A recent editorial by James Baresel critiques the recent webinar organized by Start By Believing. Titled, "10 Years of Start By Believing: The Communities Behind the Movement," the webinar consisted of two parts:
- Presentation by Kimberly Corban, who had been held captive for hours and raped
- A series of brief presentations by criminal justice professionals, medical professionals and college staff members.
Describing Corban's tale as "an emotional 'bait and switch,'" Baresel writes that such testimonials make people feel that "questioning uncorroborated stories of, say, 'date rape' is the same as denying the story of a woman held captive."
Baresel is even more critical about the second half of the seminar, in which presenters provided "accounts of ways they spread the Start by Believing message, intended to suggest ideas and create a bandwagon effect."
Baresel concludes his commentary with a warning about SBB "propaganda:"
- "Those responsible for overseeing the criminal justice system need to be made aware of the type of propaganda Start by Believing uses to promote its message. It is not enough for criminal justice professionals to be trained in due process and scientific forensics. They must be trained to recognize how some use implicit, subliminal methods of inculcating emotionally based bias. Pressures to embrace such bias must be eliminated."
Well said.
See: Regurgitated Chivalry vs. Scientific Forensics, The Truth About “Start by Believing”