Volume 2, Issue 27- July 8-14, 2011
International Tribune
He is rich. She is poor. He is white. She is black. He is Jewish. She is a Muslim. So what do they have in common? Nothing really, except for their murky past. The saga of the Dominique Strauss Kahn's (DSK) rape trial is turning into a modern-day mayhem version of Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors. With the accused as the predator, the victim as the opportunist, we will all find ourselves entertained this summer by this Franco-American scandal from both sides of the Atlantic. And now, enters a Parisian bourgeois mother and her prized daughter staging the soon-to-be rape trial in the defendant’s hometown. Just when he thought he can finally go home.
The world was shocked and the media went into frenzy when the New York City District Attorney announced that Mr. Strauss Kahn will be released from house arrest and that the case may be falling apart because of the plaintiff’s inconsistent testimonies and seemingly questionable past (suspected of money laundering, tax evasion, among other things). DSK and his loyal wife were jubilant and thought that the nightmare will soon be over. A couple of days later, Tristane Banon, another alleged rape victim came out in public claiming that she was also a sexually harassed nine years ago by DSK. Tristane Banon is a famous writer in France and a daughter of another Socialist party member (DSK’s political party in France) who had advised her daughter back in 2002 to keep the incident in silence and not to press charges against Strauss-Kahn. The Banons thought it was the right decision then in order to save the reputation of the family.
Today, the French are divided, just like the Americans were when the alleged not-so-immaculate past of the hotel chambermaid came to light. Tristane Banon is seen not just as a victim but could also be another opportunist, a slanderer against DSK who is staging a second act to the saga. Why file charges now, after all those years? And moreover, what is more mind-boggling is how could a mother silence her daughter from such an atrocious violation? Is this merely an ‘old school’ traditional practice that is still perpetuated by the bourgeois? Many will see this beyond social or gender issue in conflict. The public is troubled.
It is a dizzying scenario. One can get lost with all the actors at play. The case involves people of all stripes- rich, poor, conservative, liberal, powerful and the weak. All their lives are suddenly intertwined whether they like it or not. This will likely spark a debate and alter the social norm in today’s society. And it all started when an immigrant woman from Harlem decided to cry wolf.
To be or not to be, that is the question in this case. Whether you are a liar or a rapist, a slanderer or a victim, it seems like everyone will lose in this case. It is not easy being judge based on morality. Little by little, as the case unfolds, the trial is becoming to be one of those court room dramas where the personal characters of each side will both be the evidence and deciding factor that can free or go against the defendant and the victim. Everybody's credibility is, indeed, at stake.
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