Oct 1, 2026 · 30 min · 10 segments
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit dennisonwrites.substack.com What we should learn from the reactions to the “Cornell 7” case.
I'm going to shy away from writing about the case itself.
Things are moving fast, new details are dropping daily, and if I publish this as a rundown of all the latest twists and turns, there's a high chance they'll either be old news or negated by the time anyone gets around to listening to them.
But the Internet's most outraged people aren't following the facts anyway.
They're operating on instinct.
Something about this one just feels right to them.
The pieces are all there.
An elite campus, a party, booze, drugs, a young girl, plenty of privilege.
If it feels like we've heard this story before, it's because we have.
Not to mention Steubenville High School, Saratoga High School, Ocoee High School, Torrington High School, Richmond High School.
Not to mention American Horror Story, NYPD Blue, ER, Law & Order, Law & Order SVU, twice at least.
The overall political climate contributes to this also, I suspect.
For decades, we've been inundated with the shocking statistic that one in five women are sexually assaulted on college campuses.
In some circles, this finding is close to a mantra.
That it is not, in the strictest sense, true, doesn't give much pause.
We'll be unpacking that one in five claim, but closer to the end of this.
The campus gang rape has been an imposing monolith on the American cultural landscape since the 1980s.
It's a cautionary tale and a terrifying bedtime story for parents and co-eds alike.
Keep an eye on your drink.
Stay away from those boys.
Make sure she's sober.
Secure her consent.
Teach your daughter to avoid.
Teach your son not to...
I'm going to shy away from writing about the case itself.
Things are moving fast, new details are dropping daily, and if I publish this as a rundown of all the latest twists and turns, there's a high chance they'll either be old news or negated by the time anyone gets around to listening to them.
But the Internet's most outraged people aren't following the facts anyway.
They're operating on instinct.
Something about this one just feels right to them.
The pieces are all there.
An elite campus, a party, booze, drugs, a young girl, plenty of privilege.
If it feels like we've heard this story before, it's because we have.
Not to mention Steubenville High School, Saratoga High School, Ocoee High School, Torrington High School, Richmond High School.
Not to mention American Horror Story, NYPD Blue, ER, Law & Order, Law & Order SVU, twice at least.
The overall political climate contributes to this also, I suspect.
For decades, we've been inundated with the shocking statistic that one in five women are sexually assaulted on college campuses.
In some circles, this finding is close to a mantra.
That it is not, in the strictest sense, true, doesn't give much pause.
We'll be unpacking that one in five claim, but closer to the end of this.
The campus gang rape has been an imposing monolith on the American cultural landscape since the 1980s.
It's a cautionary tale and a terrifying bedtime story for parents and co-eds alike.
Keep an eye on your drink.
Stay away from those boys.
Make sure she's sober.
Secure her consent.
Teach your daughter to avoid.
Teach your son not to...
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