Silence Is Not An Option

[jilesa]

I didn't think I'd have anything to say about the Richmond (California) High School rape story (Need I say this is triggery?) that's been peppered about my online communities recently, but this is a case where silence would make me feel I was condoning what happened in some way. (Whether that feeling is reasonable or not isn't up for debate, thanks. It's there, I acknowledge it and move on.)


If you can read that article and seriously think any of the following:

• That the young woman in question 'should' have behaved differently in order to prevent those young men from raping her,
• That rape is not something our culture condones and even encourages,
• That the young men who stood by and watched aren't also responsible for the rape,
• Or that no man you know could ever participate in or condone such an act,

then consider this an Invitation to the World.

Seriously. Don't talk to me, just GTFO.

Upwards of twenty people stood around laughing and taking pictures while a group of young men raped that girl. No one bothered to report it to the police. No one bothered to speak up about it for more than two hours. I will not believe that people would stand around laughing and taking pictures if they didn't somehow believe that what they were witnessing was somehow normal. Nor do I believe that men who commit rape are rare enough that most of us don't know someone who's done it. I see no reason to lie to myself and pretend otherwise.