More Kobe

Outside the Beltway makes a good point:

While I agree both in general and in this particular case that rape victims should be protected from public scrutiny by the media, I'm aways amazed that so few seem to have any sympathy for the accused.

I actually have a lot of sympathy for the accused. I wish Greta, Rita, Dan and Keith would just shut up about the Bryant case and let the jury system work. No need to drag his name through the mud before the evidence is presented in court.

But i think Bryant has received much more sympathy than Scott Peterson, Martha Stewart, and Kenny Lay. He is getting the benefit of the doubt where they have already been convicted in the public mind.

One of ASV's commenters also made a good point on the fairness of protecting the accuser's privacy.

Why is this one different? Because Bryant is a celebrity. When a celebrity gets arrested, it's considered "news" and reported on. Sorry, them's the breaks. But guess what? If a female celebrity were raped, that would be all over the news as well; the double standard isn't so much accuser vs. accused, but celebrity vs. non-celebrity.

In any case, what I fail to see is why this woman should be treated differently from other alleged rape victims just becuase she allegedly had the misfortune of being raped by a celebrity.