I threw out my dvd of Beyond the Sea and my CD of the soundtrack. I loved the music and Spacey did a great job.
But the latest allegations turn my stomach. I can’t watch anything that sick perv is in. Using alcohol to rape his dates. :shudder:
Yeah, I can’t watch him anymore either.
Yes.
But so is confirming consent - sorry I included both age and consent, but in this case only the consent would apply.
Totally up to the person instigating the sexual contact. And the consent has to be given when able - not drunk/drugged.
Taking this out from the context of Spacey, who clearly seems to be if nothing else, really creepy, and accepting that the age difference, while creepy, is not illegal or per se even unethical … I completely agree with the concept that consent must be given by someone capable of giving it.
But where on the scale of a wee tipsy to intoxicated to passed out does one become not competent to give consent?
Obviously before passed out drunk, but how far before? Is every hook up at a party where alcohol or other is being imbibed a potential rape charge whether or not a clear “yes” is given? Can consent only be given by the cold stone sober?
What rape? He’s accused of rubbing the guys crotch.
There’s 30 accusations. Apparently most can’t be proven but I have no interest in ever seeing Spacey’s work again.
But this gives rise to the hyperbole that some now say that a written consent form or direct verbal consent is required before any sexual action (e.g. May I kiss you? May I touch your breasts? May I remove your pants? etc.) That is simply not how it is done in real life. You move slowly, giving the other person the opportunity to say no if you have misread their desire to engage in that conduct.
Is my wife waking me up to a blow job sexual assault? (Purely hypothetical of course. It never happens. 
)
As far as being drunk, he was sober enough to pull out his phone and videotape the incident. I think that is strong evidence that he was not so impaired as to be unable to consent.
In most (all?) states the level remains at the common law level of stumbling drunk off of your ass and not at the reduced .08 DUI level. I mean so drunk that you would not be convicted of first degree murder if you killed someone.
This idea that because she had a couple of drinks and was tipsy is enough is not supported by any law. What about Spacey? He was drunk as well. Does that excuse his conduct?
Whenever I hear that argument back, my response is usually “In my experience, enthusiastic consent is obvious…if it’s not that way for you, then maybe you need to rethink?”
You give the other person time to reply, but also to reciprocate. If they are responding by touching you in kind, or in your blowjob example, by running their hands in your hair and whispering “F***…” under their breath (hypothetical, of course)…
On the other hand, if they are half-passed out, not touching you back, of whatever, then maybe re-think if consent was given?
O Merciful Sweet Father, at long last we can now put this sordid chapter of American shame behind us and begin to come together and heal as a nation.
Now let the ample, unstinting blessings of The Lord act as a soothing balm against our ravaged, outraged psychic wounds and our trampled tender mercies, Amen.
You’re really good at sarcasm.
Your dry, yet distinctively caustic wit has forced me to take a long, hard look in the mirror and take stock of exactly what kind of a Sraight Doper (Smartest?, Hippest?) I really want to be.
Bless you Brother.
Being able to push a button doesn’t prove much.
There is no law and never has been a law that requires “enthusiastic” consent.
Further, if someone begins filming the sexual encounter without stating an objection, I don’t think it is unreasonable to believe that at minimum they don’t mind it. What is wrong with simply saying “no” if you do not want that particular form of contact?
Entirely as an additional element to the whole sordid deal… I dunno about you, maybe it’s my age and life experiences talking, but ISTM in a casual pickup situation, either party whips out a device to start recording the proceedings, that is to me *also *a signal to stop and Ask Important Questions. ***Especially ***if you are a public figure.
Having gone along with it makes Spacey guilty of an additional charge of Aggravated Stupid.
I don’t doubt that Spacey showed horribly poor judgment, but that seems to be his M.O.
But I disagree with your criticism in the context of a legal analysis. If I touch a girl (that I just met that night) in some sexual way and not only does she not object, but she is filming it, the concern I would have is that she is psycho, not that she did not consent to the contact.
That is exactly what I am trying to determine through the Important Questions – what use does she intend to make of this recording. Particularly if any recording, rebroadcast or retransmission of this content may be used without the explicit consent of the [del]Major League Commissioner[/del] other party 
The law generally recognizes that a person can be too drunk to give consent. AFAICT the law generally does not support the idea that a person can be too drunk to refrain from committing a crime.
IOW, if you’re too drunk to effectively protect yourself from somebody’s sexual advances, maybe you were kind of dumb to drink that much but it still doesn’t make you responsible for their forcing nonconsensual sex on you.
But if you’re too drunk to refrain from forcing nonconsensual sex on somebody else, you’re still responsible for what you did. Being too drunk to stop somebody else from hurting you and being too drunk to stop yourself from hurting somebody else are two different kettles of fish, legally speaking.
I thought lawyers knew that.
If Spacey can be charged with sexual assault because the other guy was drunk, why isn’t the other guy being charged with sexual assault because Spacey was drunk?
If two drunk people have sex with each other, which one gets charged with a crime?
AFAICT he could be. When two drunk people have a sexual encounter without third-party witnesses it is possible that either one of them might have forced nonconsensual sex on the other. Just as when two drunk people have a fistfight without third-party witnesses it is possible that either one of them might have criminally assaulted the other.
The one who’s accused of committing a crime, if the prosecutor thinks the accusation is plausible enough to justify pressing charges.
Yes, two people could in theory accuse each other: