Ginny from the Blog

The movie about Duke’s most infamous student is being released today, and I won’t be buying a ticket. I don’t want to give a sliver of support to Tucker Max, the douchey former Duke Law student, and self-described asshole who apparently has no issue treating women like smut.

The movie is based on a story from Tucker’s book with the same title. Released in 2006, the book of anecdotes somehow managed to make the New York Times Bestseller list for three years. I’ve never read it. For all I know I would love it (doubt it). I’ve read reviews (you can read some for yourself here) and it’s not the excessive drinking, the frat boy humor and the bodily fluids that bother me. It’s the way he purportedly treats women.

A reporter for the The Indy went to a screening of the flick at N.C. State a few weeks ago. In describing the plot, he wrote:

“He lies to his friends and nearly ruins a marriage, all for the opportunity to sleep with a stripper with dwarfism. He is cruel to his amorous pursuits—he calls the little person “Grumpy” and remarks on her “tiny little sausage fingers” before sleeping with her.”

Whether this actually happened to Tucker doesn’t matter to me. Women do not deserve to be taken advantage of, and they certainly do not deserve to have assholes put them down in the heat of the moment.

There’s more. There are rape allegations too. Students who protested the screening at N.C. State passed out fliers saying some of Tucker’s bedroom escapades meet North Carolina’s legal definitions of rape. Want to know Tucker’s response to the allegations? Read the words from his own mouth, thanks to the Indy:

“One audience member asked about the rape allegations. Max slipped into legalese.

“The discussion about consent needs to be had, but this is not the place to do it,” he said. Another asked what his parents think about his career choice.

“They think I’m a rapist,” he said, to scattered laughter. He paused. “If you put that in the fucking paper, I’ll beat your ass.”"

So, maybe it’s unfair to base my opinion on something I haven’t even read or seen. But, I think I’ve read enough. I can think of better ways to spend 105 minutes of my life.

Dear Book-Loving Triangle Residents,

If you’re like me, you love perusing eclectic titles and you love a good deal. That’s why you must make an effort to visit the Raleigh City Museum sometime between Saturday and Jan. 17. That’s when the downtown museum is hosting its twice-a-year book sale.

You might remember that I went to the sale this summer and didn’t want to leave:

The titles were impressive, including many classics, some old textbooks and an impressive children’s book selection that brought back memories of my “Choose Your Own Adventure” and “Fear Street” reading days. I could have spent an hour or more scouring the tables for titles. But not all of my friends were thrilled about spending Friday night browsing used books, so I paid for my 1950s edition of Huckleberry Finn, a biography about Freud and some retro mini-Hallmark greeting books with plans to return

The sale also includes CDs, DVDs and other odds and ends, the museum reports. And while you’re there, you can even check out the [R]evolution of Media exhibit, which explores the history of newspaper, television and radio in Raleigh (basically it’s just a big promotional exhibit for WRAL and the News and Observer, which makes sense since they dominated the local media market for so long. Still, the exhibit is still pretty interesting even if my station isn’t really represented).

So consider this your head’s up. The book sale is definitely worth the trip.

Sincerely,

Your book-loving blogger,

Ginny Skalski