Response to Radical

I think that in the context of our readings for Monday and the in-class discussion, the blog post by the “Tenured Radical” was a good remembrance of how we should act. Thinking through the list, is interesting and a few points stand out to me.

One. A person should go to the hospital if they have been assaulted or raped. I know how important it is for police to have evidence for the assault if charges are filed. But this is a difficult thing to ask. For many women the idea of being questioned and put through the test is brutal. In many ways they will be reliving the situation—mentally and physically.

Two. Never ask if someone is “sure” they were raped. In the culture that we live in, many women aren’t believed because of the perception that there are many false reports. From what we heard Monday, these are few and are approximately 1 out of every 20 cases. This means that so many more women are telling the truth when going to the police.

Four.  Don’t joke about sexual assault. I think this is a big problem in today’s culture. I have heard many times about how a “test raped” someone. This is obviously not possible. By using this term in such a passive manner makes it more common in our language. I think that by making it a word that we hear in a casual manner lessens its power. The victims of rape have even less power because we have taken away the word that even describes what happened to them.

Seven/Nine. Men need to talk to other men. Forward this post on to others. I think that we often do highlight sexual assaults and discuss about ways to stop them. However, I think these are often separated into special days or weeks and are usually sponsored by women. At most of the events that I have attended about raising awareness about rape, the majority of the people in attendance are women. Since men are the main perpetrators, I think that men should be active in sponsoring things that raise awareness about sexual assault.

I think this piece had some interesting ideas about how to stop rape and assaults. I'm not so sure that these ideas will work, but I do think they are useful in starting a conversation.