Feminist professor #MeToo'd by former student

We have all seen her relationship with students, and some of us know the individual who has waged this malicious campaign against her. We wish to communicate first in the clearest terms our profound an enduring admiration for Professor Ronell whose mentorship of students has been no less than remarkable over many years. We deplore the damage that this legal proceeding causes her, and seek to register in clear terms our objection to any judgment against her. We hold that the allegations against her do not constitute actual evidence, but rather support the view that malicious intention has animated and sustained this legal nightmare.

Diane Davis, chair of the department of rhetoric at the University of Texas-Austin, who also signed the letter to the university supporting Professor Ronell, said she and her colleagues were particularly disturbed that, as they saw it, Mr. Reitman was using Title IX, a feminist tool, to take down a feminist.

"I am of course very supportive of what Title IX and the #MeToo movement are trying to do, of their efforts to confront and to prevent abuses, for which they also seek some sort of justice,” Professor Davis wrote in an email. “But it’s for that very reason that it’s so disappointing when this incredible energy for justice is twisted and turned against itself, which is what many of us believe is happening in this case.”

Sounds like it is another level on from victim blaming - actually accusing the victim of maliciously maligning the perpetrator.

if this is ''victim blaming' it is a very mild form of it; in fact i had to read the above quote three times in order to see it from that perspective. real victim blaming would have been - why did he go to Paris with her? why did he sleep in the same bed as her?

when a professor invites a student to Paris and then read poetry to her in her hotel bedroom, what did he think was seriously going to happen?

moreover, this happened 6 years ago - why didn't he report it sooner?

did i get victim blaming right?

i understand when it's your friend and colleague and you're in a prestigious school such as NYU, you're in a tough position on how to respond. i think they could've done a lot worse.

on a side note, yes of course feminists can be guilty of sexual harassment, just like christian pastors and family-man/American hero Bill Cosby. sexual predators come under all sorts of guises. but just because you call yourself something - feminist, christian or family-man - doesn't mean you are one.

"If Harvey Weinstein sexually harassed them, why didn't they come out at the time instead of decades later?"

When someone's in a situation like this, it's really difficult for them to fight back or escape because so much is at stake.

The guy was apparently working under one of the most well-respected people in his field, which means that the probability that he'd eventually find himself in a cozy tenure-track job was very high.

If he'd quit, he would have tossed years of extremely hard work for poor wages down the drain - for a masters at best (but what would that get him? It'd just make him overqualified for the office jobs that take sociology majors). He likely wouldn't be able to start a PhD again with somebody else, because once you quit once you're effectively blacklisted.

If he'd complained at the time, he would also likely been blacklisted, because he'd have had to leave the program, or at the very least, this baggage would be associated with him before his career even began.

He stayed in the situation because leaving would mean forgoing any chance of a decent, meaningful career after losing years of time and wages as a PhD dropout.

When someone's faced with spending a few years working for a predator vs. sacrificing a life dream that can be granted through that person, it's not an easy choice to make.

"Mr. Reitman is gay and is now married to a man; Professor Ronell is a lesbian."

Sorry but this whole thing sounds fishy.