GeorgeH Posted November 7, 2019 Report Posted November 7, 2019 About time: "In the wake of an Inquirer report this past July detailing allegations of sexual misconduct at the Curtis Institute of Music, the school has hired a Philadelphia law firm to investigate." https://www.inquirer.com/arts/curtis-institute-sexual-assault-claim-investigation-lara-st-john-20191107.html Follow-up to this discussion:
Pate Bliss Posted November 7, 2019 Report Posted November 7, 2019 The 1980s zeitgeist was a bad hombre
AtlVcl Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 This is old "news." Jascha Brodsky was almost 90 yrs old at the time of the allegations against him, and Lara St. John is no "accomplished violinist"; she's best known for album covers where she's only half dressed.
Rue Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 9 hours ago, AtlVcl said: This is old "news." Jascha Brodsky was almost 90 yrs old at the time of the allegations against him, and Lara St. John is no "accomplished violinist"; she's best known for album covers where she's only half dressed. She's very accomplished. I've seen her, and chit-chatted with her, a couple of times now. Mind-blowing skill set and an engaging performer. Her album covers are irrelevant - either as an indicator of her abilities or to any assault she may have endured.
Stephen Fine Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 10 hours ago, AtlVcl said: This is old "news." Jascha Brodsky was almost 90 yrs old at the time of the allegations against him, and Lara St. John is no "accomplished violinist"; she's best known for album covers where she's only half dressed. The old news is that album cover from the 90s. LOL at you bringing it up now, 30 years into her pro soloist career. Also, Brodsky was in his 70s when he molested her. Not 90. Perhaps you meant to say almost 80. But, also, who cares how old he is? Sexual abuse is often an issue of power disparity, not physical strength.
violinnewb Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 10 hours ago, AtlVcl said: This is old "news." Jascha Brodsky was almost 90 yrs old at the time of the allegations against him, and Lara St. John is no "accomplished violinist"; she's best known for album covers where she's only half dressed. Actually, this is NOT old news. The OP states that in the "wake of an Inquirer report this past July," Curtis hired a lawfirm to investigate. the latter part is the news and was reported on or about November 7, 2019. Also, how is it relevant whether St. John was accomplished? Does that mean only "accomplished" persons can allege assault? Album covers are irrelevant. How one appears is irrelevant. This is an argument that has long been diffused in most civilized courts. I want my partner to look sexy. So does that mean if someone assaulted her, it is also my fault? If an actor/actress has a nude scene in a film shoot, does that invite everyone to assault him/her because of appearance? Last but not least, age of the assaulter makes very little (to no) difference. Anyways, my personal suspicions aside, we should not try to deter someone from coming forward and alleging assault. Eventually, the truth comes out and then we can lament on how right or wrong we were in our suspicions. Until then, no one should be shamed or prevented from asserting their rights.
A432 Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 Last but not least, age of the assaulter makes very little (to no) difference. The set of experiences from which you draw your conclusions obviously does not include being an age 70+ man -- especially in the pre-viagra era I suspect the worst they could have charged him with would be Assault with a Dead Weapon.
Stephen Fine Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 3 minutes ago, A432 said: The set of experiences from which you draw your conclusions obviously does not include being an age 70+ man -- especially in the pre-viagra era I suspect the worst they could have charged him with would be Assault with a Dead Weapon. Haha! Rape jokes are hilarious!
A432 Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 I've long noticed that whenever some ideologue says, "That ISN'T FUNNY !" it almost always IS.
Stephen Fine Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 7 minutes ago, A432 said: I've long noticed that whenever some ideologue says, "That ISN'T FUNNY !" it almost always IS. Rape jokes are always funny! Especially to rapists and people who've been raped!
Stephen Fine Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 I take the issue of sexual abuse in the music studio very seriously. It's a problem in the industry, and I want to make VERY clear that here at Maestronet at least some of us are decent human beings with a bit of compassion. If you are up on stage doing a standup set, good luck making funny rape jokes. It takes a talented comedian to pull them off. If you are here at Maestronet, get ready to be heckled by me EVERY TIME you try to make a joke about rape in the teaching studio. PS- the reason your joke isn't funny is because while it DOES make fun of the rapist (and yourself? are you an old man?) which is a good start in a rape joke, it also minimizes the experience of the person who was raped. Considering that for decades (centuries?) we've minimized sexual abuse by men in power, your joke isn't original, funny, or appropriate in this or any other setting. And, yes, I am the funny police.
violinnewb Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 40 minutes ago, A432 said: The set of experiences from which you draw your conclusions obviously does not include being an age 70+ man -- especially in the pre-viagra era I suspect the worst they could have charged him with would be Assault with a Dead Weapon. You do understand that the basic premise for assault is that a person acted, with intent, to create a reasonable fear of apprehension that is offensive to the other person. Doesn't even matter if you are 90 years old. If one uses their position of power to do so, what does physical age have to do with it?
A432 Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 What would be funny -- if it weren't tragic -- is that groups of people in every age have persuaded each other that mutilating themselves -- physically or intellectually -- is proof of virtue. (The priests if Cybele come to mind here). What is not funny at all is their attempts to indoctrinate healthy people around them with their beliefs. Humor has long been one of the most effective ways of undoing indoctrination. E.g., a Soviet-era joke : Q : What did Russians use to light their homes before they had kerosene lamps ? A : Electricity. Another. Q : Why did Lenin wear high top shoes, but Stalin wears knee boots ? A: In Lenin's time, the sh*t was only ankle-deep. Since we're asking questions, ask yourself whether any belief system that requires self-incapacitation is worthy of adoption when the result of doing so is the reduction of human society to an ant colony of two-legged robots. (Survey any Cult for working examples). Victim-stance mentality is unhealthy. As is any belief that depends on it. Obsession and Virtue are two different things. The attempt to promulgate an obsession in the misguided belief that one is virtue-signaling, on the other hand, IS funny.
A432 Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 PS : No one hires a law firm to get to the bottom of an alleged crime. That is a job for an experienced detective -- a job no doubt long since done. A law firm is hired to assess potential liability and strategize to minimize it.
violinnewb Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 35 minutes ago, A432 said: PS : No one hires a law firm to get to the bottom of an alleged crime. That is a job for an experienced detective -- a job no doubt long since done. A law firm is hired to assess potential liability and strategize to minimize it. I do not disagree, but the word "investigate" is not necessarily limited to solving a crime. One can investigate a claim to assess strengths and weaknesses.
Stephen Fine Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 2 hours ago, A432 said: Humor has long been one of the most effective ways of undoing indoctrination. Yes. Jokes against Stalin when Stalin is in power. Very powerful. Jokes about rapists when rapists are in power. Very powerful. Jokes about rape when rapists are in power. Super lame and not funny.
Stephen Fine Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 Also, lawyers and law firms hire teams of private investigators. They are often on staff at a large law firm.
AtlVcl Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 5 hours ago, violinnewb said: Anyways, my personal suspicions aside, we should not try to deter someone from coming forward and alleging assault. Eventually, the truth comes out and then we can lament on how right or wrong we were in our suspicions. Until then, no one should be shamed or prevented from asserting their rights. I agree about being free to allege assault, and the time to make an allegation is when it happens, not when the accused is long returned to ashes and unable to defend himself!
Rue Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 28 minutes ago, AtlVcl said: I agree about being free to allege assault, and the time to make an allegation is when it happens, not when the accused is long returned to ashes and unable to defend himself! If you're suggesting a statute of limitations on such accusations - that's a different approach/topic to the discourse we seem to be having. What would you suggest?
Stephen Fine Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 3 hours ago, AtlVcl said: I agree about being free to allege assault, and the time to make an allegation is when it happens, not when the accused is long returned to ashes and unable to defend himself! Yeah. Shame on 14 year old Lara St. John. SHAME ON HER! She should have confronted him THEN! BAD GIRL! We must protect the sacred memory of her rapist. After all, he was SUCH a GREAT teacher. (see, now that's rape humor) Side story: I was recently summoned for jury duty involving a case of attempted murder with a man and his wife. I was dismissed after voir dire, but since the case involved a history of sexual assault, the lawyers questioned the jury panel about history of sexual violence/abuse, and I was absolutely stunned by how many of the women had a history of chronic abuse from the men in their lives. I mean, I've read horrifying statistics before, but hearing the stories from what seemed like most of the women on the panel... obviously, it was only like 25 women, so not a scientific sample size, but I left quite shaken. PS- the presumption of innocence, while an essential part of the Common Law and trial by jury, needn't operate in everyday life outside the courtroom. If I see a pattern of behavior, I can form my own opinions using common sense. It is a pattern that young girls have trouble speaking out against their powerful male abusers. It is a pattern that power corrupts. It is a pattern that he raped his students. So... my logic dictates that Lara St. John is obviously telling the truth, and that old man was a horrible pervert who never should have been allowed to continue teaching at the Curtis Institute.
Stephen Fine Posted November 8, 2019 Report Posted November 8, 2019 Man... the end of that article: Last week, St. John took an additional step. She called the Curtis hotline herself. The woman on the other end of the line asked her to relay her complaint. St. John told her when the abuse happened, where, and the name of the abuser. St. John said it sounded like the questions were being read from a script, until she mentioned that she had been 14 when the rape occurred. The woman was silent for a moment, and then said, “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry, thanks so much for talking about this.” It was, St. John said, the first apology she has received from anyone in an official capacity.
Herman West Posted November 10, 2019 Report Posted November 10, 2019 On 11/8/2019 at 4:18 PM, violinnewb said: Also, how is it relevant whether St. John was accomplished? Does that mean only "accomplished" persons can allege assault? Stephen quite rightly pointed this out, because some other not-so-enlightened poster suggested Lara St John was asking for it (retro-actively) by having a bare-shouldered album cover, as her main claim to fame.
lwl Posted November 11, 2019 Report Posted November 11, 2019 It should also be pointed out that Lara St John (who is a very fine violinist with a pretty solid lengthy solo career at this point) did report it when it occurred, and Curtis declined to do anything about it at the time. The reason it's important for institutions to confront this historical behavior is to ensure that policies and processes have changed in the meantime to ensure that it doesn't happen again now. We are seeing this happen in many private schools (primary and secondary schools) across the country, for instance -- in many such cases it involves men in their 50s, 60s, or 70s raise accusations against male teachers that have long since dead, but the law-firm investigation finds the original complaints or other supporting evidence of abuse long-suppressed, and in some cases discovers that the school does not have adequate protective measures now, either.
A432 Posted November 11, 2019 Report Posted November 11, 2019 Curtis declined to do anything about it at the time. Notwithstanding Mr. Fine's confirmation bias (" It is a pattern that he raped his students. So... my logic dictates that Lara St. John is obviously telling the truth, and that old man was a horrible pervert who never should have been allowed to continue teaching at the Curtis Institute."), there certainly would have been an investigation. Barring evidence that there was not one, or that it was corrupt, it was not established that anything had happened to "do something about," and there the matter rests. LSJ gets a self-generated career boost (even negative publicity is still publicity), and Curtis' reputation is blackened still further. Cancel Culture 101 (a.k.a., psyop).
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