Mary Ann

Exactly! And drunk people often aren't thinking about how drunk they really are. Your brain is just not working right, and the part of your mind that provide judgement and discernment are completely squelched and deadened by the alcohol. The inhibitions that would normally be in place are no longer there. It is a dangerous situation, and the current climate makes it even more dangerous. In addition to unwanted pregnancy, stds, and the usual dangers, one must also add, "You might go to prison and have your life ruined. . . . if you are a man who got drunk."

A guy should definitely be able to say that, but the current political climate is all about making ogres out of men for all kinds of reasons. The liberal feminist social justice warriors are prevailing because our political leaders find political expedience in doing it that way.

Definitely, and I'm sure it happens. The woman consents in a black out (still functioning), passes out in the midst of it all (a man isn't necessarily looking into the woman's eyes or face in the midst of coitus as Sheldon would say), and the man completely misses that very subtle point in which the woman goes from black out (which the man is totally unaware of in the first place because she appears to be functioning fine) into pass out (unconsciousness). The next day the woman is sore and can't remember anything. She was raped! It is an ungodly mess when sex with a stranger is indulged in with copious amounts of alcohol in the mix. It strikes me as unfair and wrong that a drunk young man pays the price when both people created the mess.

Thanks. Yeah, I know, the current climate seems to say that women bear no responsibility at all for what happens to them. This is a complete flip-flop on how feminism started out, that women were totally capable of taking care of themselves, that they "needed a man like a fish needs a bicycle." I think the show left it very ambiguous whether Ellis decided to keep having sex with her knowing she was "passed out." I think a good case could be made that she did not appear "passed out" to him, that he confessed in the end just to keep his father from jeopardizing himself. The show, unfortunately, seemed to be making a big point about victims not giving consent. I think a much better show could have been made by pointing out how alcohol effects the brain in such a way that women may appear to give consent while very drunk and men become victims when they are accused of rape in the confusion.

If drunk means you can't consent, then the number of rapes that happen is absolutely sky high. I used to be one of those drunk girls decades ago (I'm a recovering alcoholic with almost 34 years of sobriety.) Back then I got myself into bad situations that I regretted the next day. But I always saw that I had done it to myself by being drunk and out of control of myself. Now I'm the mother of a son not much older than Ellis in the show. It gives me the screamin willies to think of my son being drunk and with a drunk girl who might claim he raped her. The "liberal feminist social justice warriors" are definitely egging this thing on without stopping to think that sometimes women put themselves into bad situations and don't look out for themselves. When I was young, feminism was all about women being able to take care of themselves. I don't know why it changed to what it is now that women aren't responsible for themselves, that men are the ones responsible for whatever happens to them. Both genders play a role in a drunken sexual encounter.

I think this show missed a very important point. They got very close when the defense attorney played the phone call made to the cousin when the girl was drunk. She was obviously drunk, she was talking and functioning, but she didn't remember making the call. When you drink excessively, you can pass out, meaning that you are unconscious, not functioning at all. You can also black out, which means you appear to be functioning, talking, having sex, etc., but you don't remember it the next day. In such a state a girl can certainly consent and participate in the sex yet not remember it. If that happens, she might think she was raped when it doesn't appear that way at all to the man. This could also happen to a man. He could have sex, enjoy it, etc., then not even remember it the next day. The woman might remember it as a romantic encounter, then feel the man just used her if he doesn't call her afterwards. She might then decide she was raped to save face. Alcohol is a very dangerous substance, and I believe it has wrecked many lives of both men and women.