I've thought a lot about the whole Brock Turner situation and how horrible it is. I'm glad people helped his victim. I'm glad she survived, as much as she could, though her life will never be what it was before. I'm glad that most people who hear about what happened are outraged by him and his actions.
Sometimes people will ask why we let rape happen so often. And it is a matter of 'let' because we could raise folks better than this. We just don't. The truth of the matter is, we let a great deal of rape slide because some deep, dark aspect of our society likes being able to terrify people with the prospect of it.
Think about it. One of the main reasons men fear prison is the idea of being raped. For some, that very detail will be the thing that keeps them from doing whatever illegal thing they were about to do. As for women, well, the fear of rape dictates a great deal of how we live our lives. How we dress, how we walk, our level of comfort in any given situation, who we talk to, where we go, even what major we choose can often be rooted in the constant need to avoid rape.
Not that we can. If you're in a room with a rapist, the odds aren't in your favor, no matter how well you play by the rules.
Rape is a form of terrorism, designed to keep people in their place. Like all terrorism, it's not only an act of violence against the victims but a message to those who might be next. The mass shooting of the gay club in Florida is the same kind of thing. Play by the rules. Don't do things to offend us. Or we will destroy you.
In the end, I guess you'll have to destroy us. I believe most of us have grown weary of slinking around in the dark corners of society, faceless, nameless, and quiet. We're no longer quiet and we won't go back to that. We won't submit. We won't comply. Die on your feet and not live on your knees and all that jazz.
Wouldn't it be peachy if we could just learn to leave other people unharmed?
No comments:
Post a Comment