I want to believe this but I can't.

If she was really date-raped by Levi, why would she wait until now to disclose it, when her book is conveniently coming out? Not only did they get engaged, they GOT BACK TOGETHER afterwards. Levi Johnston, while hot and dumb, is probably a douchebag. But a virginity stealer? I feel like this plays right into their constant playing the victim as well as a convenient repackaging of Bristol's narrative.

Dude, if you like sex, have it without apology. Don't hide behind a "stolen virginity" narrative because it makes real rape victims' experiences that much harder.

Did anyone hear about her beef with Meghan McCain? Bristol, finish high school and go to college and then we'll talk.

I didn't know.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/wash...t-of-love.html

Yeah. :rolleyes: Uh. Yeah. Meghan McCain would beat dat ass. LOL. I really don't think Bristol Palin has accomplished anything to write a memoir about.

The Palins feel inferior to the McCains...no matter how much money they might get as a result of reality shows and speaking engagements, they're still PWT and deep down, they all know it. The McCains remind them of that without saying a word.

Another thing--she's saying that Levi has another kid? :rolleyes: Wouldn't that have come out as well. The kid is allegedly named "Bentley," which is what they wanted to name their baby.

Cringe. Deja vu.

Let the record show that Munchkin03 is saying this is how they are perceived by some white people. Munchkin03 isn't saying that there is truly a such thing as PWT or that nonwhites have the ability to place whites into such categories.

Did we have this discussion before?

I've always felt that, more so with other groups, working-class white people have the hardest time with wealthy white people as opposed to wealthy blacks, Latinos, or Asians. Granted, every group has examples of "crabs in the barrel syndrome," but this is a little different. I remember seeing poor white classmates and co-workers get ANGRY when they saw another white person in a nicer car, bigger house, etc. Other groups just tend to get jealous and keep it inside.

I saw a lot of this growing up and I see it less so now (frankly, I don't interact with too many working-class whites these days) and as soon as I read the things the Palins were saying about the McCains it all sounded mighty familiar.

In the thread about the actor who married the young country singer-model. It is a fun thread.

I see what you mean but I tend to see it as the other way around. The opinions of the Palins really don't matter. It's the opinions of those higher up that matter. The Palins have probably been made to feel inadequate and subpar. That isn't so much about the Palins being jealous but about what it takes to get in the Cool Kids' Club.

The Palins arguably and perhaps legitimately have some insecurities. They were hot shit in Alaska where they were considered higher ranking. They aren't so higher ranking outside of Alaska and when mingling with politicians and those of the upper 5% of the nation. The Palins were given a chance to kick it with the Cool Kids because of the intersection of white privilege with white woman privilege. Sarah Palin and The Palins aren't the only politicans with certain privileges and disadvantages working for and against them. They're just the topic of this thread. :)

I think they just stand out more because this is the first time in memory that there's been a potential First or Second Family that appeared so "rough around the edges." Yeah, there was Billy Carter and Roger Clinton, but they were obviously sidenotes. You can dress the Palins up in as many clothes from Nordstrom as you'd like but there's no denying what side of the tracks they're really from.

This is why I can't pass judgement either way, though. I stayed together with mine, for almost a year, and continued a sexual relationship with him. I did not acknowledge what happened to me until a few years later.

It is both sad and amusing that Palin's "rags to riches" tale was shared for the last election. Did we need to know about the upgrading shopping sprees and speech lessons? No. She's not the first or the last politician to receive those. Yet that info was given to us (to make some of us laugh at the ridiculousness of it all) so people could see her as homegrown commonfolk who is an example of the American Dream and proof that politicians are here for the average American.

I see Palin's story as different than that of people like Bill Clinton (I always want to say and type George). Their rise to notoriety was not as shocking. Clinton had an educational and political background that wasn't too clown worthy. Yet he was homegrown enough for idiots to pretend he was the first Black president. He was playing instruments on the Arsenio Hall show and having some Black folks love him for no reason. He was white privileged enough, to need a less obvious tutor than Palin needed, yet average enough.

Bristol Palin's existence and her story is all within the context of Sarah Palin's rise to "fame" regardless of how people feel about Palin's politics.

I'm sorry you experienced that.

While I understand that things happen--both date rape and the less-than-ideal loss of virginity, I'm just a little skeptical about the source and the timing. Bristol has gone back and forth so much on the topic of abstinence, for one example, that it makes me think she's a puppet for her mother and her mother's handlers. The narrative that they're trying to create--that Bristol was not a willing participant in her sexuality--fits right in with the idea that abstinence is best.

If she had come forward with this years from now, it would be far more believable. But the fact that she's saying this in timing with her book?

Plenty of people reveal secrets when they release memoirs, Scott Brown's recounting of his own abuse is an example. Yeah there's publicity there, but there's also a level of honesty. She might be a lying liar who lies, but I'd rather fall on the side of believing her account, particularly when she's not calling for Levi's head on a platter in the process. She's not asking us to vilify him, the opposite in fact, so eh, why get worked up calling her a liar.

People were going to buy her book anyway, either for the trainwreck or because they OMG love the Palins or because they were curious. So don't buy it, if you don't want to pay for her baby's preschool, but eh, who cares ultimately.

I absolutely believe her account. I never disbelieved it. I just don't think her virginity was "stolen" unless she means the alcohol stole it; and she and Levi were both too inebriated, young, dumb, and full of cum to be having sex.

She is clear that she doesn't believe that Levi used alcohol to rape her. However, as she and her publicists very well know and has been stated in this thread, the alleged victim does not have to be aware of the status of victim for others to place them in that status. There's a reason why this story is the headline for her memoir after her beef with McCain. The same reason I now know Florence Henderson caught crabs and has a new book. Being honest and sharing is good for diaries but when you choose to write a public tell-all you are no longer just being honest with no expectation of some outcome.

Maybe Bristol Palin wants young ladies to learn from her mistakes. Maybe Bristol Palin wants to make some money. I certainly don't view her sharing the same as I view people like Sugar Ray Leonard who pulls no punches (pun intended) that what happened to him WAS abuse.

/just like the rest of you, I care enough to type in this thread about this

Yep, that's about as much care as I can muster.

I managed to post on facebook mocking Newt Gingrich so Bristol's got a ways to go before meeting that level of involvement.

This appears to be using the same definition of "stolen" that you might use to say the Yankees "stole" Babe Ruth from the Red Sox.

I mean this not to minimize the chance of actual sexual assault, but rather that the connotation outstrips denotation drastically. This tactic is, unfortunately, par for the course as far as political rhetoric goes ...

I agree with you 100%! I'm actually glad Palin and few others have decided to identify themselves with the Tea Party. I have heard a lot of independents and even on the fence democrats who are taking a closer look at the Republican party now that the riff raff is gone.

First, who can take the memoir of a HS dropout seriously? Second, she would be expected to say something to explain why the daughter of such a religious, conservative exhibited the behavior of someone with questionable values.