Academic Credentials Don’t Count in Rape

In reference to Jim Murray’s column of Feb. 16, when he seems startled that Mike Tyson “would be so out of touch with reality as to commit rape.” I have to wonder. The reality is that by the very nature of the crime, men can get away with it and do so all the time. A woman is raped in this country every six minutes, and the court system and the media punish the victim more than the perpetrator.

As for his comment, “against an 18-year-old beauty queen with impeccable academic credentials. This was no bimbo. . . , no groupie. . . ,” he makes it sound as if it is OK to rape a bimbo or groupie. Rape is rape, a violent, life-shattering crime. It is not OK to rape anyone, no matter what their academic credentials are.

KRISTIN CARNOHAN, Los Angeles