With smeared brush

Carolyn Goodell has many questions in her letter to the editor. I would like to answer some of them with my thoughts. She says most young men want to “touch” young women. There’s a difference between “touching” and “groping.” If the young lady in question does not want a “peck on the cheek” or to be fondled and says “no,” her wishes should be honored.

It has already been reported there were no adults, responsible or otherwise, at the party. It was a teenage drinking party. Yes, she was on her way to the bathroom and was forced into the bedroom. Yes, she called for help, which was when hands were put over her mouth. No, she didn’t call law enforcement because who would have believed her? Do you know what the world was like 36 years ago? It was not a repressed memory. She has remembered it every day. For goodness sake, Ms. Goodell, read the newsprint before you start to write.

I was raped 50 years ago and I still remember it. The smug look on his face as he walked away, leaving me lying in the dirt. Did I tell anyone? No. Why not? Because he was a family man who owned a respectable business. Who would have believed me? I didn’t tell my parents; in over 40 years of marriage, I never told my husband. My daughters didn’t even know until now. I didn’t “ask for it,” I wasn’t wearing provocative clothes, I wasn’t in a bar or at a party. I was going home from the public library. I knew 50 years ago as well as I know now that the victim is painted with a smeared brush. JUANITA LYNCH

Paragould