Originally Posted by
Dan Druff
Okay, so time to reveal the rest of the story.
I was really on the fence as to what I should do here. I was just about 100% sure that this girl was telling tall tales, but I wasn't sure if I should call it out. This was the type of Facebook group where it was reasonable to post such stories (if they were true), but it bothered me seeing so many people taking it seriously, including some who seemed legitimately shaken by the girl's latest revelation. One woman posted, "I keep encountering women this is happening to. I really think I can't trust being around any men anymore."
I started feeling really bad for those who were shaken by what seemed to be a completely fabricated story.
At the same time, I was hesitating saying anything. What if I was wrong? I considered the possible emotional damage I might do to this poor girl if I was incorrect and questioned her. And even if I was right, was I going to cause a huge wave of anger and resentment in the group by questioning a claim of rape? The group is about two-thirds female, so I figured a likely backlash was coming if I said anything.
I was about to just close the thread and move on, but something was just eating at me. She was full of crap. I knew she was. There were 58 comments from people eating it up, some of whom were emotionally affected by it. I threw caution to the wind. I posted a polite message pointing out this girl's history in the group, and asked her a few questions. I closed with, "Friends, I'm afraid this might not be what it seems."
I then braced myself for the cacophony of angry responses.
Very shorty thereafter, I got notifications that people were responding. I took a deep breath and opened the thread again.
"Thank you for saying this!! I looked at her history also and thought the same, but was afraid to post it."
"Wow, I agree, looks very suspicious"
"I was totally fooled, but I think you are right. Thank you!"
"How sick is this person to post this here? I'm glad you said something."
Lots of responses to me, but 100% were positive. Not one person was shaming me for calling this out. Not one person voiced that I should have kept quiet. I got tons of "likes" on my post, and not a single angry face or anything like that.
The group moderator then messaged me. He said that he was also highly suspicious of this, and was happy that I had said something, because he couldn't bring himself to do it. He locked the thread a few hours later, and deleted it a few hours after that.
During the time was open, not a single person questioned my conclusion or the fact that I posted the questioning response. Everyone was extremely positive toward me.
I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. I just hope I was correct (I'm almost sure I was).