the smell of cnn in the morning
here's a great headline:
"rape as a tool of war.....in Congo".
um, yeah, right. in congo. how about in the world, right now, everywhere, here in the good ol' US of A, every day. every two minutes.
according to the article:
...said Dr. Denis Mukwege Mukengere, the lone physician at the hospital. "It's a kind of barbarity that only savages are capable of."He added that "these perpetrators cannot be human beings."
well, at least we are agreed on that. the thing i don't like about this article is that it specifically posits the problem as "over there". as a tactic of war, rather than an every day life existence for women everywhere. if it is a tactic of war, then we are all at war all the time.
aren't women kind of soldiers when as soon as we step out the door of our home (and unfortunately, many are not safe even in their homes) we keep our eyes and ears open and on alert for the enemy, for any sign of unsafety? when we think tactically of the best route home at night, keep to the light posts, change to the other side of the road if we see a potential enemy heading our way? when we feel we often need escorts, and defensive training because there is no green zone anyway, for any of us?
and of course, the saddest part of this article comes from what one of the women who have been attacked says:
"I wish they'd killed me right there with my husband," she said, "What use am I now? Why did those animals leave me to suffer like this?"
the tragic consequences of living in a society that teaches that it is the victim of assault who must be ashamed, who is made to feel that it is her who is damaged now, who sees life as not worth living because of her "impurity". rather than that of her attacker.
i mean, if we're talking about a war on terror, how much more terrible can you get?
posted by catswym @ 7:46 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I wanted to be all defensive on behalf of males everywhere - after all, I'm scared walking home at night alone, and I stay off the bike path because the street is better lit. So isn't that "equal"?
But upon futher reflection, you're absolutely right. Men are generally safer on the street, and much safer once they get home. Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, if they do get attacked, it's not shameful.
But wars on this kind of terror don't involve expensive weapons, and no one can get rich fighting it.
hmmmm, i'm not sure i ever mentioned "equal" or "not equal", or that women are the only ones fighting this battle. in fact, the article talks about men being raped in congo.
my post specifically was criticizing the fact that the article talks about rape as a weapon "over there" as if "over there" is not RIGHT HERE, EVERY TWO MINUTES.
and a war on rape could easily involve some folks getting rich--specifically, the folks running the prison industrial complex. unfortunately, many of those same folks are involved in perpetuating rape as a tactic of war.
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