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"No" is the strongest word in the English language. It is used to stop something bad from happening, keep someone from hurting his or herself or someone else, get someone to pay attention to something, let someone know what they're doing or saying is unwelcome. No can be used in any and every situation.
Unfortunately, there are some people out there who take "no" as a challenge. You hear them joking about "no means yes" and "no means (s)he's just playing hard to get" and even "rape is just surprise sex." Yes, this is a blog about rape. That evil R word that makes victims cringe and those who don't understand it just laugh.
"I've been facebook-raped"
"I raped that test"
"Dude, that class just raped me"
"Oh man, P90X just raped me"
They sound harmless to those who are unaffected, but to the victims, the survivors, it's just a horrible, skin-crawling, want to crawl into a hole kind of feeling. Sometimes we may want to smack the person, but we know deep down that even that won't help them understand.
Rape is NOT a word meant to be thrown around. It is the act of sexual assaulting someone. It's not a word you should ever just throw around. By saying the word jokingly, you're enabling the rapists.
"She was dressed like she wanted it"
"She let herself be alone with me"
"She's a whore anyway"
"She had it coming"
"It's just a laugh"
These are all things rapists use to rationalize what they're doing. Sounds pretty insane, doesn't it? That's because it IS. Rapists are insane. But, in my personal opinion, so are the people who throw that word around like it means "that sucks."
There's also a reason I've been saying (s)he and people and they.
ONE IN SIX boys will be the victim of attempted or completed RAPE
ONE IN FOUR girls will be the victim of attempted or completed RAPE
Girls ages 16-24 have the HIGHEST chance of being raped.
Female college students are FOUR TIMES MORE likely to be raped.
Only 16% of rapists EVER see a DAY in jail.
Those are just the reported ones.
I'M not included in those statistics.
My MUM isn't included in those statistics.
My DAD isn't included in those statistics.
My OLDEST SISTER isn't included in those statistics.
MY OLDER SISTER isn't included in those statistics.
MY OTHER OLDER SISTER isn't included in those statistics.
MY BROTHER isn't included in those statistics.
MY GIRLFRIEND isn't included in those statistics.
MY FRIENDS aren't included in those statistics.
In my experience, THREE OUT OF FOUR girls are victims of attempted or completed rape.
In my experience, ONE OUT OF FOUR guys are victims of attempted or completed rape.
And it's EXTREMELY rare for a stranger to drug you or something and rape you.
I was DATING or good FRIENDS with the guys who raped me.
My mum was raped by her BOYFRIEND at the time.
My dad was raped by good MILITARY BUDDIES.
My oldest sister was raped by her BOYFRIEND at the time.
My older sister #1 was raped by a FRIEND she'd known for close to TEN YEARS.
My older sister #2 was raped by a FRIEND and BOYFRIENDS.
My brother was raped by his UNCLE.
My girlfriend was raped by her BOYFRIEND at the time.
My friends have been raped by their dad, mom, brother, sister, mom's boyfriends, brother's friend, friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, aunt, uncle, cousin, the list goes on.
And these are all people I KNOW. Imagine how many more there are out there.
So NO, RAPE is NOT FUNNY.
RAPE is NOT a JOKE.
Stop using the word so flippantly.
My next entry will be about the power of the word "no."
 PaganMoonGlow · Thu Sep 22, 2011 @ 01:16pm · 0 Comments |
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