CNN Reports on the "Promising Future" of the Steubenville Rapists

Started by Rhapsody, March 18, 2013, 06:18:55 AM

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Healergirl

 Consortium11,

How dare you bring the clarity of dispassionate  thoughtful analysis to this emotional argument!

Trieste

But rape is not very comparable to mugging, getting shot, or other general violence crimes due to the fact that (as has already been pointed out here) a solid chunk of them have some amount of planning beforehand.

Prevention in both cases keeps being compared as if prevention of both is rolled into one big huge, I dunno, prevention burrito. The "If it saves even one woman from having to deal with the consequences of rape, it's worth it!" argument falls flat for me. Don't go anywhere. Don't talk to strangers. Don't cross the street alone. Women are not children, and severely limiting the movement of women out of fear is not actually all that desirable. I would compare it to women being told not to drive because if even one woman could avoid the agony of an injurious car accident. . .

... I feel like a broken record, here. I don't think there's a single point I haven't illustrated already. I think I'm all set with this topic after this. Thanks for the chat, y'all.

Healergirl

Trieste has a point.  We are adults, we must accept a certain amount of risk in life.  I take my life and health  in my hands every time I drive, but that's life, literally.

Valthazar

#178
Quote from: Trieste on March 31, 2013, 04:41:35 PMDon't go anywhere. Don't talk to strangers. Don't cross the street alone. Women are not children, and severely limiting the movement of women out of fear is not actually all that desirable. I would compare it to women being told not to drive because if even one woman could avoid the agony of an injurious car accident. . .

... I feel like a broken record, here. I don't think there's a single point I haven't illustrated already. I think I'm all set with this topic after this. Thanks for the chat, y'all.

Trieste, I see the argument you are trying to make - but no one here has yet to tell me one social good that comes out of the partying culture.  Driving, crossing the street, talking to strangers, and any other example you provide are all necessary to be productive citizens of a society.

But tell me, what social good comes out of getting passed out drunk?  Is telling women (or even men for that matter) they should avoid that truly a restriction or a limitation?

Quote from: Healergirl on March 31, 2013, 04:48:03 PM
Trieste has a point.  We are adults, we must accept a certain amount of risk in life.  I take my life and health  in my hands every time I drive, but that's life, literally.

And as an adult, this is a choice you are entitled to make, so long as you are aware of the risks.  That is all I'm trying to say.

consortium11

Quote from: ValthazarElite on March 31, 2013, 04:29:44 PM
And you are absolutely correct.  It is purely one way that women can reduce their risk by taking ownership of their actions, and reducing their risky behavior (excess drinking, etc.).  You are correct, this accounts for only a tiny subset of rapes - but any reduction of a risk is a good thing - and I don't think anyone here advocates for heavy drinking.

It's a matter of risk versus sacrifice. You say any reduction of risk is a good thing... but in that case, advising all women to stay inside at all times, make sure the curtains are constantly drawn (better yet, brick them up) and never talk to anyone but their closest friends (and statistically acquaintances are the most likely perpetrators of rape so in fact they shouldn't speak to anyone) would therefore be a good thing as it reduces risk. Obviously, that's taking your argument to a ridiculous level and I'm certainly not suggesting you subscribe to that line of thought... but it's the extension of of the "any reduction of a risk is a good thing" position.

More, the relentless focus on this one subset of rapes takes attention away from the rest. The vast majority of "rape prevention" articles and interviews I ever see focus almost exclusively on rapes and sexual assaults that might happen on a night out. If one simply followed the media coverage and press articles one would think that no other forms of rape exist. That's both disingenuous and dangerous.

People may not advocate for heavy drinking... but they'll certainly advocate against not being allowed to drink heavily.

Quote from: ValthazarElite on March 31, 2013, 04:29:44 PMI am not sure why you describe the idea of avoiding partying behavior as being a limitation and restriction on women, as if there is some inherent "good" in participating in the partying lifestyle.  Binge drinking, grinding at parties, and drinking games are marketed as being 'fun times' but even today, I struggle to understand how this benefits anyone, except heralding a culture of sex and hooking up.  What truly is a limitation and restriction is when actions prevent people from providing or participating in a social good - such as preventing women from going to college, working a job, etc.

Being told not to where certain clothes, not to drink (and there are certainly those out there who suggest that even a single drink makes a woman some sort of Jezebel who "deserves what she gets"), not to flirt and even not to dance suggestively are all restrictions. As someone who has had wonderful nights in the company of women who do binge drink, do grind at parties, do take part in drinking games... and all without necessarily hooking up... selfishly I'd  hate that being restricted. Moreover, it is a a restriction. It may be a restriction you agree with or one that you consider minor but it is a restriction all the same.

Quote from: Healergirl on March 31, 2013, 04:34:25 PM
Consortium11,

How dare you bring the clarity of dispassionate  thoughtful analysis to this emotional argument!

Much appreciated.

Pumpkin Seeds

I am going to imagine that your reference to a rape victim taking ownership was simply a poor choice of words on your part.  Not an implication, such as that phrase implies that the rape victim has some shared responsibility in their rape.  To me the rape victim has already taken ownership for their actions by having another human being assault them in such an intimate manner that women suffer from post-traumatic stress and have committed suicide over the shame.  I am going to give the benefit of the doubt in believing that you are not implying, after saying the rapist is to blame, that the victim needs to take responsibility for their part in their own rape.

If I am giving you too much credit then I think at this point we should no longer discuss this topic.

Yes, I do believe that the standard should be people not being attacked no matter where they walk or what they wear or how they behave.  That is the standard upheld for almost any activity in this country except in regard to women.  WBC is allowed the standard of being physically unharmed and safe despite their hateful speech.  I would like a standard given to me that I am safe for deciding to have some drinks with friends after a hard night at work.

A woman should have the ability to participate in a party culture lifestyle if she so chooses.  Simply because you do not view the lifestyle as something worthy or wholesome does not mean others should be restricted from doing so.  There are many lifestyles, recreational activities and past times people do not approve of in this country.  I would not then say those people should be restricted from doing them for fear of being sexual assaulted.

Valthazar

#181
Quote from: consortium11 on March 31, 2013, 05:03:10 PMMore, the relentless focus on this one subset of rapes takes attention away from the rest. The vast majority of "rape prevention" articles and interviews I ever see focus almost exclusively on rapes and sexual assaults that might happen on a night out. If one simply followed the media coverage and press articles one would think that no other forms of rape exist. That's both disingenuous and dangerous.

I see the point you are making, consortium11.

However, even in these bf/gf rapes, and acquaintance rapes, I don't consider that as being a "rape culture."  The people who do those crimes are rapists - and criminals (whether or not they are acquaintances).  It is not 'men' or 'women' who do that, but it is 'rapists' who do that.  There are men who murder their wives, and boyfriends who murder their girlfriends.  But we don't have a "murder culture" campaign.

People in this discussion seem to have a very intelligent perspective of this issue - but it concerns me that we are seeing a growing mistrust between men and women.  The overwhelming majority of men and women are good people, but because of these 'rape culture' campaigns, I worry that it causing a rift between the genders in the general population.

Quote from: Pumpkin Seeds on March 31, 2013, 05:10:38 PM
I am going to imagine that your reference to a rape victim taking ownership was simply a poor choice of words on your part.

I am also going to imagine that you accidentally misquoted me.  What I said was, "It is purely one way that women can reduce their risk by taking ownership of their actions."  Never did I indicate "rape victims."  In fact, that statement alone has nothing to do with rape, and only a woman (or a man) doing proactive things for his/her safety.

Quote from: Pumpkin Seeds on March 31, 2013, 05:10:38 PMA woman should have the ability to participate in a party culture lifestyle if she so chooses.

100% agree.  Just like I would tell my friend that he is taking a risk by going sky-diving, but he is 100% entitled as an autonomous adult to engage in that activity. 

Pumpkin Seeds

I didn't misquote you and I apparently did give you too much credit.  I will refrain from responding to your posts in this thread any longer.

consortium11

Quote from: ValthazarElite on March 31, 2013, 05:14:01 PM
However, even in these bf/gf rapes, and acquaintance rapes, I don't consider that as being a "rape culture."  The people who do those crimes are rapists - and criminals (whether or not they are acquaintances).  It is not 'men' or 'women' who do that, but it is 'rapists' who do that.  There are men who murder their wives, and boyfriends who murder their girlfriends.  But we don't have a "murder culture" campaign.

I don't particularly like the term "rape culture" or how it's applied, at least partly for the reason you say, it isn't applied equally to murders, non-sexual assaults and the like.

That said, I think you're misconstruing what people mean when they talk about the "rape culture". It's not limited to the people who commit such acts; it's about those who, intentionally or not, create a culture where rape is normalised or trivialised.

It's people using "rape" as a euphemism for "beat someone badly" (i.e. "Man, you dominated that game of tennis... you absolutely raped him"). It's phrases like "made you his bitch". It's the use of the term "fuck" to indicate victory or harm ("I fucked him up!"). It's more violent terminology being used as a stand in for sexual acts ("I smashed her"). It's dehumanising and crude terms for and insults against women that simply don't have a comparable for men ("Cunt"). It's the idea that a man who has a lot of sex is a "stud" while a woman is a "slut". It's the idea that women are the gatekeepers to sex, don't really enjoy it and instead "reward" men by having sex with them. It's the focus on preventing rape being about what women wear, what women do and where they do it rather than on stopping rapists. It's about questions about rape being focused on the victim ("Did you really mean no or did you really mean yes... why did you wear that skirt... well, you've had a lot of sex before right?"). It's about a well-known porn site like Brazzers running a sub-site where the focus was on non-consensual (or at "best" blackmailed/coerced) sexual activity and it not being presented as a roleplay in the way Kink does. It's about attractive women being referred to as "rapemeat". It's about t-shirts that try to turn rape into a joke.

It's about all those things, taken singularly and together, that combine to present rape as not really that serious.

Quote from: ValthazarElite on March 31, 2013, 05:14:01 PMPeople in this discussion seem to have a very intelligent perspective of this issue - but it concerns me that we are seeing a growing mistrust between men and women.  The overwhelming majority of men and women are good people, but because of these 'rape culture' campaigns, I worry that it causing a rift between the genders in the general population.

The majority of the times I see a real distrust appear in such discussions is when someone brings up false rape accusations and there seems to be a sudden outbreak of "male-panic" and how unfair life is on men these days...

Chris Brady

It seems to me that these two monsters were prowling for a victim.  They likely would have found someone and raped them.  Thing is, what she did was make it easy for them to do so.  By drinking to the point of passing out makes it easier to be a victim.  That's something we simply can't deny.

Does that mean that she should be 'punished' for her 'stupidity' (note the quotation marks)?  No.  It does not.  This isn't punishment, this two sexual offenders looking for an easy off and finding it.  There's a good chance that even if she wasn't passed out they'd still have targeted her.

But that's not what really bothers me. Note that I'm not saying that this isn't horrific.  It is, but what bothers me is that we've focused on HER, instead of vilifying these two bastards for using their celebrity status to try and get out of this crime.  Because they're local 'sports stars' and 'good students' that it some how absolves them of most of this crime.  'Promising future'?  The only future these monsters should get is to be placed on the Sexual Offenders list and then tossed in jail for life, and I mean the REST of their natural lives.

I don't care if they are kids, I don't care if this is the only time they would have ever done it.  I don't care if they were 'insane'.  I want these two monsters off the damn streets so that there are less monsters in my world.

And can we please stop this bullshit about 'rape culture'.  The sad part of it is that for all of our time (and I mean humanity) on this planet, we've been raping and killing each other to get what we want.  This isn't some new thing, it's not even more prevalent now than it was several hundred years ago, it's just another kitschy catchphrase that people love to throw around to make them seem more important.  What it should be, is STOPPED.  We don't need catchphrases, we need action.
My O&Os Peruse at your doom.

So I make a A&A thread but do I put it here?  No.  Of course not.

Also, I now come with Kung-Fu Blog action.  Here:  Where I talk about comics and all sorts of gaming

Pumpkin Seeds

Consortium just did a pretty accurate analysis of what “rape culture” means when used in a social science context and the implications thereof.  Researchers and theorists for the social sciences would of course have much room to elaborate, but in general that is an accurate portrayal.  So I do not believe the term rape culture should be ignored or dropped, because there is indeed key elements in the culture that need to be addressed that make rape normalized and prevalent. 

Shjade

Quote from: Dim Hon on March 31, 2013, 01:05:00 PM
If rape happens because a person reveals too much skin, how do you explain the women who wear burqas who get raped?

...

Dammit, Dim, why must you give me ideas for tasteless jokes in threads where tasteless jokes wouldn't amuse anyone but me? :|
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Chris Brady

Quote from: Pumpkin Seeds on March 31, 2013, 05:42:57 PM
Consortium just did a pretty accurate analysis of what “rape culture” means when used in a social science context and the implications thereof.  Researchers and theorists for the social sciences would of course have much room to elaborate, but in general that is an accurate portrayal.  So I do not believe the term rape culture should be ignored or dropped, because there is indeed key elements in the culture that need to be addressed that make rape normalized and prevalent.
Thing is, in gaming, this 'rape' stuff is pretty recent.  But I also remember kids (back in my day when dinosaurs roamed the earth and dirt was barely born) they would use words like 'killed' and 'murdered' to mean the same thing as 'raped', and yet no one claimed there was this 'murder culture'.  In my experience.
My O&Os Peruse at your doom.

So I make a A&A thread but do I put it here?  No.  Of course not.

Also, I now come with Kung-Fu Blog action.  Here:  Where I talk about comics and all sorts of gaming

Valthazar

Quote from: consortium11 on March 31, 2013, 05:38:07 PM
I don't particularly like the term "rape culture" or how it's applied, at least partly for the reason you say, it isn't applied equally to murders, non-sexual assaults and the like.

That said, I think you're misconstruing what people mean when they talk about the "rape culture". It's not limited to the people who commit such acts; it's about those who, intentionally or not, create a culture where rape is normalised or trivialised.

It's people using "rape" as a euphemism for "beat someone badly" (i.e. "Man, you dominated that game of tennis... you absolutely raped him"). It's phrases like "made you his bitch". It's the use of the term "fuck" to indicate victory or harm ("I fucked him up!"). It's more violent terminology being used as a stand in for sexual acts ("I smashed her"). It's dehumanising and crude terms for and insults against women that simply don't have a comparable for men ("Cunt"). It's the idea that a man who has a lot of sex is a "stud" while a woman is a "slut". It's the idea that women are the gatekeepers to sex, don't really enjoy it and instead "reward" men by having sex with them. It's the focus on preventing rape being about what women wear, what women do and where they do it rather than on stopping rapists. It's about questions about rape being focused on the victim ("Did you really mean no or did you really mean yes... why did you wear that skirt... well, you've had a lot of sex before right?"). It's about a well-known porn site like Brazzers running a sub-site where the focus was on non-consensual (or at "best" blackmailed/coerced) sexual activity and it not being presented as a roleplay in the way Kink does. It's about attractive women being referred to as "rapemeat". It's about t-shirts that try to turn rape into a joke.

It's about all those things, taken singularly and together, that combine to present rape as not really that serious.

The majority of the times I see a real distrust appear in such discussions is when someone brings up false rape accusations and there seems to be a sudden outbreak of "male-panic" and how unfair life is on men these days...

consortium11, I appreciate your even-handed approach to this issue.

I definitely understand that perspective, but what confuses me is how it has unfortunately turned into a "rape culture perpetrated by men" against women - which again, feeds into this growing distrust between men and women.  I will truly respect this cause once it becomes abundantly voiced that rape culture is not unilaterally perpetrated by men alone - but that it is truly a societal issue. 

What has happened unfortunately, is how much 'rape culture' campaign has become mixed with Feminism, to point where many women (not the people in this thread at all - just in the general population), believe that there is a growing need to be cautious about men in general.

Quote from: Pumpkin Seeds on March 31, 2013, 05:35:13 PM
I didn't misquote you and I apparently did give you too much credit.  I will refrain from responding to your posts in this thread any longer.

You did misquote me, or at the very least, have misunderstood what I said.  I think consortium11 understands the point I am trying to say - which is that advocating safety and vigilance is a good thing, both for men and women.  I read through my entire post again, and I never referenced any sort of victim-blaming or even used the term, "victim."

I treat women with the utmost respect, and I am not sure why I have been demonized in this thread as being some sort of anti-women's rights person.  That is far from the case.  I am simply making the case that our efforts are being placed in the wrong areas.

Maiz

Quote from: ValthazarElite on March 31, 2013, 05:49:53 PM
consortium11, I appreciate your even-handed approach to this issue.

I definitely understand that perspective, but what confuses me is how it has unfortunately turned into a "rape culture perpetrated by men" against women - which again, feeds into this growing distrust between men and women.  I will truly respect this cause once it becomes abundantly voiced that rape culture is not unilaterally perpetrated by men alone - but that it is truly a societal issue. 

What has happened unfortunately, is how much 'rape culture' campaign has become mixed with Feminism, to point where many women (not the people in this thread at all - just in the general population), believe that there is a growing need to be cautious about men in general.

Rape is a societal issue but it's also gender issue. 99% of perpetrators are male, and 90% of victims are female. It may be the elephant in the room, but I think it's false to act like there isn't a gender issue going on behind rape.

Rape culture is a societal issue and both men and women do things to uphold it, but since rape happens primarily to women, rape culture hurts them more (by denying that they were raped, by lying to women that if they do xyz they can minimize their chances of being raped, by upholding the myth that rapists are all monsters lurking in the shadows instead of people you know, etc etc). Rape culture huts male victims too, because it's designed to explain away rape or blame victims, but there is a component of sexism in it.

Valthazar

#190
Quote from: xiaomei on March 31, 2013, 06:16:03 PM
since rape happens primarily to women, rape culture hurts them more

This is what I meant by causing a rift between men and women.  Don't you think that the "chauvinistic portrayal" of rape in our society makes it all the more harder for male victims of rape to come forward and report their crimes?  They feel it is a hit on their manhood, when they hear so many jokes about rape.  I don't think there is anything productive about trying to make this a men vs. women issue.

In addition, I don't consider acquaintances or boyfriends/girlfriends who commit rape to be any different from the 'monsters lurking in the shadows."  A rapist is a rapist, plain and simple - whether or not it is their first time.  It is a truly heinous act, and we shouldn't make any differences.  As far as I'm concerned, a man who commits rape, even if it is a friend of mine, is a monster in my eyes.

Maiz

Quote from: ValthazarElite on March 31, 2013, 06:22:55 PM
This is what I meant by causing a rift between men and women.  Don't you think that the "chauvinistic portrayal" of rape in our society makes it all the more harder for male victims of rape to come forward and report their crimes?  They feel it is a hit on their manhood, when they hear so many jokes about rape.  I don't think there is anything productive about trying to make this a men vs. women issue.

In addition, I don't consider acquaintances or boyfriends/girlfriends who commit rape to be any different from the 'monsters lurking in the shadows."  A rapist is a rapist, plain and simple - whether or not it is their first time.  It is a truly heinous act, and we shouldn't make any differences.  As far as I'm concerned, a man who commits rape, even if it is a friend of mine, is a monster in my eyes.

It does, but that doesn't mean there isnt a sexist element to rape culture/rape.

Except it already is a men vs women issue. Your issue seems to be with making men accountable or something, because you are fine with telling women about reducing~ their risk of being sexually assaulted but you dislike putting any blame on men for rape. And sure there is the argument that men are taught not to rape, but it's taught in a flawed way and really how effective is it? Not to mention it is overshadowed by telling women to act in certain ways that don't really stop rape at all. Notice how no one tells men not to wear tight clothing or flirt or drink or walk down a dark street because they might be raped.

And the whole monster thing is a problem because it individualizes rape. Instead of being a societal problem its just isolated incidents.

DarklingAlice

Quote from: xiaomei on March 31, 2013, 06:16:03 PM
Rape is a societal issue but it's also gender issue. 99% of perpetrators are male, and 90% of victims are female. It may be the elephant in the room, but I think it's false to act like there isn't a gender issue going on behind rape.

Citation fucking needed.
For every complex problem there is a solution that is simple, elegant, and wrong.


Valthazar

Quote from: xiaomei on March 31, 2013, 06:42:20 PMExcept it already is a men vs women issue.

I know, and this is a terrible thing.  You seem to say it is somehow justified - which is how the general population views this.  There is a growing mistrust of all men, unfortunately.

The reality is that a HUGE number of male victims do not report their crimes unfortunately because of this very same rape culture. 

Shjade

Quote from: Chris Brady on March 31, 2013, 05:49:11 PM
Thing is, in gaming, this 'rape' stuff is pretty recent.  But I also remember kids (back in my day when dinosaurs roamed the earth and dirt was barely born) they would use words like 'killed' and 'murdered' to mean the same thing as 'raped', and yet no one claimed there was this 'murder culture'.  In my experience.

I don't think I've seen the term murder culture before, no. Though I suppose the modern version of that could be an extension of the same concept, which begs the question of why it transformed from murder to rape.
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Ephiral

The problem with focusing on prevention methods, Valthazar, is that it doesn't help. It's actually far more likely that it causes damage. Upthread, you may have seen a request for hard numbers on prevention tactics. The best example cited showed a 4.2% decrease, with a p-value of 0.9. That's a marginal utility of 0.42% for prevention tactics - minus the harm in enabling victim-blame of the form "Oh, she didn't take preventative measure x, she obviously wanted it." And whether or not it is your intent, anything that puts the onus on the victim to avoid rape rather than on the perpetrator to not rape or the culture to not enable it does enable this victim blaming.

So basically, arguing for more preventative tactics does negligible good and definite harm. Why is this the huge risk-reduction strategy that gets harped on? If your goal is, as you claim, to minimize the harm done, why not focus your energies on victim-blaming, which causes far far far more than a 0.42% shift in underreporting, undercharging, and enabling - and harms male victims too, by heaping social stigma on them (something you claim to be against)?

Valthazar

Quote from: Ephiral on March 31, 2013, 06:56:45 PM
The problem with focusing on prevention methods, Valthazar, is that it doesn't help.

I feel as if I'm repeating myself.  No, I'm not blaming anyone.  Yes, I do realize that this represents only a tiny subset of cases. 

Perhaps if I quote another person here, whose views people seem to agree with, you all will understand where I'm coming from:

Quote from: consortium11 on March 31, 2013, 04:16:20 PMSaying "to avoid rape don't get so drunk you don't know what you're doing, don't go off with complete strangers, don't wander the streets alone etc etc" is insulting, wrong and dangerous.

Saying "to stay safer on a night out don't get so drunk you don't know what you're doing, don't go off with complete strangers, don't wander the streets alone etc etc" seems to me to be solid advice and not the sort of thing that should be attacked.

Ephiral

Quote from: ValthazarElite on March 31, 2013, 07:02:24 PM
I feel as if I'm repeating myself.  No, I'm not blaming anyone.  Yes, I do realize that this represents only a tiny subset of cases. 

Perhaps if I quote another person here, whose views people seem to agree with, you all will understand where I'm coming from:

Did you notice the part where I acknowledged that blaming others is not your intent? Because... well, it happened. My question to you is simply: If you want to minimize harm and support male victims, why not focus your energies on this subject where they will actually minimize harm and support male victims? Your stated position does not match your focus, and this is confusing.

Valthazar

Quote from: Ephiral on March 31, 2013, 07:06:05 PM
Did you notice the part where I acknowledged that blaming others is not your intent? Because... well, it happened. My question to you is simply: If you want to minimize harm and support male victims, why not focus your energies on this subject where they will actually minimize harm and support male victims? Your stated position does not match your focus, and this is confusing.

I did read the part where you said it is not my intent, but you seem to imply that it still leads to victim blaming.  I truly believe that simply telling our kids to be safe, is not victim blaming.  Whether I have a son or a daughter, I am going to tell them that it's not a good idea to get blackout drunk, or to prowl around in the middle of the night in risky areas.  Once again, the focus of this advice is not exclusively on rapes.  It is purely a safe thing to do to avoid thefts, muggings, taunts, etc also.

As far as supporting victims (whether male or female), and increasing the likelihood that they report their crimes - I think the stigma of reporting has more to do with the "cultural perception" of victims as being tramps, etc, as terrible and wrong that stereotype is.  I don't think it has to do with people simply teaching safety to kids.

Where we need to be focusing our energy on is in eliminating this notion that rape victims are tramps.  Don't confuse that stereotype with someone simply giving safety advice to their kids.