In Minneapolis on Saturday an event dubbed a SlutWalk will be occurring. From how it’s been explained to me a SlutWalk is an event where hundreds of scantily clad woman march through town to make a statement against rape. I’m not sure what sadist decided that having such an event during October in Minnesota would be smart but suffice it to say there will likely be some rather chilly woman walking about.
Honestly this post really isn’t about the SlutWalk though, that was just a not so clever segway for me to talk about the subject of rape. Namely I want to talk about the prevention of rape. A misunderstanding many people have is that rape is about sex. Rape seldom has anything to do with sex and is almost always about power. There are people besides politicians who get pleasure out of having power over another human being. So long as such desires are suppressed or expressed between consenting adults it’s perfectly fine, the problem comes when a person is unwilling to suppress such desires.
I know a couple of rape victims and needless to say the after effects are almost as frightening as the act itself. A person who has suffered rape has experienced one of the ultimate violations against their person that can be experienced. Both of the rape victims I know have said many times that they would have rather killed themselves than again experience what they went through. Thankfully after therapy they mostly recovered.
Women are the most common targets of rape and genetics dictate that the average male is physically stronger than the average female. I’ve actually had one person claim this is a sexist thought but genetics are what they are. Thankfully our technology has advanced far enough where we have developed the great equalizer; the gun.
Nothing says “NO!” like gushing chest wounds. Part of the reason I’m such a proponent of the right to carry is because firearms can turn a physically superior attacker into an equal (or lesser if they are not also armed). While I strongly urge all people legally able to get a carry permit I put a lot of emphasis on women getting carry permits. Both of the rape victims I know are female and they both now have carry permits and almost always have a firearm on their persons.
While the goal of the SlutWalk may be noble, try to prevent rape, I believe a better mechanism of doing so is to arm the populace. Criminals prey on those they perceive to be weak and usually want to avoid an opponent that poses a legitimate threat. An armed person is one who is able to resist oppression by another. Were it common for persons to be armed instead of unarmed I believe the rate of violent crime would dramatically decrease (and in places that have passed right-to-carry laws they have often noticed a decrease in violent crime). The best defense against rape is to disable a would be rapist. Whether that disability comes from two bullet holes to the chest or one in the head (or a baseball bat to the face, etc.) is irrelevant.
I would urge those actively working to reduce rates of rape to advocate armed self-defense. Arming a person is one of the most empowering things that can be done and gives even the most physically outmatched individual a chance to walk away unscathed. If those participating in the SlutWalk really want to send a message to potential rapists they should strap a pistol on their hip while they march through the city.
I believe the idea of SlutWalk is to take back the word Slut and to combat the idea that we should not blame the victim. Just because a woman chooses to dress a certain way or be sexually active, even to levels normally accepted as “sewing their oats” if a man were to do them, does not mean she deserves it or is a slut. Sexually confident and active females don’t deserve to be raped nor to be victims in the press and courts later for behavior which would be acceptable in a man.
That makes far more sense than any reason given to me by others (including those participating in the event). I guess I never realized that anybody would even consider blaming the victim for an act of rape but I’m also constantly surprised when somebody blames the victim in any crime.
Unfortunately, it is very common for rape victims to be blamed. Their history and sex life are scrutinized and often used as “proof” that the act was consensual. This is part of why few victims choose to press forth with charges.
As for carrying a firearm, anti-gunners always like to repeat the lie that you are more likely to be shot with your own firearm than successfully use it for self defense, to which I respond – I’d rather be shot than raped.
I’ll never understand the concept of victim blame. I wonder if rape victims get blamed in countries that are more sexually liberal (using the classical definition of the word). The United States still has a strange stigma revolving around sex to which I’ll never really understand.