Rape and the "Civilized" World
I recently noted to a friend that, during the right-to-die debate in Oregon, I used to joke that we showed animals greater deference against suffering. But, as I noted, it was a joke—and unquestionably at least a little sick—intended to make a point about suffering and compassion.
But what have cats to do with rape?
Amanda Marcotte explains:
Certes, there are plenty who will say, "Come on, that's taking it a bit far." And they might even challenge Marcotte's underlying pretense as ridiculous:
For many men, such criticism stings even if they aren't rapists. Across the Pacific, Simon Tedeschi considers the issue in an Australian rape and murder:
In the wake of recent riots in India and misogynistic brutality in Pakistan, it is often tempting to write these off as third- or developing-world problems. But they're not. Steven D of Daily Kos summarizes a scandal rocking North Carolina:
In the end, UNC suspended the Honor Court hearing against Gambill, but the detail is more than a little unsettling:
At the University of North Carolina, then:
In truth, there really isn't any reason to be surprised at that sort of thing. In Steubenville, where a spectacular rape trial has resulted in two convictions of juveniles, rumors swirl about police giving special deference to the high school football team, a football coach who knew of the incident but did not report it, and even a team booster operating a child pornography ring. And after that radioactive overdose of morbidity, the conviction of the two high school athletes became a circus of its own. As Kia Makarechi explains for Huffington Post:
So let us tie these things together, for the moment, by looking at the Steubenville case. Men, please imagine. You go to a party, get wasted, and, well, the next day ... I mean, come on, any regular viewer of South Park° knows about the fake oral sex picture joke. And perhaps some people finger you rectally. And maybe the pictures go out online. And maybe a former student at the school, a respected athlete, tweets of the debacle, "Song of the night is definitely Rape Me by Nirvana. Some people deserve to be peed on."
As the episode unfolds, of course, the pertinent questions all seem to be what you did to deserve that kind of treatment. And when the perpetrators are brought to justice, the general media focus is on how this episode has ruined their lives.
Really, I don't remember that point coming up several years ago when a streetside gay rape was reported in Seattle. Nobody asked what the heterosexual male who claimed he was sexually assaulted by another man was doing at that particular bar, or in that part of town, at that hour. Nobody asked how much he had to drink. Nobody asked what he did to bring it on himself. And, certainly, nobody ever said, "Rape is like a football game, little mister."
Our own community is not immune to such misogynistic attitudes about rape; a 2008 discussion of the subject makes that point clear, including this gem:
And its clarification:
And that is hardly the only member to make excuses for rapists in that thread. Ironically, the masculinists seem to have had no problem with a male reducing men to machines with no will of their own.
I mean, come on. Imagine some prominent feminist saying, "Sure, men should act responsibly, but they are literally animals, and animals don't ask permission."
Looking back to Marcotte's column, sure, on the surface, one can easily see that it seems ridiculous, but this is a superficial view. While it is true that we cannot expect Jackson the cat to make certain decisions about when and where walking is safe, the bottom line is that women shouldn't have to.
Anna Minard took up the question for The Stranger in the wake of a series of attempted sexual assaults in Seattle:
In the end, Minard complains, it is ...
And here we come back to the question of first-world problems.
We might make much of riots in India, or rape as a weapon of war in the third world, but one of the things that sets certain societies apart is that they have certain luxuries of political discourse. In some countries, labor actions pertain to diverse forms of personal abuse, poor wages, dangerous working conditions, and mental and physical health issues. In the United States, labor actions generally involve disputes over sums of money that exceed what people in the third world and developing nations earn in a year. In some countries, people protest dictatorships. In the United States, people protest the idea of having health insurance. In other countries, there are loud and often violent disputes about government corruption impoverishing the people. In the United States, we argue loudly about whether rich people should pay a little more in taxes, because, well, rich people apparently can't afford to pay more in taxes.
That is to say, we can criticize all we want our international neighbors who kill rape victims, but in truth, Tedeschi's point about social outlooks, made in consideration of the rape and murder of 29 year-old Jill Meagher is not as stable as he might hope; indeed, it reads a bit like he's trying to comfort his fellow males:
A friend recently noted:
Just how far behind or ahead of the Taliban or Al Qaeda we are is certainly open to question, but the point still holds. In Italy, where judges hold that a woman can't be raped if she's wearing tight jeans because the rapist needs help to get her pants off, a Catholic priest recently set off a firestorm by blaming women for rape and domestic violence:
In India, an attorney represnting three of the accused in a notorious incident in which a young woman was literally raped to death has played a similar card:
And the argument got a boost earlier this month after the gang rape of a Swiss tourist, when government officials tried to put blame onto the woman and her husband:
And, you know, the bottom line for tourists, it seems, is to just stay the hell out of India. Tourists in the U.S. are not expected to report their movements to local police. When I was in Britain and Ireland a couple years ago, we weren't expected to check in regularly with the constabulary.
To the other, there are real facts to consider. Sure, an area might be "high crime", but as we've learned with these issues in the United States, focusing on how to reduce crime in a given area does not reduce the general crime rate. This is much like homelessness. If you drive the homeless out of a part of your city, it doesn't mean they find homes. They just move somewhere else. Theoretically, at least, the better idea is to address crime in general.
India, of course, is a developing economy. One can reasonably imagine and accept that it's hard to address crime in general in a country of nearly a billion people with considerably limited financial resources. But what of more economically-empowered societies? In the U.S., we move crime around in this way not because it is the only option available to us or feasible under our societal structure, but because it is easier and less expensive. And as Tedeschi's column reminds, this the problems such perspectives bring are not purely American.
While it is easy enough to simply say, of India, or even Pakistan, "It's a different world over there," and accept the realities of economy, education, security, and other issues suggest that such incidents should be less unexpected, it is also fairly easy to say, "This is America!" or, "This is Australia!" and ask how these things happen in our societies.
And the reality seems to be that it's not so much a difference of perspectives as it is a matter of degrees within similar perspectives. Americans and Australians generally aren't going to stone women to death for the "crime" of being impure°. But, as Tedeschi noted, "Jill Meagher, even in death, was maligned by the protectors of female chastity for daring to venture out by herself at night time." We maintain in Western civilization, well, a pretense of civilization. And it's one that we can, generally, afford. But it's not one we seem to have the cultural resolve to undertake properly. Indeed, our pretense of civilization seems mostly intended for our own comfort. Bad guys "torture". Good guys "use enhanced interrogation techniques". And, yes, bad guys rape. Unfortunately, the good guys—such as they are—more often than not sit around and make excuses.
Americans often view their society as the premiere accomplishment of the human species. And while one can certainly construct a general case in support of that argument, the detail is, of course, exponentially more complicated.
Sure, a rape victim is to blame for being raped, but hey, at least we're not killing them!
Doesn't sound so good when it's put that way, does it?
And it doesn't do a damn thing to reduce the number of rapes occurring in our society.
In the end, the real solution is that people should not treat one another in such a manner. The key to stopping rape is to not commit rape. It's a small effort, in the end, but one many are unwilling to undertake. As Minard noted:
Is this really the best that "civilized" society can come up with?
____________________
Notes:
° South Park — Episode 1102, "Cartman Sucks", a genuinely unsettling episode that includes the long-known fake oral sex picture, when a male puts his genitals on the mouth of a sleeping person and snaps a picture, except Cartman didn't understand, so took a picture of himself pretending to perform oral sex on a sleeping Butters.
° generally aren't going to stone women to death for the "crime" of being impure — Though it would be irresponsible to pretend that such ignorance does not exist at all in our society; I recall several years ago an Alabama woman murdered her own 12 year-old daughter for not being a virgin; she pinned her daughter down, forced her to drink bleach, and suffocated her. It's worth noting that the mother forced her nine year-old son watch her murder his sister; according to a detective, the woman told her son "that if he shed a tear that she was going to kill him, too".
Works Cited:
Tedeschi, Simon. "We must face up to our own rape culture". The Drum. January 2, 2013. ABC.net.au. March 27, 2013. http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4450220.html
Marcottte, Amanda. "If Only We Could Talk About Abusing Women Like We Do Abusing Cats". Pandagon. March 25, 2013. RawStory.com. March 27, 2013. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/...-about-abusing-women-like-we-do-abusing-cats/
D, Steven. "Rape is like football, little missy". Daily Kos. March 26, 2013. DailyKos.com. March 27, 2013. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/03/26/1197031/--Rape-is-like-football-little-missy
Makarechi, Kia. "CNN's Steubenville Coverage Focuses On Effect Rape Trial Will Have On Rapists, Not Victim". The Huffington Post. March 17, 2013. HuffingtonPost.com. March 27, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kia-makarechi/cnn-steubenville-coverage_b_2896948.html
Macur, Juliet and Nate Schweber. "Rape Case Unfolds on Web and Splits City". The New York Times. December 16, 2012. NYTimes.com. March 27, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/s...lds-online-and-divides-steubenville-ohio.html
Minard, Anna. "To Avoid Rape, 'Try not to show fear'". Slog. February 13, 2013. Slog.TheStranger.com. March 27, 2013. http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/13/to-avoid-rape-try-not-to-show-fear
Thomas, Claire. "Learning to live with the legacy of violence". The Age. March 9, 2013. TheAge.com.au. March 27, 2013. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/learning-to-live-with-the-legacy-of-violence-20130308-2frka.html
The Journal. "Priest says women bring sexual and physical violence on themselves". December 27, 2012. TheJournal.ie. March 27, 2013. http://www.thejournal.ie/piero-cors...-women-murder-sexual-violence-732418-Dec2012/
Caulfield, Phillip. "Defense lawyer in India rape case blames victim, says 'respectable' women in India are not raped: report". New York Daily News. January 9, 2013. NYDailyNews.com. March 27, 2013. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/tk-article-1.1236369
Sieczkowski, Cavan. "Swiss Gang Rape Victim, Husband Partially To Blame For Attack, Indian Officials Suggest". The Huffington Post. March 18, 2013. HuffingtonPost.com. March 27, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/india-gang-rape-swiss-tourist_n_2900508.html
Associated Press. "Cops: Mom Killed Girl for Losing Virginity". FOX News. January 14, 2005. FOXNews.com. March 27, 2013. http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/01/14/cops-mom-killed-girl-for-losing-virginity/
"No, we're not all rapists. That notion has been one of the most grievous mistruths ever propagated by patriarchy—that we are all loose-loined brutes chomping at the bit. But most of us tacitly condone the cultural framework that allows rape to happen." —Simon Tedeschi
"Missing from the discussion: Wondering if the cat was asking for it by being so cute and easy to torture. Blaming male hormones or implying that because it’s so sexually gratifying to torture a cat, some boys can’t help themselves. Making excuses for the cat torturers by saying that they don’t understand the difference between playing with a cat who wants to play with you and torturing it. Claiming that while cat torture is bad, we shouldn’t be too eager to punish the cat torturers." —Amanda Marcotte
"Missing from the discussion: Wondering if the cat was asking for it by being so cute and easy to torture. Blaming male hormones or implying that because it’s so sexually gratifying to torture a cat, some boys can’t help themselves. Making excuses for the cat torturers by saying that they don’t understand the difference between playing with a cat who wants to play with you and torturing it. Claiming that while cat torture is bad, we shouldn’t be too eager to punish the cat torturers." —Amanda Marcotte
I recently noted to a friend that, during the right-to-die debate in Oregon, I used to joke that we showed animals greater deference against suffering. But, as I noted, it was a joke—and unquestionably at least a little sick—intended to make a point about suffering and compassion.
But what have cats to do with rape?
Amanda Marcotte explains:
I’m hoping many of you saw this story about Wendell Overton, a 10-year-old boy who came across a group of boys, ages 5-13, torturing a cat to death and who saved the cat. Because of Wendell’s intervention, Jackson the cat will make a full recovery from being thrown in the air and even run over with a bicycle.
I read about this story in three different places: Jezebel, Huffington Post, and Buzzfeed. I looked at the comments at all three places and found that the comments were restricted to two major themes:
Missing from the discussion: Wondering if the cat was asking for it by being so cute and easy to torture. Blaming male hormones or implying that because it’s so sexually gratifying to torture a cat, some boys can’t help themselves. Making excuses for the cat torturers by saying that they don’t understand the difference between playing with a cat who wants to play with you and torturing it. Claiming that while cat torture is bad, we shouldn’t be too eager to punish the cat torturers.
A lot of people in comments said that we should teach boys not to torture cats, specifically noting cultural changes that could be instituted to prevent cat torture. These people were not subjected to an angry flame war where they were accused of being stupid, called by misogynist or racist names, or told that they should be tortured themselves until they understood that the only way to stop cat torture is for cats to defend themselves. It was understood that cats do try to defend themselves, but unfortunately, self-defense is sometimes not enough to prevent cat torture. It was accepted that cat torture is a crime that is cultural in origin, and that by changing the culture, we can prevent it.
I read about this story in three different places: Jezebel, Huffington Post, and Buzzfeed. I looked at the comments at all three places and found that the comments were restricted to two major themes:
1. What a great kid Wendell is and how we should all raise our kids like him.
2. What terrible little shits the cat-torturers were, complete with condemnation of a society that lets this behavior flourish.
2. What terrible little shits the cat-torturers were, complete with condemnation of a society that lets this behavior flourish.
Missing from the discussion: Wondering if the cat was asking for it by being so cute and easy to torture. Blaming male hormones or implying that because it’s so sexually gratifying to torture a cat, some boys can’t help themselves. Making excuses for the cat torturers by saying that they don’t understand the difference between playing with a cat who wants to play with you and torturing it. Claiming that while cat torture is bad, we shouldn’t be too eager to punish the cat torturers.
A lot of people in comments said that we should teach boys not to torture cats, specifically noting cultural changes that could be instituted to prevent cat torture. These people were not subjected to an angry flame war where they were accused of being stupid, called by misogynist or racist names, or told that they should be tortured themselves until they understood that the only way to stop cat torture is for cats to defend themselves. It was understood that cats do try to defend themselves, but unfortunately, self-defense is sometimes not enough to prevent cat torture. It was accepted that cat torture is a crime that is cultural in origin, and that by changing the culture, we can prevent it.
Certes, there are plenty who will say, "Come on, that's taking it a bit far." And they might even challenge Marcotte's underlying pretense as ridiculous:
To be blunt, men who rape women do so for the same reason that boys who torture cats do so: Because they’ve been raised to believe that dominating others makes you a big, tough man, and they take pleasure in exerting power over this being they’ve been taught is beneath them. Most boys don’t torture animals, but we aren’t confused about those who do. Even if they do find some kind of visceral satisfaction from it, we don’t think they’re confused and simply think they’re, say, preparing a meal. When boys torture animals in groups, we know that there was probably a ringleader who used pressure to “be a man” to get the other boys to go along with it. We also know some boys torture animals in secret, taking pleasure in the conquest of these animals. If you understand why boys torture animals, you understand why teenage boys and men rape. The same codes of masculinity and sadism are underlying the behavior, and I’m guessing the overlap between the two behaviors is really high, with a lot of youthful animal torturers growing up to become sexual predators who get a thrill out of conquering women, especially considering how much more cunning you need to dominate and control a woman than an animal.
No one suggests that we’re somehow robbing animals of their autonomy by noting that they were cornered and tortured. On the contrary, Jackson the cat is granted more autonomy in these stories about his rescue than your typical rape victim is in mainstream media coverage. Jackson can’t even talk, but his feelings about being tortured and rescued are central to the story, which is evidenced by Jackson being given camera time to rub on Wendell, communicating gratitude in the way that cats can. Unlike many rape victims who are painted as somehow permanently destroyed by their experiences, Jackson is granted the right to a story of survivorship.
No one suggests that we’re somehow robbing animals of their autonomy by noting that they were cornered and tortured. On the contrary, Jackson the cat is granted more autonomy in these stories about his rescue than your typical rape victim is in mainstream media coverage. Jackson can’t even talk, but his feelings about being tortured and rescued are central to the story, which is evidenced by Jackson being given camera time to rub on Wendell, communicating gratitude in the way that cats can. Unlike many rape victims who are painted as somehow permanently destroyed by their experiences, Jackson is granted the right to a story of survivorship.
For many men, such criticism stings even if they aren't rapists. Across the Pacific, Simon Tedeschi considers the issue in an Australian rape and murder:
When it comes to a woman's right to walk unharmed through a city street, our understanding takes a nose dive.
'Of course we're not rapists!' we say to ourselves. We condemn the pack-animal mentality in India. 'My mother is a woman!' It's as predictable as a 90's Demtel commercial. But then, we'll go home and watch The Footy Show or maybe Jersey Shore, both of which reduce women to empty vessels at best and objects of sexual derision at worst. Some of us may go to the pub - even joined by A Woman, because we're evolved - and they like to joke along too! It's all part of the fun! Lighten up! (Nice pins, by the way).
If, God forbid, a woman is attacked here in Australia, the inevitable questions about where and with whom she was before it happened convince me more than anything that we are embroiled in dangerous times. In 2012, our postcard playground is still smeared with this retrograde thinking. Jill Meagher, even in death, was maligned by the protectors of female chastity for daring to venture out by herself at night time.
In short, we just don't get it.
Yes, there are gradations of sexism. There's Al Qaeda on one side and a few loose smatterings of men on the other extreme. But, let's be honest, boys - most of us Nice Guys are in the middle and we're not budging. Because that would force us to question our own assumptions about our own masculinity and how it is impacted by the empowering of over one half of the global community.
No, we're not all rapists. That notion has been one of the most grievous mistruths ever propagated by patriarchy—that we are all loose-loined brutes chomping at the bit. But most of us tacitly condone the cultural framework that allows rape to happen.
Don't know what I'm talking about? Think, man, think. It's sniggering in the office. It's the demeaning interruption of a female panellist on Q&A. It's reality TV, where women exist primarily as props with genitals. It's the enormous misbalance of power in a corporate setting. It's the cheerleaders at a rugby game. It's professional wrestling. It's the church. The concert stage, where it is still easier to be a male soloist than a female one. It's everywhere, nestled right under our noses.
'Of course we're not rapists!' we say to ourselves. We condemn the pack-animal mentality in India. 'My mother is a woman!' It's as predictable as a 90's Demtel commercial. But then, we'll go home and watch The Footy Show or maybe Jersey Shore, both of which reduce women to empty vessels at best and objects of sexual derision at worst. Some of us may go to the pub - even joined by A Woman, because we're evolved - and they like to joke along too! It's all part of the fun! Lighten up! (Nice pins, by the way).
If, God forbid, a woman is attacked here in Australia, the inevitable questions about where and with whom she was before it happened convince me more than anything that we are embroiled in dangerous times. In 2012, our postcard playground is still smeared with this retrograde thinking. Jill Meagher, even in death, was maligned by the protectors of female chastity for daring to venture out by herself at night time.
In short, we just don't get it.
Yes, there are gradations of sexism. There's Al Qaeda on one side and a few loose smatterings of men on the other extreme. But, let's be honest, boys - most of us Nice Guys are in the middle and we're not budging. Because that would force us to question our own assumptions about our own masculinity and how it is impacted by the empowering of over one half of the global community.
No, we're not all rapists. That notion has been one of the most grievous mistruths ever propagated by patriarchy—that we are all loose-loined brutes chomping at the bit. But most of us tacitly condone the cultural framework that allows rape to happen.
Don't know what I'm talking about? Think, man, think. It's sniggering in the office. It's the demeaning interruption of a female panellist on Q&A. It's reality TV, where women exist primarily as props with genitals. It's the enormous misbalance of power in a corporate setting. It's the cheerleaders at a rugby game. It's professional wrestling. It's the church. The concert stage, where it is still easier to be a male soloist than a female one. It's everywhere, nestled right under our noses.
In the wake of recent riots in India and misogynistic brutality in Pakistan, it is often tempting to write these off as third- or developing-world problems. But they're not. Steven D of Daily Kos summarizes a scandal rocking North Carolina:
Okay, the University of North Carolina did not call a rape victim "little missy." They did, however, compare rape to a football game, and not in a way that blames the rapist for, you know, raping the victim:
Yes, because all rape victims could have done something differently to prevent being raped, and anyone who doesn't "move on" from the life-altering trauma of rape is such a pathetic, lazy-ass loser. Oh, and by the way, the good university also believes that if you file a complaint that you were raped by a fellow student, well, that constitutes grounds for expulsion.
"She told me rape is like football, and if you look back on the game what would you have done differently in that situation?” said Annie Clark, describing a school administrator’s response to her sexual assault. Clark said she “absolutely” felt like she was being blamed for the crime against her.
Another student of the university, Andrea Pino, told CNN that school officials accused her of laziness after she reported lasting trauma from being raped.
Another student of the university, Andrea Pino, told CNN that school officials accused her of laziness after she reported lasting trauma from being raped.
Yes, because all rape victims could have done something differently to prevent being raped, and anyone who doesn't "move on" from the life-altering trauma of rape is such a pathetic, lazy-ass loser. Oh, and by the way, the good university also believes that if you file a complaint that you were raped by a fellow student, well, that constitutes grounds for expulsion.
One of the other students who filed the complaint, Landen Gambill, faced the threat of expulsion by the university’s Honor Court because of it. Her alleged rapist and ex-boyfriend claimed to be “intimidated” by the complaint, even though he was not named.
Gambill filed her own lawsuit against the university on Monday.
Gambill filed her own lawsuit against the university on Monday.
In the end, UNC suspended the Honor Court hearing against Gambill, but the detail is more than a little unsettling:
Gambill's ex-boyfriend was assisted by UNC senior associate dean of students in preparing his complaint against Gambill:
"The University's decision to press charges against Ms. Gambill has tragically provided her abuser with the opportunity to harass and intimidate her despite the 'no Contact' order issued against him last May," [Gambill's attorney Henry Clay]Turner said, "when the Honor Court found him guilty of 'a pattern of behavior that was intimidating and harassing,' and prohibited him from having any Contact whatsoever with Ms. Gambill, 'including but not limited to verbal, written or physical Contact.'"
Gambill previously told The Huffington Post that Desirée Rieckenberg, UNC senior associate dean of students, was listed on documents as helping Gambill's alleged abuser file his own Honor Court complaint against her. Neither Rieckenberg nor university spokespersons would comment on the matter to The Huffington Post.
Gambill previously told The Huffington Post that Desirée Rieckenberg, UNC senior associate dean of students, was listed on documents as helping Gambill's alleged abuser file his own Honor Court complaint against her. Neither Rieckenberg nor university spokespersons would comment on the matter to The Huffington Post.
At the University of North Carolina, then:
• If a woman feels she has been raped, the authorities will tell her it's her fault.
• If a man is accused of rape, authorities will rush to his defense and help harass the accuser.
• If a man is accused of rape, authorities will rush to his defense and help harass the accuser.
In truth, there really isn't any reason to be surprised at that sort of thing. In Steubenville, where a spectacular rape trial has resulted in two convictions of juveniles, rumors swirl about police giving special deference to the high school football team, a football coach who knew of the incident but did not report it, and even a team booster operating a child pornography ring. And after that radioactive overdose of morbidity, the conviction of the two high school athletes became a circus of its own. As Kia Makarechi explains for Huffington Post:
CNN's coverage of the verdict in the Steubenville rape case appeared to be curiously weighted on Sunday, focusing on the effect the guilty verdict would have on the lives of the now-convicted rapists and their families, rather than that of the victim and her family ....
.... In a Sunday afternoon segment, anchor Fredricka Whitfield followed the straight news of the guilty verdict (which she described as rape occurring "after a night of heavy partying") by showing the rapists' parents' weeping in court. Footage of Richmond, his mother and father offering emotional appeals to the victim's family dominated the segment.
Whitfield threw the story to reporter Poppy Harlow, but not before reiterating that Mays and Richmond's "family members tried their hardest to plead for some forgiveness from the victim's family, as well as from the judge."
To her credit, Harlow appeared to try and correct the segment's tone: "That's true Fredricka," she said of the tears of the convicted rapist's families, "but this is an incredibly serious crime, it's the crime of rape."
And yet, the effects of the rape on the victim seemed to be an afterthought: "It was incredibly emotional, it was difficult for anyone in there to watch those boys break down," Harlow said. "[It was] also difficult, of course, for the victim's family."
"Also difficult, of course?" Over the course of the segment, CNN twice aired Richmond's father's appeal for forgiveness in full and also included footage from an interview in which Harlow asks Richmond if it's true that he told Ma'like he loved him for the first time after the verdict came down. The father emotionally explained that he blames himself for the incident because he wasn't "around" enough. "I want to stress that parents need to get involved more in their kids' lives," Nathaniel Richmond said.
CNN did air the entirety of the victim's mother's statement on the verdict, but that came after the tears of the Richmond, his mother and father.
The Sunday afternoon segment was hardly the first time CNN had fumbled its coverage of the case. Earlier on Sunday, anchor Candy Crowley expressed her deepest sympathies for Mays and Richmond.
Harlow set up the scene, which she said was "incredibly difficult" to watch, thusly: "These two young men -- who had such promising futures, star football players, very good students -- literally watched as they believed their life fell apart."
"What's the lasting effect though on two young men being found guilty juvenile court of rape essentially?" Crowley asked CNN's legal analyst Paul Callan.
.... In a Sunday afternoon segment, anchor Fredricka Whitfield followed the straight news of the guilty verdict (which she described as rape occurring "after a night of heavy partying") by showing the rapists' parents' weeping in court. Footage of Richmond, his mother and father offering emotional appeals to the victim's family dominated the segment.
Whitfield threw the story to reporter Poppy Harlow, but not before reiterating that Mays and Richmond's "family members tried their hardest to plead for some forgiveness from the victim's family, as well as from the judge."
To her credit, Harlow appeared to try and correct the segment's tone: "That's true Fredricka," she said of the tears of the convicted rapist's families, "but this is an incredibly serious crime, it's the crime of rape."
And yet, the effects of the rape on the victim seemed to be an afterthought: "It was incredibly emotional, it was difficult for anyone in there to watch those boys break down," Harlow said. "[It was] also difficult, of course, for the victim's family."
"Also difficult, of course?" Over the course of the segment, CNN twice aired Richmond's father's appeal for forgiveness in full and also included footage from an interview in which Harlow asks Richmond if it's true that he told Ma'like he loved him for the first time after the verdict came down. The father emotionally explained that he blames himself for the incident because he wasn't "around" enough. "I want to stress that parents need to get involved more in their kids' lives," Nathaniel Richmond said.
CNN did air the entirety of the victim's mother's statement on the verdict, but that came after the tears of the Richmond, his mother and father.
The Sunday afternoon segment was hardly the first time CNN had fumbled its coverage of the case. Earlier on Sunday, anchor Candy Crowley expressed her deepest sympathies for Mays and Richmond.
Harlow set up the scene, which she said was "incredibly difficult" to watch, thusly: "These two young men -- who had such promising futures, star football players, very good students -- literally watched as they believed their life fell apart."
"What's the lasting effect though on two young men being found guilty juvenile court of rape essentially?" Crowley asked CNN's legal analyst Paul Callan.
So let us tie these things together, for the moment, by looking at the Steubenville case. Men, please imagine. You go to a party, get wasted, and, well, the next day ... I mean, come on, any regular viewer of South Park° knows about the fake oral sex picture joke. And perhaps some people finger you rectally. And maybe the pictures go out online. And maybe a former student at the school, a respected athlete, tweets of the debacle, "Song of the night is definitely Rape Me by Nirvana. Some people deserve to be peed on."
As the episode unfolds, of course, the pertinent questions all seem to be what you did to deserve that kind of treatment. And when the perpetrators are brought to justice, the general media focus is on how this episode has ruined their lives.
Really, I don't remember that point coming up several years ago when a streetside gay rape was reported in Seattle. Nobody asked what the heterosexual male who claimed he was sexually assaulted by another man was doing at that particular bar, or in that part of town, at that hour. Nobody asked how much he had to drink. Nobody asked what he did to bring it on himself. And, certainly, nobody ever said, "Rape is like a football game, little mister."
Our own community is not immune to such misogynistic attitudes about rape; a 2008 discussion of the subject makes that point clear, including this gem:
"again, rape is bad. but if you pull the pin out of a grenade, is it your fault or the grenade's when it blows up? when a man sees cleavage/legs/whatever, there's a lot of chemical reactions going on in his body. high heels arch the feet, simulating feet during orgasm. the stuff you're wearing is designed to expose and emphasise sexual features."
And its clarification:
"the grenade thing wasn't comparing men to weapons. its saying when you do something you can be responsible for the consequences. dressing like a slut doesn't justify rape, but i feel it makes them more likely to rape you."
And that is hardly the only member to make excuses for rapists in that thread. Ironically, the masculinists seem to have had no problem with a male reducing men to machines with no will of their own.
I mean, come on. Imagine some prominent feminist saying, "Sure, men should act responsibly, but they are literally animals, and animals don't ask permission."
Looking back to Marcotte's column, sure, on the surface, one can easily see that it seems ridiculous, but this is a superficial view. While it is true that we cannot expect Jackson the cat to make certain decisions about when and where walking is safe, the bottom line is that women shouldn't have to.
Anna Minard took up the question for The Stranger in the wake of a series of attempted sexual assaults in Seattle:
I came across this crime roundup in this post about the attacks on PhinneyWood, the Phinney Ridge/Greenwood neighborhood blog. The post includes a long message from SPD's North Precinct crime prevention officer, Terrie Johnston, recommending that readers "please review these personal safety tips." The tips, of which there are a dozen, include things like:
The list also includes the tips: "Stand tall, walk confidently with your head up, eyes open and constantly scanning the surroundings" and "Try not to show fear. Keep a neutral face that shows you are 'in charge.'"
So, to review: Seattleites—and let's be honest, we're talking mostly to women here—as you go about your business, constantly scan your surroundings, memorizing detailed physical descriptions of people you encounter. Always know, down to the exact block, where you are and where the nearest security guard is and the hours of nearby businesses. Wear running shoes and loose, appropriate clothing—aka clothing appropriate for running away in. Bring your cell phone, but don't use it to listen to music or text. And as you walk through the city like a human danger-scanner, walk confidently and keep your face neutral. You're "in charge"!
WHAT THE FUCK?
I'm sure the police department is working to solve these crimes. I'm sure they just want to remind people that we live in a city and crime is real and it can happen to you. But this is exactly the kind of shit that we are talking about when we talk about women being raised in a culture of fear and conditioned to certain behaviors and expectations—like the expectation that we're the ducks in a giant game of Duck Hunt™.
Do you know your location? Do you know the street names, hundred block? East, South, West, North? Could you tell the 9-1-1 call taker to where they need to dispatch responders?
Try to get good descriptions of anyone acting suspiciously or threatening. Start from the head and work down. Most likely you know your height, so use this to gauge theirs.
If traveling alone, take a charged up cell phone with you if possible. Know what is available to you along your route. What time does that store open or close? Does that apt.bldg. have a security guard? Is there a payphone?
Ipod earphones, etc. may prevent you from hearing someone approaching. As does texting while you are walking, waiting for the bus, etc. You need to be aware when out if public spaces.
Wear appropriate clothing for the street. Shoes that are comfortable and allow you to run if necessary. Choose clothing that allows you to move, and does not block your vision.
Try to get good descriptions of anyone acting suspiciously or threatening. Start from the head and work down. Most likely you know your height, so use this to gauge theirs.
If traveling alone, take a charged up cell phone with you if possible. Know what is available to you along your route. What time does that store open or close? Does that apt.bldg. have a security guard? Is there a payphone?
Ipod earphones, etc. may prevent you from hearing someone approaching. As does texting while you are walking, waiting for the bus, etc. You need to be aware when out if public spaces.
Wear appropriate clothing for the street. Shoes that are comfortable and allow you to run if necessary. Choose clothing that allows you to move, and does not block your vision.
The list also includes the tips: "Stand tall, walk confidently with your head up, eyes open and constantly scanning the surroundings" and "Try not to show fear. Keep a neutral face that shows you are 'in charge.'"
So, to review: Seattleites—and let's be honest, we're talking mostly to women here—as you go about your business, constantly scan your surroundings, memorizing detailed physical descriptions of people you encounter. Always know, down to the exact block, where you are and where the nearest security guard is and the hours of nearby businesses. Wear running shoes and loose, appropriate clothing—aka clothing appropriate for running away in. Bring your cell phone, but don't use it to listen to music or text. And as you walk through the city like a human danger-scanner, walk confidently and keep your face neutral. You're "in charge"!
WHAT THE FUCK?
I'm sure the police department is working to solve these crimes. I'm sure they just want to remind people that we live in a city and crime is real and it can happen to you. But this is exactly the kind of shit that we are talking about when we talk about women being raised in a culture of fear and conditioned to certain behaviors and expectations—like the expectation that we're the ducks in a giant game of Duck Hunt™.
In the end, Minard complains, it is ...
... too common, when we talk about rape, is the message that unfortunately, it's women's responsibility to keep themselves safe from rapists, not society's job to deal with why this happens and what, systemically, we might be able to do to change the culture that encourages that behavior.
And here we come back to the question of first-world problems.
We might make much of riots in India, or rape as a weapon of war in the third world, but one of the things that sets certain societies apart is that they have certain luxuries of political discourse. In some countries, labor actions pertain to diverse forms of personal abuse, poor wages, dangerous working conditions, and mental and physical health issues. In the United States, labor actions generally involve disputes over sums of money that exceed what people in the third world and developing nations earn in a year. In some countries, people protest dictatorships. In the United States, people protest the idea of having health insurance. In other countries, there are loud and often violent disputes about government corruption impoverishing the people. In the United States, we argue loudly about whether rich people should pay a little more in taxes, because, well, rich people apparently can't afford to pay more in taxes.
That is to say, we can criticize all we want our international neighbors who kill rape victims, but in truth, Tedeschi's point about social outlooks, made in consideration of the rape and murder of 29 year-old Jill Meagher is not as stable as he might hope; indeed, it reads a bit like he's trying to comfort his fellow males:
Yes, there are gradations of sexism. There's Al Qaeda on one side and a few loose smatterings of men on the other extreme. But, let's be honest, boys - most of us Nice Guys are in the middle and we're not budging. Because that would force us to question our own assumptions about our own masculinity and how it is impacted by the empowering of over one half of the global community.
A friend recently noted:
"Our society is not that far behind the Taliban or Al Qaeda side in that we do not view the male rapists as being able to control themselves and therefore, we expect the woman to behave in such a way as to not attract the attention of the men in her surroundings. So it isn't the man's fault that he picked her, but the woman's fault for doing whatever it is that she was doing that allowed the man to notice her."
Just how far behind or ahead of the Taliban or Al Qaeda we are is certainly open to question, but the point still holds. In Italy, where judges hold that a woman can't be raped if she's wearing tight jeans because the rapist needs help to get her pants off, a Catholic priest recently set off a firestorm by blaming women for rape and domestic violence:
Fr Piero Corsi said in a Christmas message posted on the door of his church in the small parish of San Terenzo, near Lerici and La Spezia in northwest Italy:
The leaflet, a copy of which was posted online sparking a wave of outrage across the country, said the 118 women killed in acts of domestic violence in Italy in 2012 had pushed men to their limits. Corsi also wrote:
How often do we see girls and mature women going around scantily dressed and in provocative clothes?
They provoke the worst instincts, which end in violence or sexual abuse. They should search their consciences and ask: did we bring this on ourselves?
They provoke the worst instincts, which end in violence or sexual abuse. They should search their consciences and ask: did we bring this on ourselves?
The leaflet, a copy of which was posted online sparking a wave of outrage across the country, said the 118 women killed in acts of domestic violence in Italy in 2012 had pushed men to their limits. Corsi also wrote:
Is it possible that all of a sudden men have gone mad? We don’t believe it.
The fact is that women are increasingly provocative, they become arrogant, they believe themselves to be self-sufficient and end up exacerbating the situation.
Children are abandoned to their own devices, homes are dirty, meals are cold or fast food, clothes are filthy.
The fact is that women are increasingly provocative, they become arrogant, they believe themselves to be self-sufficient and end up exacerbating the situation.
Children are abandoned to their own devices, homes are dirty, meals are cold or fast food, clothes are filthy.
In India, an attorney represnting three of the accused in a notorious incident in which a young woman was literally raped to death has played a similar card:
Manohar Lal Sharma said 23-year-old Jyoti Singh Pandey and her male friend were "wholly responsible" for the horrific torture they suffered in the Dec. 16 attack in New Delhi because they were an unmarried couple on the streets at night, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
"Until today I have not seen a single incident or example of rape with a respected lady," Sharma told the newspaper.
"Even an underworld don would not like to touch a girl with respect."
"Until today I have not seen a single incident or example of rape with a respected lady," Sharma told the newspaper.
"Even an underworld don would not like to touch a girl with respect."
And the argument got a boost earlier this month after the gang rape of a Swiss tourist, when government officials tried to put blame onto the woman and her husband:
During a press conference on Sunday, police spokesperson Avnesh Kumar Budholiya suggested the tourists are partially to blame for the assault because they chose to travel that area without speaking to local police, the Independent reports.
“No one stops there," Budholiya said. “Why did they choose that place? They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They would have passed a police station on the way to the area they camped. They should have stopped and asked about places to sleep.”
Another official also appeared to place blame on the victim and her husband.
"The rape of the Swiss national is unfortunate but foreign travelers should inform the police about their movement so they can be provided with adequate protection," said Umashankar Gupta, the Home Minister of Madhya Pradesh, according to The Times. "They often don't follow the state's rules."
Madhya Pradesh reportedly has one of the highest rates of crimes against women in the country, a fact the Swiss tourists were unaware of, according to the Times of India.
"They apparently lost track and took a wrong turn and decided to halt for the night by the side of a village brook little realizing that the district with 85:100 men to women ratio is not the safest place for women," a senior official from the region told the newspaper.
“No one stops there," Budholiya said. “Why did they choose that place? They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They would have passed a police station on the way to the area they camped. They should have stopped and asked about places to sleep.”
Another official also appeared to place blame on the victim and her husband.
"The rape of the Swiss national is unfortunate but foreign travelers should inform the police about their movement so they can be provided with adequate protection," said Umashankar Gupta, the Home Minister of Madhya Pradesh, according to The Times. "They often don't follow the state's rules."
Madhya Pradesh reportedly has one of the highest rates of crimes against women in the country, a fact the Swiss tourists were unaware of, according to the Times of India.
"They apparently lost track and took a wrong turn and decided to halt for the night by the side of a village brook little realizing that the district with 85:100 men to women ratio is not the safest place for women," a senior official from the region told the newspaper.
And, you know, the bottom line for tourists, it seems, is to just stay the hell out of India. Tourists in the U.S. are not expected to report their movements to local police. When I was in Britain and Ireland a couple years ago, we weren't expected to check in regularly with the constabulary.
To the other, there are real facts to consider. Sure, an area might be "high crime", but as we've learned with these issues in the United States, focusing on how to reduce crime in a given area does not reduce the general crime rate. This is much like homelessness. If you drive the homeless out of a part of your city, it doesn't mean they find homes. They just move somewhere else. Theoretically, at least, the better idea is to address crime in general.
India, of course, is a developing economy. One can reasonably imagine and accept that it's hard to address crime in general in a country of nearly a billion people with considerably limited financial resources. But what of more economically-empowered societies? In the U.S., we move crime around in this way not because it is the only option available to us or feasible under our societal structure, but because it is easier and less expensive. And as Tedeschi's column reminds, this the problems such perspectives bring are not purely American.
While it is easy enough to simply say, of India, or even Pakistan, "It's a different world over there," and accept the realities of economy, education, security, and other issues suggest that such incidents should be less unexpected, it is also fairly easy to say, "This is America!" or, "This is Australia!" and ask how these things happen in our societies.
And the reality seems to be that it's not so much a difference of perspectives as it is a matter of degrees within similar perspectives. Americans and Australians generally aren't going to stone women to death for the "crime" of being impure°. But, as Tedeschi noted, "Jill Meagher, even in death, was maligned by the protectors of female chastity for daring to venture out by herself at night time." We maintain in Western civilization, well, a pretense of civilization. And it's one that we can, generally, afford. But it's not one we seem to have the cultural resolve to undertake properly. Indeed, our pretense of civilization seems mostly intended for our own comfort. Bad guys "torture". Good guys "use enhanced interrogation techniques". And, yes, bad guys rape. Unfortunately, the good guys—such as they are—more often than not sit around and make excuses.
Americans often view their society as the premiere accomplishment of the human species. And while one can certainly construct a general case in support of that argument, the detail is, of course, exponentially more complicated.
Sure, a rape victim is to blame for being raped, but hey, at least we're not killing them!
Doesn't sound so good when it's put that way, does it?
And it doesn't do a damn thing to reduce the number of rapes occurring in our society.
In the end, the real solution is that people should not treat one another in such a manner. The key to stopping rape is to not commit rape. It's a small effort, in the end, but one many are unwilling to undertake. As Minard noted:
Here, as a refresher, are the best rape prevention tips I've ever read:
That is the conversation I would like to see happening at the Seattle Police Department, and not just among women on women's blogs. Not a convoluted and ever-growing list of how to prevent your own rape by wearing the right non-rapey hairstyle or crossing the street in the most anti-rape fashion or sleeping in past the raping hour.
That is not helping women and, obviously, it is not ending rape.
8. Use the Buddy System! If it is inconvenient for you to stop yourself from raping women, ask a trusted friend to accompany you at all times.
That is the conversation I would like to see happening at the Seattle Police Department, and not just among women on women's blogs. Not a convoluted and ever-growing list of how to prevent your own rape by wearing the right non-rapey hairstyle or crossing the street in the most anti-rape fashion or sleeping in past the raping hour.
That is not helping women and, obviously, it is not ending rape.
Is this really the best that "civilized" society can come up with?
____________________
Notes:
° South Park — Episode 1102, "Cartman Sucks", a genuinely unsettling episode that includes the long-known fake oral sex picture, when a male puts his genitals on the mouth of a sleeping person and snaps a picture, except Cartman didn't understand, so took a picture of himself pretending to perform oral sex on a sleeping Butters.
° generally aren't going to stone women to death for the "crime" of being impure — Though it would be irresponsible to pretend that such ignorance does not exist at all in our society; I recall several years ago an Alabama woman murdered her own 12 year-old daughter for not being a virgin; she pinned her daughter down, forced her to drink bleach, and suffocated her. It's worth noting that the mother forced her nine year-old son watch her murder his sister; according to a detective, the woman told her son "that if he shed a tear that she was going to kill him, too".
Works Cited:
Tedeschi, Simon. "We must face up to our own rape culture". The Drum. January 2, 2013. ABC.net.au. March 27, 2013. http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/4450220.html
Marcottte, Amanda. "If Only We Could Talk About Abusing Women Like We Do Abusing Cats". Pandagon. March 25, 2013. RawStory.com. March 27, 2013. http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/03/...-about-abusing-women-like-we-do-abusing-cats/
D, Steven. "Rape is like football, little missy". Daily Kos. March 26, 2013. DailyKos.com. March 27, 2013. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/03/26/1197031/--Rape-is-like-football-little-missy
Makarechi, Kia. "CNN's Steubenville Coverage Focuses On Effect Rape Trial Will Have On Rapists, Not Victim". The Huffington Post. March 17, 2013. HuffingtonPost.com. March 27, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kia-makarechi/cnn-steubenville-coverage_b_2896948.html
Macur, Juliet and Nate Schweber. "Rape Case Unfolds on Web and Splits City". The New York Times. December 16, 2012. NYTimes.com. March 27, 2013. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/s...lds-online-and-divides-steubenville-ohio.html
Minard, Anna. "To Avoid Rape, 'Try not to show fear'". Slog. February 13, 2013. Slog.TheStranger.com. March 27, 2013. http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/02/13/to-avoid-rape-try-not-to-show-fear
Thomas, Claire. "Learning to live with the legacy of violence". The Age. March 9, 2013. TheAge.com.au. March 27, 2013. http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/learning-to-live-with-the-legacy-of-violence-20130308-2frka.html
The Journal. "Priest says women bring sexual and physical violence on themselves". December 27, 2012. TheJournal.ie. March 27, 2013. http://www.thejournal.ie/piero-cors...-women-murder-sexual-violence-732418-Dec2012/
Caulfield, Phillip. "Defense lawyer in India rape case blames victim, says 'respectable' women in India are not raped: report". New York Daily News. January 9, 2013. NYDailyNews.com. March 27, 2013. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/tk-article-1.1236369
Sieczkowski, Cavan. "Swiss Gang Rape Victim, Husband Partially To Blame For Attack, Indian Officials Suggest". The Huffington Post. March 18, 2013. HuffingtonPost.com. March 27, 2013. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/18/india-gang-rape-swiss-tourist_n_2900508.html
Associated Press. "Cops: Mom Killed Girl for Losing Virginity". FOX News. January 14, 2005. FOXNews.com. March 27, 2013. http://www.foxnews.com/story/2005/01/14/cops-mom-killed-girl-for-losing-virginity/
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