THE ANGRY REACTION to the acquittal of the Dartmouth student charged with rape is evidence of what’s wrong with “rape culture” advocates.

Rick Rogers, one of the 12 jurors who actually sat through the whole thing (in contrast to persons now pontificating about it on the Internet), explained the jury’s thought process: “. . . Her statement in the morning (to a friend) — that Parker stopped by and we had sex — is just not the answer that a rape victim would have.” Mr. Rogers pointed to other evidence that, he said, didn’t add up for the jury: the fact that after Mr. Gilbert left the room, the woman went to sleep without even locking the door, and the woman’s decision not to alert a residence hall adviser who lived on the floor. Moreover, the testimony of Nancy Wu, the accuser’s suitemate who said that she was awake and heard sounds consistent with consensual sex, was the most credible evidence for the jury. . . .

WISE, a non-profit organization that seeks to empower victims of domestic and sexual violence, issued a formal statement that is jarring in its certainty about Mr. Gilbert’s guilt: “Today’s decision in the Dartmouth rape trial of Parker Gilbert is devastating and there is no doubt that it sends a terrible message to survivors of sexual assault. . . .”

Another writer, commenting on the fact that Mr. Gilbert was acquitted of six counts of rape leveled by his accuser (including anal, vaginal and oral rape), called the accuser “the victim” and made the following bizarre leap in logic: “. . . when 6 charges of rape are brought in against one person, innocence seems somehow difficult to believe.”

All the talk about “rape culture” is not about protecting people and punishing criminals. It’s about letting any woman ruin any man’s life on her word alone.