I mean really pissed off. Why am I pissed off? I’ll tell you why I’m pissed off: Slate magazine ran an article by Emily Yoffe discussing overindulgence in alcohol and rape. (The Original article, The Rebuttal by Yoffe and The Response to the Rebuttal. )
Apparently the conventional wisdom is that telling women (and girls) that getting drunk is leaving yourself vulnerable to being raped is a BAD THING because it is BLAMING THE VICTIM. Instead, women (and girls) should NOT be told that drinking too much makes you vulnerable to rape because Men should JUST STOP RAPING. What a total bunch of crap. Yes Amanda Hess I’m talking to you. As a father of 2 wonderful young women. As a man. As a man who deals with showing people how to protect themselves from predators of all types—including rapists.
If this was a different crime—like, say, mugging, we would be telling everyone that if you get blasted, or even buzzed, or tipsy, and you are out late at night you are a prime target to get mugged. Rape is a crime, a vicious violent crime. But everyone, male and female, is vulnerable to crime when they are out of control drunk, blasted etc. There’s a reason why the old saw used to be “Candy is Dandy but Liquor is Quicker.” God in Heaven Amanda Hess and you other trolls, stop setting these women up for rape! At least until you change human nature give these girls the information needed to protect themselves in the real world and encourage them to do so. That’s not blaming the victim, that’s showing people how to take responsibility for themselves and protect themselves.
Oh, and by the way, those of you who will then jump to claiming that I want all women dressed in long robes or sackcloth, you are jumping to far and your jumps will carry you over the edge. Take responsibility for yourselves, protect yourselves, be yourselves. One of those responsibilities is to be able to defend yourself if you happen to run into a predator and you cannot do that if you are drunk. God in Heaven are you adults or do you need men to protect you? I hope the answer is that you are adults who will protect yourselves. That’s what my daughters have been trained to do—since they were 18 months old.
Emily Yoffe, I salute you for trying to tell your daughter the truth and helping her become an independent adult.
