Yes, it's true, sometimes my post titles are only present to workshop a particularly bad pun. But here I'm actually thinking of the toxic comment streams (is this guy suggesting periods are toxic?) that develop all over the internet. With increasing integration with Facebook accounts and thus less relative anonymity, it's amazing what things people don't steer clear of saying. I guess that would be good if, by and large, so much of this wasn't so incredibly negative. Or maybe people are closer to telling the truth, and we're closer to understanding just what might be wrong with a lot of society.
It depends where you go. In the world of the snarky Gawker media network, well, you get what you expect. But while I can be overwhelmed by the negativity at times, there is often lots of really good stuff in there too. Either way the comment section is often more interesting than the article itself from a social study standpoint and all sorts of folks offer all sorts of related interesting reading in an attempt to prove a point one way or the other. It's refreshing that this reading and research is going on even if a lot on the internet is under-researched and under-verified. I'm wondering when or if some kind of grand curation will take place that verifies standard news. Currently, if something seems remotely sensational I've got to go and check five or so other news sources to see if it's at all true.
I wrote all of that last weekend, before I started reading about the Steubenville rape case. And when you read about that and see the reactions from people on the internet, well it swings back to the worst in people. I'm fresh off reading about the mass killings in Eastern Europe during the 1930s and 40s, and the mass rape that went on as well. Given the psychological implications of the aftermath of crimes against the person in which the victim is left alive, rape is up there as one of the worst things you can do to a person, male or female. Since there is often outcry about torture, how about thinking of rape as a type of torture? All of the contentions that a person "asks" to be raped are amazing. Many will argue it doesn't have a place even as a joke, but to me anything contentious has a place in humour — like adding the 'u' to humor. Humor has a lot of value in drawing attention to uncomfortable truths. It's not the same as facing them head on, but baby steps. There's been a lot of discussion about the use of rape in jokes and as tends to be the case, it's not if you use it, but how.
The problem is when people are serious about the "asking for it" line, or don't understand what might be a joke. What about the semantic argument that once you ask to be raped, it's not rape because rape is specifically when sex occurs against the will or without the consent of one of the involved parties? Regrettable sex and rape: not the same thing.
A good way to look at it is the following. If you are a dude and you are hanging out with people you know and you get too drunk, wouldn't you expect them not to rape you? I'm not saying you shouldn't be accountable for your actions. On the contrary I'm saying precisely that you ARE accountable for your actions. We don't know the full details of this case I suppose, but let's say that hypothetically in my own life, I've seen women get drunk and throw up. And that hypothetically I've also seen men get drunk and throw up. Some of these people, hypothetically, are friends of mine. Some of these hypothetical friends have witnessed me, hypothetically, get ill from drinking. On some of these hypothetical occasions the people in question were unconscious. And on none of these hypothetical occasions did any of us rape the other. It's almost like there is this understanding that I won't rape them because they wouldn't want to be raped, and neither would I. If I, hypothetically, drink too much, I don't blame anyone but me. But if someone comes along and rapes me, that I put on their shoulders (or more relevant body part).
If you don't agree with me on this topic, you probably haven't read this far, but if somehow you have, please imagine a scenario where you pass out and someone sticks their dick in you. This scenario applies to females and males. Once again, this is all "hypothetical." Would you blame yourself? Because many rape victims do. They think they must have done something wrong. This part isn't hypothetical, it is what happens. They question their actions when really they should be questioning the people they surround themselves with. Remember, it's hard for someone to say no if they can't speak because they're unconscious.
It's easy to blame victims of rape when so many of these victims already blame themselves. That's why it has to stop. The blame. And the rape.
That's a wrap[e] for now.
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