Slate’s Dahlia Lithwick has been rendered incoherent by Charlotte Allen’s fine Weekly Standard piece on “Duke’s Tenured Vigilantes,” about the university’s lacrosse scandal. Ms. Lithwick feels that The other Charlotte’s characterization of Lithwick’s article on the Duke case was unfair.
Just to refresh your memory, Lithwick wrote in part:
“This is not a case about consent. Either a forcible rape, kidnapping, and strangulation happened in that bathroom in Durham or it didn’t. This wasn’t a date gone wrong. At the margins, this case may be about sex and race and power. But it’s not about subtle social messages or identity-based misunderstandings. It’s about an assault.
“Also, there is evidence here: Mounds and mounds of significant physical evidence. There is a rape kit. There are bruises, and then, apparently, more bruises. There are DNA tests and broken fingernails and witnesses seemingly tumbling out of the woodwork. There are time-stamped photographic accounts of much of the evening. This is not a classic ‘he says/she says.’ The evidence has something to say to us as well.”
Okay, it would be hard to parody the above, but Lithwick thinks TOC has done just that. The offended flower urges us all to join in a Hack Attack:
“So, I turn to you, my readers, to help me invent a new Imaginary Right-Wing Hack. And I’m asking you to start with that bilious conservative wing nut, Dahlia Lithwick, whose April 22 column on the Duke rape case was a full-bore assault on women and minorities, and a stunning piece of right-wing vitriol to boot. Make free with the cut and paste functions, and please don’t be afraid of those ellipses … Rewrite the column as Ann Coulter channeling Bill O’Reilly and send your entries to.
“I reserve the right to print your name unless you tell me otherwise.
Bonus points if you can turn this around for Valentine’s Day. And triple bonus points if you can manage to do the same thing with the Chili’s menu.
“First prize will receive a subscription to the Weekly Standard, on my dime, plus a copy of my upcoming book, How the Duke Lacrosse Team Is Responsible for Global Warming, 9/11, the Death of Anna Nicole Smith, and the Black Plague of 1347.“
Does Lithwick need lithium?
By the way, to get at the heart of what went wrong at Duke, plan to attend IWF’s panel on that very topic. March 15, place TBA. Confirmed speakers: Stuart Taylor and Christina Hoff Sommers, with Jeffrey Toobin as moderator.
Chili’s menu.“First prize will receive a subscription to the Weekly Standard, on my dime, plus a copy of my upcoming book, How the Duke Lacrosse Team Is Responsible for Global Warming, 9/11, the Death of Anna Nicole Smith, and the Black Plague of 1347.“
Does Lithwick need lithium?
By the way, to get at the heart of what went wrong at Duke, plan to attend IWF’s panel on that very topic. March 15, place TBA. Confirmed speakers: Stuart Taylor and Christina Hoff Sommers, with Jeffrey Toobin as moderator.