"Media arrogance" is to redundancy what "military intelligence" has been to oxymorons. Still, the degree of arrogance of which the media are sometimes capable is stunning, as with the current debate about naming rape victims.

The discussion seems to resurface each time a new celebrity rape case makes headlines. This time, as if anyone needs reminding, Los Angeles Laker star Kobe Bryant is charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old employee of the hotel where he was a guest. The woman admits to entering his room voluntarily, but says Bryant blocked the door when she tried to leave and raped her.

Bryant has admitted to having sex with his accuser, but claims it was consensual. He said/she said doesn't get any more vivid than that.

Predictably, news folks have been swarming this story like flies on a picnic. Talking heads and the Retired Blond Prosecutors Union effectively had indicted, smeared, tried, condemned and forgiven Bryant before he made his first court date.

In the meantime, media seers have debated whether to name rape accusers and whether protecting an alleged victim further stigmatizes her. Those in favor of publishing rape accusers' names routinely haul out their biggest gun - the one most likely to force women into a salted-slug writhe of feminist repulsion.

To not name an accuser, they contend, is "paternalistic." Talk about an abomination. Next thing you know bailiffs will be holding doors for the little whiners and offering them hankies.

In cases of rape, a little more paternalism would not be unwelcome. To suggest that protecting rape victims is somehow condescending to women is to distort the goals of equality. In rape, men and women plainly are not equal.

It is a rare day that I saddle my steed in order to defend women at the clear disadvantage of men. I don't much think of women as the weaker sex except when, say, locked in a hotel room with a 6-foot-7-inch, 210-pound athlete. As a mother of sons, I'm open to the possibility that not all young ladies are temples of virtue incapable of false accusations and deceit.

I am also sympathetic to the Kobe Bryants of the world who because of their image, power and money may be attractive targets for attention-hungry groupies. It is entirely possible that the gal in question had consensual sex with Bryant and, suffering post-coital remorse, decided to seek moral exemption.

Admittedly, such a course is an awful lot of trouble for little reward - except for that book contract down the road and the 15-minute fame thing - but we are no strangers to strangeness.

Nevertheless, it is right to protect the identity of alleged rape victims. Rape is not like any other crime. It is a violent act, but it is not (ITALICS) only a violent act. It is also deeply personal, deeply wounding and psychologically damaging in many cases. Continued...