A recent episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” caught people’s attention because it included a story where a white woman who had been raped was hesitant to testify against her black attacker because she was worried he wouldn't receive a fair trial due to his race.
In the episode “Truth Embargo” on January 25, the man raped a character named Natalie during a smash-and-grab robbery of a clothing store. At the hospital, Natalie denies seeing her rapist’s face, despite video camera footage showing the man removing his mask before entering the dressing room.
Later, Natalie reluctantly identifies her attacker as a man named Jay Watson, played by actor Mykey Cooper.
Natalie’s partner, Brooke, tells the detectives that Natalie is upset with the criminal justice system because she thinks black criminals don’t get fair trials.
“She’s inconsolable,” says Brooke. “We’re acutely aware of the systemic inequities within the criminal justice system.”
“Well, I can’t deny that there’s a history of racial bias,” the officer responded. “It’s certainly not a perfect system.”
Later, the episode shows Natalie as so privileged that she doesn't need to seek justice for her rape.
Natalie tells the prosecutor she has the “luxury” of getting therapy to heal from her trauma, but the black rapist would have to sit behind bars.
“I can afford therapy. I have that luxury. And maybe, one day, I’ll be okay. But if that teenager goes to prison? He may not be, ever. I don’t want that,” she cries.
The detective finally convinces Natalie to identify Watson as her attacker in court. However, the district attorney agrees to a plea deal and praises Watson for taking “responsibility” for his actions after he apologizes.
The message here is repulsive: white women should have sympathy for their black rapists and thus fear reporting them.
That is disgusting.
If “Law & Order” convinces even one woman to feel that way, and a rapist walks free because of it, the show is complicit.
Rapists do not deserve sympathy, regardless of their race. Rape is one of the worst crimes imaginable, and rapists should be punished to the fullest extent.
Victims of rape and assault should not be pressured to worry about the supposed racial bias of the justice system.
They have enough to worry about.
Black rapists are not victims. They are dangerous criminals who should be taken off the streets, along with every other rapist, regardless of their skin color.
