On the road again...
Hello again, readers!
It's been a while since my first blog and I'm honestly a little tempted to go back to my first post and revise that piece where I said I would write once a week... because that just hasn't happened...
I've been thinking about the various rants I could put down on this site for all to read and admire. And every time I think of a new topic to write about, I immediately come to the conclusion that nobody cares what I have to say. This is the same problem I have with Twitter; I'm not going to waste people's time describing in 140 characters or less my opinion or what I had for lunch.
As I sit in this stuffy, slightly odorous Lucky Star bus heading home to Boston, I have done everything in my power to avoid coming up with a topic for this blog post (hence these rambling paragraphs). I've decided that the topic for today's post will be.... "Liz ranting about something that happened in the news!" Sounds exciting, right? Right?! RIIIIIIIGHT?!?! *cue nervous laughter*
Now, let's begin.
The Stanford Sexual Assault Case. You heard me. We're going to be talking about that today. Now, I won't be illustrating any new information in this blog post and I'm going to do my best to keep the overall sentiment as light as possible. However, I want to underline how heartbroken I am about how this has all played out. What a disaster. What a disgrace.
As a 23-year-old woman, I have come to terms with the fact that I cannot constantly be safe in any environment I may find myself in. I have accepted the circumstances that my female-ness provides me with. It is an unfortunate fact of life that women are oftentimes physically vulnerable to men when it comes to sexual assault. Now, don't get me wrong - this isn't something that I'm constantly thinking about. I don't glance over my shoulder every time I walk into Whole Foods; however, when I'm walking home at night, I certainly feel slightly more secure when I'm with a male. Kind of makes it impossible to be truly independent, huh?
Now, what reeeeally grinds my gears about the whole situation is this: alcohol. is. not. an. excuse. For those of you who read the victim's letter, you will understand when I say that she beautifully bashed her perpetrator for blaming alcohol for his actions. Just be honest with yourself. You raped this girl. Not the tequila. The assailant has claimed that his biggest mistake was ingesting more alcohol than he should have. I've been drunk before. Like seriously hammered (sorry mom). Never would I ever even consider harming someone in the way that this *$*%^& hurt an innocent woman.
Which brings me to the core thesis of this post. What makes people do horrible things?
Quick side note. In the 10th grade, I learned about various philosophers who were crucial to the enlightenment period: Descartes, Voltaire, Spinoza and, my favorite, John Locke. Locke was an exciting man who coined the term "Tabula Rasa," meaning blank slate. Locke was referring to the idea that every person is born with a blank slate; they are neither good nor bad and their upbringing decides what kind of people they become. This ideology has shaped my way of thinking and, even though, I have modified this theory for myself, I do believe that the core concept remains: people are only as good as their surroundings. Predispositions exists but they are limited in their effect on people's behavior and can only be realized in proper environments.
Back to the matter at hand. I think it interesting that many of the media outlets have covered the story, highlighting the attackers stellar record and athletic successes. Many have seen the inclusion of this information to be disgraceful, as though the news sources are attempting to make the attacker seem more attractive to their readers. Perhaps they are. However, I perceive the inclusion to mean this: this young, entitled, spoiled, young, white male could have potentially thrown his life away because he had been brought to believe that his actions were not meant to have consequences. Now, I'm not blaming this mentality solely on the parents' shoulders. This way of thinking is integral to our society. We're taught from a young age that people at the top deserve more (or less if we're talking punishment) than those at the bottom. This young man was born with certain natural abilities that made him the better athlete. He was also born white and male, automatically making certain things in life a bit easier for him. He, however, was not born a rapist. He was made that way because he was taught that having sex with a partner doesn't necessarily mean asking him or her back to your room, making him or her comfortable in a bed** and, you know, NOT FORCING HIM OR HER INTO ANYTHING. I don't mean to take the onus of this vile crime away from the criminal. Many entitled, white males live very decent lives and turn out to be rather enjoyable human beings. I just want to explore the possibility that some of the blame may lie on our society's shoulders.
And now, the verdict. The unfair, disgraceful and unfathomably lenient sentence of six months in prison. Now, anyone growing up, reading this case will come away with an important fact about our reality: Being white, male and privileged provides certain people with the ability to take advantage of other human beings’ vulnerabilities and face minimal consequences. I don’t know about you but that’s not the kind of lesson I want my younger, impressionable nieces, nephews, cousins and friends growing up with.
Final Takeaway: Women are born with the power to say yes. We have the same power that men do to say yes or no when we like. But it's like Louis CK says, "How do women still go out with guys, when you consider that there is no greater threat to women than men? We’re the number one threat to women! Globally and historically, we’re the number one cause of injury and mayhem to women.” Too true, Louis. Too true. I personally go out with guys because I find it easy to say “eh, not gonna happen to me.” Unfortunately, it could totally happen to me. It’s a harsh reality I am coming to terms with but maybe it’s a better lesson to come away with than “I can do whatever I want to whomever I want with absolutely no consequences.”
So let's all be nice to each other. Stop hurting. Stop the violence. It's not as hard as it sounds. Just be nice. And if you're not nice, blame it on yourself, blame it on society, but certainly DO NOT blame it on the alcohol. Sorry, T-Pain.
**Disclaimer: I'm not judging people who have sex in places other than a bed. Just something to be considerate of, you know.
Some additional materials to read if you find yourself so inclined:
This letter from Joe Biden (luvhim)
