Am I Reading This Right?

More

I saw this over the weekend, but filed it away, but Bristol Palin is essentially claiming that she was raped by Levi Johnston, yes? 


Bristol lies to her mother, Sarah Palin, telling her she's "going to stay the night at Ema's house," (Pg. 2) but instead goes off on a camping trip in Point MacKenzie with her "ruggedly handsome boyfriend," Levi Johnston. In the back of Levi's red pickup truck are "firearms for protection against wildlife, and lots of alcohol." At this point, young Bristol hadn't had a sip of alcohol, and especially "didn't know that the girly flavored wine coolers were just as likely to get you drunk as the hard stuff." (Pg. 2) 

Bristol proceeds to down wine cooler after wine cooler, as she "slowly surrendered to their woozy charms." (Pg. 3) Levi keeps replacing her finished wine coolers with new ones, and soon Bristol hits "that awful wall" that takes her from a "happy buzz" into "the dark abyss of drunkenness." (Pg. 3) The last thing she remembers is sitting by the fire and laughing with friends, and doesn't remember waking up in her tent the next morning "with something obviously askew."

Perhaps accusing him of rape isn't her intent, but that is the legal implication. More horrifying is the attendant notion that her mother then announced plans for her to marry her alleged rapist.


Again, please correct me if I'm connecting the wrong dots. This is really, uhm, strange.
Jump to comments

Ta-Nehisi Coates is a senior editor at The Atlantic, where he writes about culture, politics, and social issues. He is the author of the memoir The Beautiful Struggle. More

Born in 1975, the product of two beautiful parents. Raised in West Baltimore -- not quite The Wire, but sometimes ill all the same. Studied at the Mecca for some years in the mid-'90s. Emerged with a purpose, if not a degree. Slowly migrated up the East Coast with a baby and my beloved, until I reached the shores of Harlem. Wrote some stuff along the way.

Get Today's Top Stories in Your Inbox (preview)


Elsewhere on the web

Join the Discussion

After you comment, click Post. If you’re not already logged in you will be asked to log in or register. blog comments powered by Disqus

Video

Miami: The Next Big Start-Up City?

How the city became a center for innovation

Video

Video

A Brief History of Romantic Comedies

From The Atlantic's Chris Orr

Video

Life in 'the New Arctic'

A moving portrait of a fading landscape

Video

Video

The Rise of New York City

A fascinating look at Manhattan in the 1940s

Video

What Is Methane Hydrate?

"Flaming ice" is a vast natural energy source

Video

NASA's Time-Lapse of the Sun

Now with epic dubstep music

Video

Shaken Not Tuned: Cocktail Experiments

Can a tuning fork improve a cocktail?

Video

Video

Is He Cheating? A 1950s Guide

'That little blonde secretary from the office?’

Video

New Yorkers: Vintage Vacuum-Tube Amps

Risking electric shock to restore old amplifiers

Video

The DIY Piano-Bicycle

Everybody needs a hobby

Writers

Up
Down

More in National

In Focus

Photos of Tornado Damage in Moore, Oklahoma

From This Author

Just In