Letters to the Editor
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Do you deserve to be raped if you wear the wrong clothes? Of course NOT. Rape is a heinous crime and should be severely punished.
Damn keyboard, that should of course be,
Do you deserve to be raped if you wear the wrong clothes? Of course NOT. Rape is a heinous crime and should be severely punished.
You don't deserve to be raped, but you are asking for it.
No one deserves to be mugged, but if you act like an ignorant unaware dumbass as you walk around Central Park, you will be mugged. It's not oppression from the man to learn how to behave.
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Thank you brightstar65 for providing the following fascinating quote:
"No sane guy would consider it unless it was as a passive aggressive last resort revenge for something else that was entirely beyond the pale bad."
Do please elaborate upon those circumstances in which you think a "sane" guy would rape a woman for "revenge." I am most eager to hear your POV.
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Anonymous 06:48 PM
Who is this disembodied "you" whom you are speaking to?
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Riiight
Because conservative societies where sex is treated as taboo do so much better at preventing rape. Saudi Arabia? Sudan? Myanmar? Nope, no rape going on there. Cameron is a genius!
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lies, damn lies, and statistics...
And going after "kids and their damn music" is not the whole answer...but can we at least give the guy some credit for having a real villian and not using the usual scapegoats (gays, working mothers, etc.) for why British society is going to hell in a handbasket? The problem is not just that women are objectified and that this leads to rape; it's that it's now socially acceptable (if not outright expected) to objectify other human beings.
England is the birthplace of Maxim magazine. Laddie magazines have existed for some time, but you can't argue that it's just this generation's Esquire or G.Q. Those magazines featured some of the top-notch writing of the 50s and 60s. I perused the boyfriend's roommate's copy of Maxim once--it was nothing but T&A, beer ads, and (I am not making this up) graphic snapshots of an Indian mahout being ripped in two by a disgruntled elephant. This was for entertainment value.
So, according to this very popular and societally-tolerated magazine, the first reaction young men are supposed to have on seeing pictures of a real, live man being torn in half is not horror but rather "Wow, cool, look at all the blood." The first reaction on seeing an attractive woman is supposed to be to try to have sex with her by any means neccessary. (Granted, these may have always been teenage boys' first thoughts in both situations--but there was almost always a correction from the elders of the group.)
It's rather un-P.C. to say this, but there is a fundamental morality that's missing from a society that tolerates this.
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If a conservative tells you the earth is round, he must be lying
I think we can dispose of any illusions that we need listen to the slightest thing anyone who's conservative has to say about anything. It's all lies, all of it 100% straight up and down. There must be some dark racist plot behind it. There must something to do with oppressing women and brown people. It's axiomatic. There is no rape problem in the UK there is only a fat white man problem asserting there is a problem. Of course.
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No, Anonymous on November 14, 2007 07:20 PM
If a conservative tells you that he or she has come up with a good idea, he must be lying.
Some conservatives do acknowledge reality (Bush and the neocons don't), like the fact that the UK has a rape culture problem, they just then jump to the wrong conclusion, like that provocative rock videos are to blame for the rape culture. And then they come up with a dumb idea, like attacking the music industry to combat rape acquittals.
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AKA
What examples have shown up in the past in the media?
On occasions when guys have been convicted for rape, I would guess some in cases the men were certifiably insane, more or less mindless animals. Other cases they might have been badly mistreated in their lives and thus played out a power trip on victims. Other cases might involve misunderstanding or miscommunication between the parties. Other cases, the guys might have been psychopaths who did it for 'fun' or to see if they could get away with it.
The same combinations of cases can be made for most any crime, be it women murdering men, or kids bullying other kids.
I am no expert on rape cases, but I can bet someone can fill in the blanks on specific cases that fit all these conditions I mention.
I gave a theoretical answer implying some men might feel justified in brutality against women (or against other men for that matter), though they might not be considered clinically insane (a slippery term besides).
None of this is even remotely an advocating on my part of violence in any form or shape against anyone.
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where, oh where, to begin?
Since killing or harming another human being for any reason other than self-defense or good Samaritanism ("I felt my /my kid's/my so's/a defenseless person's life was about to end at the hands of this other person, and so my autonomic system kicked into high gear to preserve my/my kid's/my so's/a defeneless person's life") has disconnected from the shared reality of humanity, any person guilty of rape, murder, assault, battery, etc., *is* "insane."
But, sheesh, we draw legal lines!
And plenty of "sane" (though still a minority in the US) men think it's ok to have non-consensual sex when:
-she said no, but meant yes
-she "asked for it" by dressing provocatively, speaking flirtatiously, flaunting herself, etc.
-she needed it
-she was drunk/high and "didn't care"
-she "didn't say no" because she was drunk, high, passed out, or scared
-they are her boss, superior, CO, mothe's boyfriend, etc.
-the man "just couldn't control himself"
None of which cut ice with any truly sane person, male or female.
Blaming it all on rock-and-or-roll, while not looking at other media, or the education, or family dynamics, or other cultural structures is harly "sane" either.
But now I'm thinking of printing up some "All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned from Johnny Rotten" tshirts.