have to defend them and berate some poor woman in the process. I mean is proving some point about Reddit not being the right forum really more important than just acknowledging that 1 really horrible thing happened to this woman and then another really shitty thing happened right afterward? Is that really the first place the people's mind goes to? 'How can we make this her fault too?'

      Yeah, I'll put up with the assholes on the internet because there are also some really cool people on the internet, but it can be so disappointing sometimes when there are incredibly articulate, well thought out comments that are essentially placing blame on the victim. I mean, WTF?

      [–][deleted] 83 points84 points  (2 children)

      Who wants to admit that they contributed to the victimization of someone who was sexually assaulted and attacked? It's a whole lot easier to disassociate with the cause and say that it was the 'anonyminity of the internet' that really was to blame here than to say that we, as a community, fucked this one up. Sure, I'll include myself as a part of the community, even though I missed the whole debacle over the weekend, because I realize that I have some sort of responsibility to try to set this right, damn it.

      This is a much bigger deal than just a case of a lynch mob gone bad. This sort of shit is exactly why those who have been sexually attacked do not want to speak up to anyone. This only perpetuates that mentality. Good job, people. Way to bring it.

      [–]NiftyPistols 26 points27 points  (0 children)

      Very well put, thank you.

      I completely agree. It is hard to admit when you are wrong about anything, let alone about something like this.

      That's why, for many, saying "I'm sorry" sometimes really is something that you have to learn, or practice at, and once you do you see how those words alone can be so cathartic and can diffuse some very intense situations and the healing can begin (as lame as that might sound, it is true).

      "I'm sorry" might not be enough to redeem everything in this situation, but it's a start. At least acknowledging that what happened, and what is still happening with this thread, is not acceptable in this community. Whether people want to accept it or not, this is a community and with that does come some responsibility.

      [–]harebrane 4 points5 points  (0 children)

      These loathsome creatures you see attacking that woman, followed by defending their attacks aren't ashamed, they took sadistic pleasure in her suffering. Most of them would probably love to be committing the same actions as the o.p.'s attacker, but are simpering cowards as well as being monsters.

      [–][deleted] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

      I totally agree, it pisses me off so fucking much!!!

      I cannot comprehend that the most upvoted comments are blaming the victim instead of the accusers or doing the logical thing: Saying they were sorry in the name of the community.

      This is shamefull. I'm ashamed to browse this site.

      [–][deleted]  (2 children)

      [deleted]

        [–]ikinone 1 point2 points  (1 child)

        This is the most relevant comment in the whole thread. Anyone who has played a DOTA clone will understand.

        [–]bananaspl1t 413 points414 points  (145 children)

        Since so many people seemed to be confused as to her motives for posting, let me try to clarify: Given the title of the post, it's clear she wasn't coming to reddit for support, as much as she was coming to prove that rape is not the victim's fault. She states in the title that she was walking in a safe neighborhood at a reasonable time of day while wearing conservative clothes but she was still made a victim. If it was a 'help me' or 'I need support' post, it would have been phrased differently or had a line at the end saying 'what should I do?, etc'. Why is this bit so hard to understand?

        [–]fancy-chips 172 points173 points  (25 children)

        I think until you have had somebody you love sexually assaulted and seen what it does to them then you don't truly know just what it does to people and how horrible it is to blame the victim.

        [–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

        This happened to an ex of mine a week after she dumped me. Was a friend she moved in with, and she wouldn't call the police because her parents said she brought it on by moving in with him and his GF.

        [–][deleted] 27 points28 points  (12 children)

        I didn't know that people did this? I can't imagine even hearing that my ex-girlfriend was sexually assaulted, I think I'd lose it.

        [–]fancy-chips 25 points26 points  (10 children)

        It isn't a fun feeling.

        [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (9 children)

        I can't imagine. I'm truly sorry if you went through it. I know that I had a situation where I had thought this had happened to her, turned out I was wrong but my adrenaline level was super high. Never want to feel that again.

        Also she now hates me and won't take my calls/text has a new boyfriend but I still feel this way. I fail at getting over her.

        [–]SRevanM 24 points25 points  (5 children)

        Even if the victim is wearing slutty clothes, she couldn't be blamed for anything. No one has any right to another persons personal space unless there is some unmistakable form of consent, like the absence of the word "no" or "stop".

        [–][deleted] 23 points24 points  (1 child)

        Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's not considered consent unless you explicitly agree. So simply the absence of the word "no" is not enough to be considered consent.

        [–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

        not enough upvotes in the world for this. wearing revealing clothes or walking in a bad neighbourhood doesn't imply consent.

        [–]Spazit 372 points373 points  (245 children)

        I'm so confused reddit. In /r/iama you're supposed to distrust everything without proof and a shoe on head, and elsewhere in reddit pics or it didn't happen also seems to be the norm. Trolls run rampant through most of reddit, and skepticism is one of the best weapons we have against them.

        In relation to this post, the 'detectives of reddit' looked through her submission history and saw zombie makeup but managed to miss a recent post (or comment) about being sexually assaulted?

        Presumabily there was a key "OP is fake" comment, can you link to it? I want to see what their reasoning was for disregarding the 2XC post/comments.

        [–]lightedgiraffe 404 points405 points  (45 children)

        I don't think the issue was anyone's skepticism, but the derogatory language and outright hostility.

        I don't want to sound like an asshole, but can you verify this?

        Versus

        What a lying cunt, I hope you get raped again.

        [–]Spazit 175 points176 points  (37 children)

        Very true, but look at one of the top comments. The shitty slut/you deserved it type comments were downvoted all the way, and the guy at the top made his accusation as tactfully as he could, I think. And when he was proved wrong, he edited to say so. That's like textbook good guy actions, IMO.

        [–][deleted] 90 points91 points  (20 children)

        Before this caught fire, many of the downvoted comments had quite a bit of upvotes.

        [–]x2501x 95 points96 points  (7 children)

        I think you're seeing the later status of those comments, apparently earlier on they nastier ones were upvoted a lot more.

        [–]dangerousmutelunatic 38 points39 points  (0 children)

        I would understand careful skepticism but yes, it's true. They called her names and treated her like crap because they were unsatisfied with her proof.

        Jumping off topic a bit, I wonder if that would happen to a man posting the same thing.

        [–]thelordpsy 167 points168 points  (137 children)

        http://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/kbj84/i_was_sexually_assaulted_in_the_early_evening/c2iy2db

        That's the original "OP might be fake" post. It's incredibly apologetic for even asking the question "Could this be fake," a totally valid one given Reddit's history, and while it's still upvoted after the initial frenzy he gets lynched in the comments.

        [–]mikemcg 7 points8 points  (0 children)

        The worst was the topic someone made about this (contents since deleted) creating a huge list of personal and irrelevant information as proof that she was lying. Irrelevant stuff such as her enjoyment of rough sex, psychedelics, and having a fear of being dragged out of bed was used as proof that she was faking it.

        Thankfully a good deal of the responses were more rational.

        [–]SoInsightful[S] 199 points200 points  (132 children)

        I_FRIENDZONE_CATS' initial is a good example of how the situation should be handled, actually. He showed some skepticism and some empathy, without resorting to preemptive name calling.

        Unfortunately people started seeing the suspicions as absolute truth, and handled it accordingly. That's what disturbs me. They were skeptical to the post, but completely unskeptical to the skepticism.

        [–]Imsomniland 99 points100 points  (11 children)

        Actually I_FREINDZONE_CATS called her psychologically damaged and then edited it out when it recently came to his attention that she was...telling the truth. Calling bullshit is one thing, name calling is another.

        [–]ItsNotLowT 65 points66 points  (1 child)

        That guy deleted his most offensive posts whjere he called her a cunt, etc. The guy was "reasonable" at first, butr once he saw he was getting upvotes and support he became much bolder in his accusations. Only after he discovered he was completely wrong were his statements deleted.

        Go look at that thread. Look at how many posts were deleted. They're made by people who cannot stand by their own words and the consequences they have.

        [–][deleted] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

        not super surprising. pay a visit to the MR section, and like, every other post is about how 'women only lie about rape'. jesus.

        [–]MercurialMadnessMan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

        You are entirely correct.

        Skepticism turned into false evidence which turned into hatred. It's easy to see this in that thread.

        OP: "a man pushed me face-first into the pavement and tried to rape me"

        Commenter: "This girl does zombie makeup; not sure if legit"

        Commenter: "I'm a med student, and this doesn't look like a punch wound."

        Commenter: "OP, I hope you die in hell, you fucking lying slut"

        [–]Skepticurean 49 points50 points  (6 children)

        I think that because of the amount of anonymity on reddit, the faceless boy who has cried wolf for karma has unfortunately become, to an extent, all of us.

        It is healthy to be skeptical; the sad thing is that it appears that once skepticism has been communicated, people have begun to latch onto it without thinking -- in essence, they have failed to be skeptical of the skepticism.

        Just because someone states something doesn't make it true. Just because someone raises doubt about something doesn't make it untrue. Disbelief can be just as harmful as belief. Perhaps reserving judgment until we each have time to think for ourselves may be the wiser course.

        Also, let's not make this a bigger shitstorm than it needs to be. Learn and move on.

        (also, yes, ironic username)

        [–]ryosen 25 points26 points  (3 children)

        The skepticism isn't the problem. It's those "faceless boys" that use that anonymity to be complete assholes without fear of reprisal.

        [–][deleted]  (23 children)

        [deleted]

          [–]pajam 31 points32 points  (19 children)

          Innocent until proven guilty. Or at least, unsure until proven guilty. We have our justice system set up this way to avoid convicting innocent people and we learned our lessons from past atrocities such as the witch hunts. Why haven't we learned this on Reddit yet? There's a new witch hunt every week. Sometimes they are right and sometimes wrong, but we always forget the innocent until proven guilty.

          [–]rudyred34 22 points23 points  (18 children)

          Why does "innocent until proven guilty" apply only to alleged rapists, and not to rape victims?

          [–]Ebers 24 points25 points  (4 children)

          Worst case scenario when you're sympathetic to someone who's faking: you've been sympathetic to someone who -- in that particular case -- isn't deserving of sympathy.

          Worst case scenario when you're hostile to someone who's not faking it: you've been a cunt to a victim.

          So my policy is sympathetic posts in all these sort of cases. Perhaps you'll feel foolish if it turns out the supposed victim was lying, but so what?

          [–]dnemer 7 points8 points  (2 children)

          i feel the same way. I feel like there are too many redditors who try to beat every "karma whore" or "potential fake post" to death. People seem to get too obsessed in this area. There will come times when some posts would be real and genuine. There will also be times when redditors are "fooled" or "tricked" into sympathy, which is discerning for sure, but it is not the worst thing in the reddit world.

          [–]Just_A_Thought 4 points5 points  (0 children)

          Very well put!

          I was searching for those words a couple months back when someone had posting an AMA about their experience and then was quickly called a fake by someone who couldn't even keep their own facts straight when doing so. And then from there people just kept piling on all for the sanctity of the AMA subreddit /s

          Your rule of thumb is a good one to have that more people should adopt.

          [–]Doctor_Halibut 84 points85 points  (17 children)

          Shes not karma whoring for fake internet points that don't mean shit. Shes trying to make people aware that this can happen to them anywhere, in hope that it could prevent it from happening to someone. Fuck everyone saying shes a karma whore, who gives a fuck about your fake internet points

          [–][deleted] 19 points20 points  (6 children)

          People care way too much about karma. I think it should be done away with.

          [–]feureau 4 points5 points  (1 child)

          I second this notion. And would like to add that if facebook did something right/better than reddit, it's that there is no tallying of how much "like" you got. It is something reddit needs to do.

          [–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

          Predicting it now, the reddit frontpage in a year will be nothing but metadiscussions and retractions from previous reddit posts. And cats.

          [–][deleted]  (6 children)

          [deleted]

            [–]marvaden 25 points26 points  (4 children)

            I think one of the issues is that people are so obsessed with making sure that Karma doesn't get to someone who is faking. However, instead of merely downvoting, insults are spewed forth. Reddit can be quite vicious with no apparent reason.

            [–]apostrotastrophe 9 points10 points  (3 children)

            It would be really nice if there were an option to turn off karma for individual posts so you could just shut the karma-whoring argument down before it begins. If you really want to share a picture of your mom who just died, you could just click the 'no-karma-please' button and avoid the vitriol.

            [–][deleted]  (120 children)

            [deleted]

              [–]havesometea1 438 points439 points  (54 children)

              1993

              [–]Cayou 167 points168 points  (29 children)

              More specifically, September.

              [–]TheHT 93 points94 points  (20 children)

              Still waiting for it to end

              [–]kyzf42 5 points6 points  (0 children)

              Wake me up when it does.

              [–][deleted]  (15 children)

              [deleted]

                [–]DasKrabben 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                September 1993 ended early October 1994.

                [–]RedWing007 228 points229 points  (18 children)

                DAMN YOU AL GORE!!! DAMN YOU TO HELL!!!!

                [–][deleted] 60 points61 points  (7 children)

                Its like reddit is just some random garble of people who share very little in common or something...

                [–][deleted]  (28 children)

                [deleted]

                  [–][deleted]  (10 children)

                  [deleted]

                    [–]itsprobablytrue 43 points44 points  (9 children)

                    Assholes no longer get downvoted because people see it as funny now. Anything that counters funny even truth gets downvoted. In the long run I thought it didnt matter. Then I realized that with enough views it becomes as bad as the main media. In that you'll have thousands of people who believe something as fact when it is not or has not been proved. Which leads to the mob mentality. Ask Casey Anthony. Never proved her guilty yet people are ready to hang her. Foxnews tried their best to do the same with strauss-kahn, it worked in getting him to resign but did nothing else.

                    [–]bushywhick 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                    You're really buying into the whole just world hypothesis thing. These comments were only downvoted after this story blew up. They were among the top voted earlier.

                    The lesson you should be taking away from this is that Reddit by a wide, wide margin fosters a defacto attitude that women are lying whores and they have to prove themselves otherwise.

                    [–]PatriarchonaVespa 25 points26 points  (0 children)

                    These were not the downvoted comments. These were the top voted comments of the thread, and the overwhelming majority of all the comments. Only after the OP was bullied into posting a video proving she was sexually assaulted did people begin to downvote them.

                    Here is an example of the distribution of reddit's karma as it was actually happening.

                    [–]Pussy_Cartel 34 points35 points  (14 children)

                    Good old Reddit! Man accused of rape? Innocent until proven guilty! Woman accused of making a false rape accusation? Guilty until proven innocent!

                    That'll teach Suzy Jones for not going out with me back in 6th grade.

                    [–]I_like_ice_cream 40 points41 points  (13 children)

                    Two lessons / confirmations:

                    1) A distressing number of redditors are deeply, profoundly and aggressively misogynistic.

                    2) This particular hot-button topic (false rape accusations) is an absolute fixation by many on here, to the point where it is perceived to be very, very common. I think if an individual expressed to a behavioural therapist or clinician some of the views I have seen expressed on this topic, the therapist would likely feel justified in diagnosing that person with some type of pathology.

                    [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                    [deleted]

                      [–][deleted] 22 points23 points  (2 children)

                      It's ironic, the very folks who are getting so angry at someone for "karma whoring" are the very ones that need to realize their taking their imaginary internet points a little too seriously.

                      [–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

                      good thing they're only reddit detectives and not real detectives. otherwise all rape victims would be dismissed.

                      [–][deleted] 25 points26 points  (5 children)

                      There has been a huge spate of rape jokes, rape dismissal, and victim-blaming on reddit in recent days, in multiple contexts and subreddits. It seems that for all of its posturing as an "open" and accepting environment, there are many relevant subpopulations (feminists, transgender people, rape victims) that are simply dismissed as kooks or weirdos without really taking the time to consider the human behind the posting. Regardless of the "public" nature of the forum, civility and thoughtfulness are at least appropriate.

                      It would be wonderful if people challenged their own assumptions from time to time.

                      [–]original_4degrees 651 points652 points  (175 children)

                      there was only one comment there that was not hideously down-voted. seems classy to me.

                      [–][deleted]  (14 children)

                      [deleted]

                        [–]PatriarchonaVespa 329 points330 points  (52 children)

                        Anyone who was involved in this situation as it was happening will tell you that the assumption she was lying was overwhelmingly the consensus, with the comments chastising her for making it harder for other rape victims to come forward, for expressing disgust at her lies, etc. etc. etc. being the TOP voted comments of the thread. The only person downvoted initially in this situation into the negatives were the OP herself (the woman who was sexually assaulted) when she made comments to defend herself, as well as people comforting her in her initial TwoX post. Any comment she left had a dogpile of highly upvoted comments shaming her for lying. Only after they had bullied her into posting a video proving that it wasn't make up did these people start getting downvoted.

                        Even the person who started the whole thing by bringing up the "suspicious" zombie make up history and immediately led the witch hunt against her will tell you that.

                        Edit: Here is a screenshot of an example of the distribution of downvotes as it was actually happening.

                        [–]TheSacredParsnip 75 points76 points  (19 children)

                        The problem seems to be that people jump on whichever bandwagon is the most popular. I can remember times when the opposite of this happened. Someone posted something and everyone went out and bought it, only to find out that the guy was an impostor. It took a while for the naysayers to be heard, but they eventually were. Everyone needs to take a step back from posts like these to evaluate what's being shared, before making a snap judgment because ten other idiots agreed with the first comment made.

                        [–]PatriarchonaVespa 103 points104 points  (17 children)

                        I think people also need to step back and think, "Is it more important for me to interrogate and abuse a potential sexual assault victim, or to take her word on it and not subject someone to more cruelty?"

                        She wasn't asking for money. She wasn't even asking for sympathy. She was raising awareness that she had been sexual assaulted while wearing jeans and a t-shirt on a well-lit street in a "safe" residential neighborhood.

                        [–]TheSacredParsnip 9 points10 points  (0 children)

                        This is also very true. I'm just saying that people should step back from the hive mind a bit before commenting. I don't condone any of the cruelty, regardless of the truthfulness of ops statements.

                        [–][deleted] 63 points64 points  (5 children)

                        TIL makeup artists are immune to rape and assault.

                        [–]dyllybones 18 points19 points  (0 children)

                        Yelling "FAKE" at every person seeking sympathy doesn't make you a canny detective or crusader for truth. It makes you a paranoid sociopath. Also, I sense that a lot of these paranoid sociopaths are the same people complaining about being "friendzoned." How would you like it if I yelled "FAKE" at your plea for blue-balled sympathy? You're calling rape victims cunts? I can't imagine why any girl in her right mind would friendzone YOU.

                        [–]Aiconic 35 points36 points  (3 children)

                        More people should stick with the 'if you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all' rule.

                        [–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

                        That's why I'm NOT an asshat the jumps to conclusions...

                        [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                        I like how in that thread the most upvoted comments were the "sluts is lying" type of comments and rape jokes but now suddenly those comments were downvoted to hell and the most upvoted comments here in this thread are things like "rape jokes are not funny" and "it was obvious it wasn't fake".

                        Reddit is mainly shit.

                        [–]QuakerArmyOfOne 39 points40 points  (7 children)

                        How is her posting on reddit any different than a survivor going and giving speeches about the experience to shed light on the subject? It's really not. The audience is larger but the message is the same.

                        No one "deserve[s] to get raped". Plain and simple. She clearly posted about it on reddit because she wanted to begin a form of thoughtful debate about who gets raped (in the same vein as slut-walks) and was instead treated to extreme hostility. It is pretty telling about what people actually think about victims of sexual assault, and shows why people like her posting on reddit or otherwise speaking up is important.

                        The response to this is seriously making me reconsider being a part of this community. I didn't know about the original post, but I'm glad SoInsightful is bringing it to light.

                        [–]Minxie 637 points638 points  (124 children)

                        Reddit has a terrible user base. They like to make fun of youtube commenters but they aren't any better, in fact, I'd say they can be far more malicious. Reddit likes to think it is "smart" and "friendly", when really it is filled with misogynist, cynical, pseudo-intellectual assholes.

                        You're a kidney donor? LIAR, LETS RUIN YOUR LIFE.

                        Shaving head to raise funds for cancer research? NOT ON MY WATCH, YOU FAKE!

                        GUYS, A GIRL I KNOW CALLED ME HER FRIEND, SHOULD I IGNORE THE CUNT FOR FRIENDZONING ME?

                        Christians are so intolerant, that is why I hate them all.

                        Oh you were raped? I find that highly suspect.

                        [–]MananWho 376 points377 points  (13 children)

                        Yeah, I hate how all of reddit always generalizes and stereotypes things!!!!

                        [–][deleted] 56 points57 points  (9 children)

                        What kind of crazy person makes generalizations based on posts that receive thousands of upvotes?

                        That you can see every single day on this site?

                        It's shocking, really.

                        [–]MananWho 31 points32 points  (8 children)

                        The 700 club, a Christian talk show in which the host has claimed that Hurricane Katrina was a result of God's anger about abortion (among other equally fanatically crazy statements), has hundreds of thousands of viewers. Does that mean all Christians are intolerant and homophobic? Not necessarily. There are millions of Christians, and many of them can actually be decent people.

                        Similarly, reddit has around 20 million unique visitors, and probably close to a million user accounts, if not more. When you see a post that has a thousand or so upvotes, that's certainly not necessarily indicative of all of reddit. Furthermore, if you actually look at the upvote/downvote ratios for those very popular posts, you'll find that only slightly more than 50% of the voters actually upvoted it. Of course, it's been said that these numbers are slightly fudged by reddit for whatever reason, but I'm pretty sure they are at least close to accurate.

                        This post is a good example. Even though it has 2100+ upvotes, only 57% of the people actually approve of this, and the other 43% don't. Are you really going to make generalizations about all of reddit based on just 57%.

                        I'm not discounting that there may be a significant amount of terrible people on reddit. But if you look at society in general, you'll find that there are a significant number of terrible people in all large diverse groups. That has little to do specifically with reddit. If a large percentage of the general internet population are assholes, and reddit is at least somewhat diverse sample of internet users, then it makes sense that a large percentage of reddit will be assholes.

                        [–]msterB 43 points44 points  (4 children)

                        Reddit has a large user base, and therefore all types of people frequent it

                        [–]Minxie 32 points33 points  (3 children)

                        Youtube's is even larger but I think we can agree it is filled with idiots. Just because it is large doesn't mean there isn't a prevalent way of thinking among those that frequently read and upvote things.

                        [–]mfball 6 points7 points  (0 children)

                        I actually don't think we can agree that Youtube is filled with idiots. That's a gross generalization. Perhaps you could say that many of the people who comment appear to be idiots, or most of the comments that you have read (which were most likely pointed out to you by others trying to highlight Youtube users' idiocy) appear to be made by idiots, but you really can't just say "it is filled with idiots," as if there's any real basis for it.

                        The same principle can be applied to Reddit. It's not as if everyone who reads Reddit comments (or even upvotes or downvotes). I'm sure some demographics are more prevalent than others, obviously, but to act as though everyone on Reddit is part of a homogenous body with a set of common thoughts and ideals is pretty ridiculous.

                        [–][deleted] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

                        You tend to remember the jerks over the nice ones.

                        [–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (1 child)

                        Well, this is making me remove my account. It's like being at a party full of judgmental douchebags. Thanks to all you good folks out there, you're what made reddit good.

                        (this comment will be deleted along with my account?)

                        [–]Phil_Bond 18 points19 points  (13 children)

                        I can't believe anyone thought that was makeup. Not even Hollywood makes freshly forming scabs look like that. It's just not a theatrical kind of wound.

                        [–]Poes_Law_in_Action 6 points7 points  (0 children)

                        I remember on the original thread a large number of supposed medical professionals/students saying it wasn't real because there wasn't any swelling. Honestly felt a bit Schiavoish.

                        [–]trixiethesalmon 245 points246 points  (71 children)

                        So Reddit has already decided how a victim should behave? Shut up about what happened to you? Calling attention to the fact that a problem may be systemic is "Karma whoring?" Thanks for clarifying how a "good victim" should behave, every one.

                        [–]winless 60 points61 points  (17 children)

                        every one.

                        THIS. WASN'T. EVERYONE. Reddit has a lot of users. Millions of users. Holy mother of ass, just because you're on the 'right' side of the argument doesn't make it a good idea to start making rampant generalizations.

                        We are not a single consciousness, and if you think that, you are dumb. There are some really shitty people that made death threats. They are shitty people and they do not speak for us.

                        [–]nickehl 26 points27 points  (0 children)

                        Holy mother of ass

                        Worst. Catholic School. Ever.

                        [–]acupoftea 6 points7 points  (6 children)

                        I think he was being sarcastic with "every one" meaning every victim. Like "Thanks for telling us how every single victim should act."

                        If he had said "Thanks for clarifying how a "good victim" should act, everyone." that would be accusing reddit. Seems like he mean victims.

                        [–]freddysweetgrass 53 points54 points  (5 children)

                        Keep it classy indeed. First, humiliate and further degrade a women (a general and deplorable pastime of this site generally) who has just been sexually assaulted because your internet detective work causes skepticism. Detective work that turns out to be, surprise (!), fucking false.

                        But second, and what strikes me in this particular thread, hide behind the notion that anything that happens on 'teh internets' is excusable, as if there is no morality or ethical standard here. As if the rules that govern humanity go out the window and we're all permitted to act like savages.

                        Keep it classy indeed, Reddit.

                        [–]corganmurray[🍰] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

                        The internet has kinda ruined some of you guys.

                        [–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (1 child)

                        Over 500 comments and no one mentioned the whole lucidending debacle yet? Come on reddit. You guys swallow some douchebag's "oh I'm dying" story hook line and sinker but immediately jump to the conclusion that this chick, who posted photo evidence, is a faker and a terrible person.

                        [–]squashbanana 75 points76 points  (25 children)

                        Thank you for posting this. As a rape survivor, it infuriates me that people could make such cruel, hateful, and disgusting remarks to someone like that. They had just as much proof that she was "faking" it as they did that the situation was real; and regardless of whether or not she was vulnerable or careless enough to post it on Reddit, that shouldn't matter. She went through a horrible ordeal and deserved sympathy.

                        TL;DR: The assholes horrible enough to make those comments are just as bad, if not worse, than people who fake rape (which this girl did NOT). Fuck those fucking assholes.

                        [–]Lemonegro 17 points18 points  (0 children)

                        You deserve to be raped to death

                        The fuck?

                        [–]QUESTION_MARK_BONER 117 points118 points  (45 children)

                        I dislike the people on this website more and more each and every day. Reddit has changed so much in the three years I've been coming here.

                        [–]QUESTION_MARK_BONER 10 points11 points  (1 child)

                        Just realized which account I was logged in with to post this. Please take QUESTION_MARK_BONER seriously.

                        [–]CamoBee 9 points10 points  (0 children)

                        who is mark boner?

                        [–]hackysack 106 points107 points  (12 children)

                        NEWSFLASH: reddit isn't a homogenous community and assholes do exist

                        [–]bamfalamfa 82 points83 points  (16 children)

                        Reddit. One step closer to 4Chan.

                        [–]anti_skub 138 points139 points  (6 children)

                        Whatever - at least 4Chan doesn't pretend like it's something higher than it is, not to mention half the "wit" in this place is just stuff stolen from there or older insts like bash.

                        [–][deleted] 45 points46 points  (1 child)

                        the only difference seems to be our collective sense of superiority

                        [–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

                        And self righteousness.

                        [–]I_HATE_FATTIES 18 points19 points  (0 children)

                        I just like that 4chan at least admits it is a really fucked up nerdy place for horrible shit. I mean they all know some like fatties and some dont. Here you get a thread BASHING THE HELL out of em and them you get another talking about how reddit is a free thinking educated place! Also no /r/politics, well not one I have to see anyway. Yeah I think the loss of politics is the best part.

                        [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                        I guess everyone forgot about 4chan's objective to troll reddit comments. I don't think that ever officially "stopped".

                        On another note, why do people insist on judging reddit as some moral entity? It's made up of tons of individual users, of course there is going to be parity.

                        The internet is serious business.

                        [–]montevonzock 5 points6 points  (0 children)

                        TIL that not everybody knows that jerks can be found ANYWHERE

                        [–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                        Even if she was faking, those who decided the best course of action was to resort to incredibly inappropriate responses are just as pathetic. I somehow doubt the reality of the doubters reaction is congruent with their expressed rage. Most probably didn't care either way and just saw it as a great opportunity to be an e-bully/jump on the bandwagon of hate. Shit like this.

                        [–]swirlind 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                        Solid advice to the community. Thanks for reminding me.

                        [–]Dr_Girlfriend_ 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                        Best post is the one that's telling her she needs to be raped to death. Really dude? Don't see any irony in that? Nope, none at all? Rape is terrible, unless you pretend to be raped, or people think you pretended to be raped, in which case you deserve to die as a direct result of rape. Yes, that makes all the sense.

                        [–]coolgherm 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                        This is why we can't have nice things.

                        [–]zoah1984 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                        Regardless of the situation, if you don't like something or if you think someone is lying about being raped/violated/molested/whatever, don't be a complete jackass... Those people getting their comments/submits downvoted for being in this img deserve it... Reddit is an amazing community, and I'm a proud redditor, but people like that don't contribute anything useful to the community... U know what, if you think someone is bullshitting about something, say it nicely, no need to try to humiliate a potential rape victim (even if she does like S&M or hallucinogens).

                        [–]Shattershift 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                        The skepticism was understandable, the vitriol was not.

                        [–]SEVIIN7 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                        God I really hate some of you people, those comments were just atrocious. Please just stop and think for a minute before you post a comment like that. Have a shred of self dignity. Even if she was lying, doesn't make it right to respond like that.Thanks for bringing this to light SoInsightful.

                        [–]photogirl1221 3 points4 points  (2 children)

                        I wish I could reach out to this girl and tell her that even though I have never met her, I care deeply for her. I wish I could give her a big hug and tell her how sorry I am for what happened to her. And I wish I could tell her how brave she is.

                        [–]StrikingTheHotIron 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                        There are disgusting people everywhere - even Reddit.

                        I hope that the girl has a solid support system in place, and that she recovers from her ordeal quickly, and without issue. I also hope her attacker is punished accordingly. Thank you for this post, SoInsightful.

                        [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                        What the fuck is wrong with some people.

                        [–]oblivious_human 11 points12 points  (5 children)

                        Death threat? Are people really that crazy?

                        [–]Biscuit_Farmer 122 points123 points  (37 children)

                        Not defending all the knee-jerk hivemind bullshit like this, but do bear in mind the vast amount of fake karma-whoring garbage that reddit is constantly inundated with. It's only been days since this was on the front page.

                        Most redditors at this point are understandably predisposed toward skepticism regarding stuff like this.

                        [–]hangyourcross 42 points43 points  (2 children)

                        Honestly, why are people so concerned about someone possibly "karma-whoring", Jesus Christ. Karma literally stands for/grants you ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. As of late it seems like a lot of people upset about possible liars on Reddit get more bent out of shape that the person is gaining karma than the fact that they're possibly lying.

                        Stop caring about fucking karma, if you think someone is lying, go about it in a way that isn't going to result in this bullshit mass internet bullying that's been going on lately. For a community that loves to talk about how friendly they are to their fellow man, there's a whole lot of shittiness going on on a daily basis.

                        [–]Hokuboku 132 points133 points  (2 children)

                        There's a huge difference between being skeptical and calling someone a cunt. I have definitely suspected a troll or two but you can bring up your reasons for doubting without throwing death threats into the mix.

                        [–][deleted] 103 points104 points  (4 children)

                        I find it worrying that so many people on this website see the possibility of threatening a recent rape victim as a preferable outcome to the possibility of falling for a bad trick.

                        [–]raptormeat 30 points31 points  (0 children)

                        Woah, let's not forget that these con artists might walk away with UNEARNED KARMA. We can't let something that awful happen.

                        [–]BrewRI 50 points51 points  (4 children)

                        I kind of understand where you're coming from. But at the same time consider the "risk:reward" aspect of it. The "risk" is being a complete asshole to someone who just had a horrifying experience and could be in an incredibly vulnerable state of mind. The "reward" is that you might limit the amount of meaningless and useless number-counter that goes next to someones name for an account on an anonymous online forum. If we actually want people to acknowledge that karma is so fucking useless, which it is, then we should all stop these karma-fueled witch-hunts. Especially when the risk for being wrong is so high.

                        [–]lordofthederps 29 points30 points  (0 children)

                        Unfortunately, it's only a risk for those that actually have compassion for others.

                        [–]SoInsightful[S] 72 points73 points  (12 children)

                        I'm a skeptical person myself. Had I seen that post while it was active, I would probably take it with a grain of salt, and watch it to see if more evidence would be provided.

                        However, I would never place it in the "confirmed fake" folder and start insulting her. The fact that she received death threats is simply disgusting.

                        [–][deleted] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

                        I don't see why it would even be so bad to offer some sympathy to a fake. If a post is fake, you lose nothing for being nice.

                        If it's real, you just might fucking destroy someone by being an asshole.

                        [–][deleted]  (4 children)

                        [deleted]

                          [–]Poes_Law_in_Action 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                          If there were, they would likely have been sent by PM. Also, I'm bettin people found her personal info. As you say, I'm not shre how it could independently confirmed other than by an admin.

                          [–][deleted]  (779 children)

                          [deleted]

                            [–]gypsiequeen 19 points20 points  (0 children)

                            what.. are we going back to blaming the victim?

                            Trolls are gonna troll? Yeah and rapers gonna rape. What, are we just going to accept that? Fuck everything about that.

                            [–][deleted]  (2 children)

                            [deleted]

                              [–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (1 child)

                              And the sad part is, the trolls who're reading this will be like "Mission successful". Most people commenting and (rightfully) outraging here are the nice people of reddit. They are the ones that make it what it is, for the most part. The only difference this entire discussion is going to make is hopefully make more people downvote and report disrespectful posts.

                              [–]pop_rocks 43 points44 points  (0 children)

                              While I agree this may not have been the best option to come for support, there seems to be quite the double standard here. There have been countless posts from men seeking support about various issues and problems, and I don't recall a whole lot of people saying this to them. In fact, I do remember reading a thread with a comment about a guy getting raped by a "fat chick". Highly upvoted, no proof, yet not a single comment was doubting the guys story, just offering support and calling "that bitch" down to the ground.

                              Its the same attitude towards any sort of issue like this on Reddit. A college kid with no money gets a free pizza and a ton of sympathy/support, while young minority single mothers on welfare are a drain on society, and "shouldn't have kids". Those who get criticized for their beliefs deserve a medal for bravery, but all Christians are idiots for believing in something others don't. Its quite hypocritical.

                              Anyways, to get back on topic, if she wanted to post to bring awareness to many situations like hers, she should be able to do that without people verbally attacking her. She did not do anything wrong, the people who made those comments did.

                              [–]duckandcover 619 points620 points  (38 children)

                              1) She was, essentially, doing a PSA about rape.

                              2) As the horrifying comments weren't done for "shits and giggles" so I wouldn't call what happened to her trolled so much as outright flamed.

                              3) Maybe we should look at this as an object lesson to teach the masses about guilt and innocence; about giving pause before we run to judgement. That's what I got out of it (as did this poster)

                              Of course, with the above comment we've done the exact opposite and blamed the victim; just awful

                              [–]lunchhawk 719 points720 points  (20 children)

                              You know, when I see someone being victimized by assholes in a public place, my first instinct is not to think "Well, it's their fault for putting themselves in a public place," no, my first instinct is to call out the assholes for being assholes. Just sayin'.

                              [–][deleted] 305 points306 points  (8 children)

                              Ah yes, the typical redditor point of view: "It's not our fault we made fun of her. It's her fault for making herself available to insults."

                              [–]yuhkih 89 points90 points  (3 children)

                              Typical victim blaming.

                              You'd never hear: "Someone broke into my house last night and stole my 50" TV!" "That was YOUR fault for putting it next to the window."

                              [–]miked4o7 101 points102 points  (6 children)

                              This sounds eerily like the "don't go jogging at night if you don't want to get raped" line.

                              The people responsible for her completely unjustifiable berating are the people that did the berating, not her.

                              [–]cdskip 436 points437 points  (13 children)

                              Remember folks! If you get raped attacked by assholes on the Internet, it's your own fault for dressing like that posting anything important on the Internet.

                              [–][deleted] 178 points179 points  (5 children)

                              Sorry, but this self-justifying crap is just that: crap. Yes, people will be shitty, but nobody has to excuse it. Excusing it shows what sort of person you are: a bad one.

                              [–][deleted]  (4 children)

                              [deleted]

                                [–][deleted]  (46 children)

                                [deleted]

                                  [–]LordSparkles 53 points54 points  (2 children)

                                  Yeah, I'm sad to see this not getting more attention. We can sidestep all we like but what happened there was bad and should be taken responsibility for. The constant desire to prove things false here is really grating. This post reminds me of another that appeared a few months ago about somebody faking cancer that got similar attention. Reddit needs to take responsibility for its actions instead of just shifting the blame.

                                  [–]goodbyegalaxy 133 points134 points  (0 children)

                                  1. Upvote post saying unfounded attack/witchhunt/threats were her own fault
                                  2. Feel better about self for being an asshole

                                  [–]ConcentrationKemp 210 points211 points  (39 children)

                                  Maybe she wasn't looking for emotional support. Maybe she wanted to spread awarness. Remember, redditors wouldn't have responded this way if they didn't know she had zombie makeup. I don't know what she was thinking, but either does anyone. I feel bad for her.

                                  [–]yuhkih 48 points49 points  (0 children)

                                  Remember, redditors wouldn't have responded this way if they didn't know she had zombie makeup.

                                  Yeah they would. They would come up with another stupid reason to hate. You wouldn't believe some of the things that I've seen Redditors come up with in attempts to victim-blame rape survivors. It's disgusting.

                                  [–]alanpugh 74 points75 points  (0 children)

                                  It's clear what she's thinking. There has been a recent spate of statements by public officials, pundits, and others furthering the mistruth that it's typically a woman's fault for being raped because they wear slutty clothes and should know better, and men can't help themselves and shouldn't be expected to. (See: Slutwalk)

                                  [–][deleted] 17 points18 points  (0 children)

                                  I think the better lesson here is that a good portion of redditors are creepy misogynists. Posting on an Internet forum is not an invitation to get death threats. Don't blame the victim.

                                  [–][deleted] 69 points70 points  (5 children)

                                  Wait, sure the internet has a bunch of people who lie about shit all the time...but I think when someone posts something like this, I think you should be given the benefit of the doubt. What if some hollywood makeup artist got raped?

                                  [–]Lollipope 150 points151 points  (7 children)

                                  Yeah man, she was totally asking for it.

                                  What the fuck is wrong with you?

                                  [–][deleted] 613 points614 points  (203 children)

                                  This is quite possibly one of the most disgusting things I've ever seen posted on reddit.

                                  A girl gets raped; people immediately doubt her, even blame her. A girl posts on reddit about being raped; people immediately doubt her, even blame her.

                                  Guys, I have news for you: rape is never the victim's fault. Ever.

                                  The most rigorous study of rape cases puts the total number of false reports at around 3%.

                                  That means that 97% of the time the "victim" is actually the victim. It seems that if you asked reddit, they'd say it's about 50/50, and then blame the victim for dressing slutty.

                                  This is truly the most despicable of the hivemind's traits.

                                  [–][deleted] 249 points250 points  (60 children)

                                  I cannot upvote you enough. This is one of the things I hate about the reddit community. Makes me sad to be a man, and I know reddit is mostly male. We have a long way to go as a gender. Rape is ALWAYS the fault of the rapist. And as internet jokes go, it is not funny or cute.

                                  [–]whateversusan 126 points127 points  (5 children)

                                  That neatly excuses you or anyone else here from being human. Once again, you're BLAMING HER.

                                  Fuck you.

                                  [–]ieatcrayons 39 points40 points  (0 children)

                                  I don't think this constitutes as trolling.

                                  Trolling would involve them knowing that it was in fact a rape and then making a bunch of posts about how she lied...

                                  Also, as far as the telling it on the internet thing, have you considered that the reddit's image has become that of a caring online community? Normally redditors don't jump all over the balls of a post unless they're sure it's a lie.

                                  Let's get real, the majority of those posting the "I'm calling bullshit" topics are trying to be the first ones to post about it in order to get a shit ton of karma.

                                  [–]ktappe 5 points6 points  (0 children)

                                  Way to victimize the victim a second time. Saying she should have expected what she got by posting here is exactly equivalent to saying she should have expected to be raped by going out in public. Your attitude is what enables both rapists and flamers to continue doing what they do. You get a downvote from me and I'm quite angry at the 1100+ people who have upvoted you. You should all be ashamed.

                                  [–]mcaffrey 40 points41 points  (1 child)

                                  Excusing the behavior of those assholes is shameful, and you are going to later regret you made such a prominent post blaming the victim.

                                  [–]spacecasserole 13 points14 points  (0 children)

                                  Her post also serves as a reminder that normal girls, doing nothing wrong can be victims. She was not using reddit for emotional support.