First, don't be where you are going to be attacked. Think ahead. Plan to not be alone on a dark street. Don't drink too much. Second, if you are in a bad situation, turn and run. Just run. Kick off your shoes and get the hell out of there.

huh. well shit. statistically i'm far more likely to be attacked at home or by someone i know thatn by some stranger who emerges from a dark alley. statistically, anecdotally, and in reality, the man who walks me down the dark alley so i'm not there alone is the man who is likely to rape me. and what if i LIVE down a dark alley? what then? how can i be where i won't be attacked if i'm more likely to be attacked at home, or on a date, or by a friend than by anyone else, or anywhere else? maybe women just shouldn't go on dates. or live in poor neighborhoods or down dark alleys. but then at home they could be raped too, by their boyfriends or husbands, as is statistically likely.

this shit about "safety" is essentially telling women, "hey! the strangers are the rapists. so just make sure you don't find yourself around a bunch of strangers when you're not in tip top shape to defend yourself". it's the biggest crock and it keeps women fearful of an imagined stranger in a ski mask when in reality, women who are concerned about a man raping them has to look no farther than her friends, coworkers, and family.

but gee, running is really clever. got me there. except it assumes that the woman is able bodied for one, and that she has somewhere to run to, for another. that isn't down a dark alley alone. cause what then?

these platitudes ignore the fact that all rapes must have a crucial ingredient: the presence of a rapist. why not design similarly asinine advice for men in order to advise them how NOT to rape?

i can be as negligent as i want if i'm not in the presence of a rapist, and all will be well.

I am endlessly fascinated by those who would claim we have a "liberal media" in the mainstream. The Op-ed page on the Post is one example, of course.

but on an ongoing basis, i have never, for example, seen a discussion as to what differentiates an insurgent from a militant, and how those two types of people are different from a terrorist.

i've never seen an actual iraqi or afghani citizen on TV, and maybe seen one or two in print, talking about how he or she feels about the war.

i've never even seen a discussion about why we refer to these two occupations as "wars", or a reference to our presence in iraq or afghanistan as an "occupation".

i've never seen a discussion about the possibility of a single-payer healthcare system.

i could go on and on and on...

because it is far, far more profitable to keep on keepin' on.

the military industrial complex makes no money from peace. duh.