…who then dies from a rattlesnake bite.
Actually, your posts are mysogynistic. I just don’t think you can really see that.
So an elderly woman or small child in their own homes are putting themselves in the power of a rapist? Is the woman in a burqa accompanied by a male relative putting herself in the power of a rapist? Are teenagers in a busy park during daylight hours putting themselves in the power of a rapist?
No.
They are not. And in no way have I said that they were.
Having said that, however, a woman who goes bar hopping with a guy she just met IS putting herself in the power of a rapist, if the guy is one.
Women cannot avoid all risk, just as men cannot. However, just as nobody considers me a misogynist because I insist that my daughters wear seatbelts if they are in my car, (and I give the same instructions to my sons, btw…in terms of seat belts AND of social interactions) then it’s not being misogynistic to be realistic.
Realistically, the most common rapes are the following:
date rape…where sex is forced within a dating relationship.
Acquaintance rape…where the rapist is known to the victim.
Drug facilitated rape…where the use of drugs (like rohypnol) or alcohol is used to facilitate the rape. On college campuses, 90% of rapes are alcohol related.
WAAAAAAAY down the list, in frequency, are those rapes you are claiming that I ‘blame the victim’ for…old ladies and four year olds.
you are quite right; there isn’t a whole lot, short of utter paranoia, one can do to prevent a determined rapist from ‘getting’ someone from the above classes of victims.
However, for those rapes that make up the vast majority of rapes committed? You bet the woman can do something about that.
For Date rape–be chaste, be careful…group date and go to public places. Don’t go to his place, and don’t let him come to yours if you live alone. Be careful. Don’t give him the opportunity to get you in his power.
For Drug facilitated rapes: don’t drink. Don’t go to places where your date (or anybody else) can slip you a roofie. Be aware of your surroundings. Have a plan to get OUT if you are feeling ‘hinky.’
Do these things, and you are considerably less likely to BE raped. This is not misogyny. This is just hard, miserable, knowing that the bad guys ARE out there, fact.
As I have said several times: if I have a choice between being able to feel innocent about being raped, and being able to point the finger at my attacker, and not getting raped in the first place…I’ll go with the latter.
The former is a given; it’s always the fault of the rapist. That doesn’t mean that you have to show up and say 'HERE, LOOK AT ME, I"M EASY PICKINGS!"
I agree that everyone should pay attention to their surroundings and know some simple self-defense and even pack heat if they desire.
Well there you go. We agree.
However, that does not mean that if someone does not meet your standard, they are putting themselves in the power of a rapist. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what a victim does. If the rapist wants to rape, he or she will rape no matter what the victim does or does not do.
Now THAT is a defeatist attitude. With an outlook like that, why bother with the self defense moves or the gun? No matter what you do, evidently, the bad guy will rape you.
If you don’t go to the bar, the bad guy will come to you and force you to swallow the date rape drug? If you don’t get drunk at a frat party, the guys will break into your apartment and force you to drink the booze?
C’mon.
THAT is a misogynistic approach; the woman has no chance, no matter what?
(snort).
It’s never a woman’s fault if and when she is raped. However, that does NOT mean that she has to hang a sign around her neck saying 'look at me, I’m a victim!"