Mandi Gray of York University is a "Guerilla Feminist" Victim For All Seasons

Methinks she protests too much?

It is truly amazing to see Mandi Gray go from aggressive feminist warrior to traumatized victim and back over the course of months. Will it ever end? Mandi has won in court. See her new list of demands for nationwide social change and a point-by-point call for retribution against the defendant's lawyer--below in the comment section.

And btw, as of now I have reached the unavoidable conclusion that the defendant received an unfair trial at the hands of Judge Marvin Zuker. Ample evidence of that below. IMO Zuker purposely avoided what amounted to clear evidence of a criminal affirmative-consent assault by Mandi Gray.

     "Victimization now structures my day-to-day life." - Mandi Gray

Mandi Gray Noted She Was Traumatized by This Event and Others of Similar Nature

That fact is clear. As an ongoing victim she utilizes her status as a basis for vehemently and persistently attacking York University, and in a way that can only be described as a vendetta. To do what she is doing, you either gotta have a lot of hate in you, or else a big need for justice, or a burning desire to grandstand for reasons of ambition, or perhaps a portion from all three columns. Far more titanic energy on Mandi Gray's part is devoted to her attack on the school, and in particular, her subsequent re-victimization, secondary victimization, and re-traumatizing by school officials, and others (see letter below), than to matters relating to the alleged rape--as if it has become nothing but a footnote.

As to the alleged rape in question, you need to reach your own conclusion. I was really leaning towards believing the story of Mandi Gray of York University until I read her entire letter written to the school, excerpted below, and then followed up by watching her interview video wherein she lambastes York in a way I can only describe as juvenile and narcissistic. I recommend you take a long hard look at this video, and this video, and read the letter, then do more research on Mandi Gray (see links below).

SEE MY COMMENTS ABOUT THE TRIAL BELOW

On to the letter. The excerpt below details a victimization that is ongoing, dramatic, incredibly varied in source and complete with accompanying psychological symptoms that even include flashbacks. I have never read anything that can top this. Like the personality of Mandi Gray in the interview, it smacks of narcissism and entitlement. Though the fact of this doesn't negate her accusation, it certainly makes me curious about her psyche.

http://www.academia.edu/11203878/An_Open_Letter_to_York_University_RE_YORK_UNIVERSITY_POLICY_ON_SEXUAL_ASSAULT_AWARENESS_PREVENTION_AND_RESPONSE

"As any trained professional or survivor will tell you, victimization now structures my day-to-day life. I experience victimization and secondary victimization everyday from:

• Both the Union and the University have caused a re-victimization of my experience, including further trauma;
• Daily interactions and inactions with actors of the judicial system, the health care system, and, now, York University;
• I now suffer from debilitating anxiety and stress that has caused me to take a temporary leave of absence from my studies and my employment at York University;
• I suffer from insomnia;
• I suffer from depression;
• I suffer from flashbacks; reliving parts of the experience, which trigger  psychological and physiological effects of stress and trauma;
• I am bearing the burden of paying out of pocket and live with the fear of being  bankrupted by having to pay for my lawyer and counseling fees;
• I am living in a constant state of fear and not knowing what the future will bring due to York’s ambiguous policy on dealing with sexual violence;
• I am even afraid of commuting to and from York University campus for fear of seeing my attacker. This tells you that it is not even enough to ban him from a  building;
• My everyday life is now structured by a constant fear and total lack of adequate support services on part of York University administration;

In sum, I feel unsupported by York University;

Two months ago, I was a healthy energetic and focused student. I now am a  person with a disability, struggling with the basic tasks of everyday life. It is of my opinion that this policy offers very little understanding of the process ahead. It lacks adequate timelines, relevant parties or institutional bodies to be involved, and fails to cite mechanisms of support/accountability in the process. It is what I would characterize as vague lip service to a very serious crisis. I believe the inadequacy of York’s current sexual assault policy reflects a general cultural of apathy and indifference that perpetuates rape culture."

Daily "Inactions" Victimize Her, Everyday Life is Constant Fear

Fair enough, or fear enough. Not sure that York University can ban the accused from the subway train. I wonder if a lawsuit is in the works. Canadian civil law is not like ours. The school offered to provide her with her own security guard if she felt unsafe. Her own guard. But that wasn't satisfactory. And while we are at it, the bulk of the news sources reporting on this fail to adequately represent the school's side on the matter. My guess is that fair reporting would scour away a bit of the victim veneer. 

Mandi Gray has literally made scores of accusations against the school and its administration for alleged mistreatment. She's even taken them to a HUMAN RIGHTS TRIBUNAL and posed for lots of cameras outside the building. And btw, she neglected to mention that the police did not "slut shame" her as she predicted but acted promptly and accepted her account. But she goes on to vilify them regardless. 

No one acted properly, not a single person, not even close, and everyone is re-traumatizing her in one way or another.

Red Arrow is Mine

And if desired, we can get another really enormous dose of Mandi's unending suffering, shame, and ever increasing victimization here. Even "waiting" for a response to anything from anyone is traumatizing and re-traumatizing. Discussing the subject at all, with anyone, is re-traumatizing and traumatizing. What isn't traumatizing? Nothing at all. This is truly a horribly traumatizing situation and I for one need a doobie. As for Guerrilla Feminist stuff, I invite you to observe her twitter profile to the right. 

Guerrilla war is all about sabotage, infiltrating the enemy, being sneaky for the purpose of ultimate victory. I find it odd she should define herself in this manner while this trial is going on, but she has that right. She was a Guerrilla Feminist before that fateful night. 

She's fighting the patriarchy with all her might! You go girl!

Rather than continued school-shaming, I hope Mandi and others will work productively with York University officials and faculty to make the world a better place. It's time to discontinue the blame vendetta.

Time to discontinue being a victim. Time to move on. It's not good for Mandi Gray or anyone else to perpetuate a state of personal victim-hood and make it a primary focus of life, even if it might result in free school tuition as well as a cash settlement and lots of appearances on Canadian television news programs and talk shows. Whether it does or does not, here is a good piece about moving on from this state of being.


COMMENTS ABOUT THE TRIAL

And now that the trial has concluded I must say that Gray edged out the accused when it came to overall credibility. I didn't buy his lawyer's "revenge for breakup" charge as an excuse for crying rape, and I did buy that the accused was verbally abusive, and also that Gray was angry and disliking the sex interlude with the accused immediately upon leaving his apartment that morning--in other words, she didn't invent her anger later and manufacture a revenge story. That's silly. But I do have issues with some of Gray's testimony, e.g., that she was "in denial" like all sexual assault victims. She clearly was not in denial and everything she said and did after leaving his apartment indicates she was never in denial. She was juggling in her mind whether or not she could make an actual rape charge given the totality of the circumstances. And of course, that makes sense.

However, what really troubles me is Judge Marvin Zuker's dramatic oratory at the conclusion of the trial, as if he were seeking a chance to grandstand in the media spotlight. I can't read his mind, but in support of my suspicion he even drags out and props the Magna Carta to make it part of his rambling rape culture speech.  

Is this normal for judges like Zuker to be so dramatic?

You have to wonder where Marvin Zuker grew up and what kind of world he has lived in. Where I come from, putting a hand on your date's leg is just about the least sexual thing you can do in a public place. 

Then read the judge-speak below. Judge Marvin Zuker, IMO, goes out of his way to negate any possible atmosphere of prior consent established by Gray. Even though Gray texted the defendant, "Lets get drunk and have hot sex" prior to meeting him in the bar, then upon arrival consumed seven beers (a lot of booze my dears), Zuker refuses in his own mind to accept even the possibility that Gray put her hands on the man's thigh in the bar, or had even the slightest shred of responsibility for the events of that evening. She is simply a victim while the defendant was a conniving power holder:

His comment that the defendant's story is "incomprehensible" is over the top IMO. Zuker forgives Gray's inconsistencies with a wave of his mouth, but he heaps scorn and derision on the accused, and in a manner I feel is volatile, prejudiced and unprofessional. Zuker doesn't even know what "hot sex" means in this context? He's the judge, and he isn't possessed of sufficient wits to know what "hot sex" means in this context? And that's because he needs to produce ambiguity for the sake of his judgement, to justify his rage and conclusions that are absurdly weighted against the defendant.

Again, in the overall balance, it appears Gray is more credible, yes, but Judge Marvin Zuker struck a blow not for justice, but for illogic, prejudice, and a dash of sex-negative misandry. In his concluding comments, he establishes a Catherine MacKinnon-like power imbalance stance. That's quite clear. And such a stance is sex-negative and misandrist by its nature because it assumes all women are victims and all men are predators when it comes to sex. This is yet another reason why Zuker, out of necessity, had to totally reject Gray's "hot sex" comment as relevant. He would not accept that following a stated desire for "hot sex," and upon slugging down seven beers, that Gray could be sexually aggressive enough to put a hand on a man's leg.

Who is he kidding? You have to wonder where Marvin Zuker grew up and what kind of world he has lived in. Where I come from, putting a hand on your date's leg is just about the least sexual thing you can do in a public place.

In reality, he assumes a father-daughter role and behaves as if he knows Gray well enough to make a statement like, "That was not Ms. Gray." But it was Ms. Gray, even before alcohol who said, "Let's get drunk and have hot sex."

BTW, another Canadian judge has rebuked Zuker severely for his antics and this journalist sees Zuker's behavior in a similar light. And from Lisa LaSalle, this long piece actually exposing Marvin Zuker as a rather contemptible judge who has reinvented himself as radical feminist. Plus this from Cathy Young:

Judge Zuker categorically declared no less than ten times that various facts alleged by Ururyar "never happened." He opined that it was "incomprehensible" for Ururyar to paint Gray as a "seductive party animal," despite her text messages which could be seen as supporting this portrayal. (Gray had deleted these messages from her phone; she also never mentioned them to the police, ostensibly because she didn't think they were "relevant to him raping me.") He claimed to know for a fact that Ururyar's apology to Gray referred to sexual assault, not to a bad breakup. The judge also rejected and openly mocked Ururyar's claim that Gray groped his thigh at the bar, despite her admission that at one point he asked her to stop touching him. He rejected as meaningless the testimony of Ururyar's roommate who said that he heard no shouting or raised voices on the night of the alleged rape, when Gray initially said Ururyar yelled at her in his room. (She later amended this claim to say that he spoke harshly.) And he made this eyebrow-raising comment, in reference to Gray's text messages: "We don't even know what the phrase 'hot sex' means." Well, yes, I suppose it could have been a euphemism for playing Scrabble."

"arial" 

____________________  

Final arguments heard in alleged sex assault of York U student ...

www.torontosun.com/.../final-arguments-heard-in-alleged-sex-assault-of-...

Toronto Sun

May 24, 2016 - Mandi Gray faced the man accused of sexually assaulting her on the same day Jian Ghomeshi's widely-publicized trial kicked off.

Mandi Gray (@gotmysassypants) | Twitter

https://twitter.com/gotmysassypants

Mandi Gray @gotmysassypants Jun 5 ... support @SiVYork and @UBCGlynnis to change universitysexual assault policy and procedure across Canada.

Crown accuses defence of 'hauling out rape myths' at Toronto trial ...

news.nationalpost.com/.../crown-accuses-defence-of-hauling-out-rape-m...

National Post

May 25, 2016 - Ururyar is accused of raping a fellow York University PhD student on Jan. ... Aileen Donnelly / National PostMandi Gray, right, arrives at Old City ...

Accused in sex assault case calls lawyer's questioning 'inappropriate ...

www.thestar.com › News › GTA

Toronto Star

May 3, 2016 - Mandi Gray testified that she had been casually dating Mustafa Ururyar ... The man accused of sexually assaulting a fellow York University PhD ...

York University's sexual assault policy sparks human-rights complaint ...

www.theglobeandmail.com › News › National › Education

The Globe and Mail

Jun 30, 2015 - A York University student has filed a complaint with the Human Rights ... Mandi Gray, 26, filed the complaint on Monday, five months after she ...

Mandi Gray | York University - Academia.edu

yorku.academia.edu/MandiGray

Mandi Gray, York University, Sociology Department, Graduate Student. Studies Sociology, Biopolitics, and Critical Theory.

Public statement from Mandi Gray (R v Ururyar) | The Media Co-op

www.mediacoop.ca/story/public-statement-mandi-gray-r-v-ururyar/36107

2 days ago - Public statement from Mandi Gray (R v Ururyar). Issued on day of verdict for sexual assault case. by Mandi Gray. July 21, 2016. Toronto -- I am ...

Public statement from Mandi Gray (R v Ururyar) | Politics

beforeitsnews.com/.../public-statement-from-mandi-gray-r-v-ururyar-2826341.html

2 days ago - July 21, 2016. Toronto — I am tired of people talking to me like I won some sort of rape lottery because the legal system did what it is supposed ...

Statement from Mandi Gray after Mustafa Ururyar guilty verdict - the ...

www.cbc.ca/.../statement-from-mandi-gray-after-mustafa-ururyar-guilty-verdi...

CBC.ca

2 days ago - A verdict has been reached in a sexual assault case featured in our documentary 'School of Secrets'. Mandi Gray, a York University student, ...

York University PhD student guilty in sex assault of student Mandi Gray

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/york-sex-assault-guilty-1.3689325

CBC.ca

2 days ago - Mandi Gray says guilty verdict in her sexual assault case is not evidence ... In astatement that surprised many in a Toronto courtroom, a judge ...