Yesterday, I started a new TV series called “Liar.” I also watched the Presidential debate. The debate and TV series had much in common. Both dealt with liars and both proved that discerning the truth can be next to impossible.
From1984 until I retired in 2019, I did school and college physicals. During a routine college physical, I would talk about safe sex, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy and, believe it or not, rape. Yes, over the years I saw students who were damaged by sexual assaults and rape. To everyone’s surprise, I also saw males who were raped.
When first presented with the idea that a male could be raped by a female, most males looked at me like I was nuts! Some remarked that, if a woman wanted to rape him, he gladly give in. They thought the whole thing was a joke.
I assured them it was no joke, then proceeded to detail a male rape one of my patients was involved in. It certainly was not a joke. The young man in question went to a frat party. He met a young woman and they hit it off big time. A few drinks later and they were in his room. He was in seventh heaven when she started loosening his belt and lowering his zipper and they made love. He awoke the next morning, under the covers, wrapped around this beautiful woman that he surely was going to call his girlfriend.
Then, she woke up, looked at him and screamed, “You raped me!” The authorities were called, and the investigation begun. The story told above is related by my patient. Her story is obviously different. So, who is the liar? After months of hardships for both parties, the charges were dropped.
Apparently, she was very religious and had planned to be a virgin when she married. At first, she swore he must have drugged her; but, after her friend testified, it became apparent that she was a consenting party. Luckily for my patient, her friend was in the other bed in the room making love with my patient’s roommate.
Watching the miniseries “Liar” is freaky as the stories are almost identical. My patient never got over the rape accusation. To this day, there are those who believe he is a rapist who got away with it. The damage to his reputation is permanent. His emotional scars are huge.
Alerting patients to a risk requires giving them a solution. I advised my young students to never accept a one-night stand. Knowledge of the person you are going to sleep with is vital. Further, it is wise to avoid drugs and alcohol until the relationship is solid. Next, ask for permission and be sure you have it. Lastly, be responsible for contraception and STD prevention.
Remember, it is very difficult to discern the truth from a lie even when there are fact checkers like those who work for the networks and reviewed last night’s debate. The last thing you want is to have the police acting as your fact checker.
Here’s your music for the day and a joke.
A minister told his congregation, “Next week I plan to preach about the sin of lying. To help you understand my sermon, I want you all to read Mark 17.”
The following Sunday, as he prepared to deliver his sermon, the minister asked for a show of hands. He wanted to know how many had read Mark 17. Every hand went up. The minister smiled and said, “Mark has only sixteen chapters. I will now proceed with my sermon on the sin of lying.”
