Sunday, May 22, 2011

'Old fat economists don't sexually assault hotel maids' says Ben Stein

Ben Stein
Dominque Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was charged last week with the alleged sexual assault of an unnamed 32-year-old African immigrant. He was staying at a luxury $3,000 a night hotel. The maid alleged that she was assaulted twice by Strauss-Kahn, one time in which she was forced to perform oral sex. She broke free, reporting what happened to hotel management. The alleged sexual act occurred Saturday, May 14. Strauss-Kahn was apprehended at New York’s JFK Airport around 1 p.m. He was not attempting to escape.

Ben Stein, a conservative columnist for The American Spectator, with a voice that will send a sleeping person into a deep coma, is not happy with the victim. In an article titled “Presumed Innocent, Anyone?” he outlined eight positive  points favoring Strauss-Kahn, a man he does not know.

Dominque Strauss-Khan
In point # 6 he writes: “People accuse other people of crimes all of the time. What do we know about the complainant besides that she is a hotel maid? I love and admire hotel maids. They have incredibly hard jobs and they do them uncomplainingly. I am sure she is a fine woman. 

"On the other hand, I have had hotel maids that were complete lunatics, stealing airline tickets from me, stealing money from me, throwing away important papers, stealing medications from me. How do we know that this woman's word was good enough to put Mr. Strauss-Kahn straight into a horrific jail? Putting a man in Riker's is serious business. Maybe more than a few minutes of investigation is merited before it's done.”

Stein said he has never heard of an economist getting charged with a sexual assault. Basically, he is implying this couldn’t have happened because Strauss-Kahn is “a short fat old man.” Stein's words, not mine. To add insult to injury, Stein questions the victim's truthfulness, wondering if her word was “good enough” to send a "decent man" to a terrible place like Rikers. Strauss-Kahn, a married man with a daughter, has a reputation for womanizing. Stein overlooked this important detail.

Having watched this old guy on TV, listening to his points of view on a variety of subjects, Stein's column hit the top of my head like a flying brick. Asking if the victim's word is good enough to land a worldly mover and shaker in jail is pretty assumptive of Stein. Having to earn a living as a maid, the woman must have been a Democrat! Republican women are too intelligent to work in such lowly jobs. It's interesting to read about the experiences Strauss-Khan has had in hotels.

For a couple of summers I worked as a maid. I was propositioned by every kind of White  male in the book. Some of them answered the door fully clothed; some were butt-naked and ready for a good time. I was one of "the lunatic maids" Stein wrote about in his article. I did not steal, or tolerate the advances of these hot-to-trot White hotel guests. If I had to get physical I was ready to go there. Getting terminated was the last thing on my mind.


A maid has to be aware of who is in the room with her at all times. This woman might have dropped her guard, feeling comfortable with Strauss-Khan in the room, being it was a high end hotel. Not all males renting hotel rooms are sex crazed occupants. In hotels and motels the doors must be open when a maid is cleaning. That's a rule of thumb. Maids are not allowed to clean with the door closed. Housekeeping wants to know where the maid is at all times just in case she has t be contacted from the office.

As the story stands, no one but the maid and the accused know what happened in that luxury hotel suite. It's a matter of he say, she say. No one should be filling in the blanks with their own facts like Stein and the media. Under house arrest, Strauss-Khan is out of jail on a one million dollar bond. The court ordered that he pay for his own security. This was required by the court as a precaution against him trying to leave the U. S.

Ben Stein is a grumpy old man who feels that people earning a living other than on Wall Street do not deserve their day in court. How dare this African woman accuse a man of European descent and wealth! Who do she think she is, accusing him of rape? Strauss-Khan is an important man of the world. This African immigrant is merely a hotel maid that nobody knows or cares about.

 Ben Stein. Ben Stein. Do another commercial and get over yourself.

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