This should be a no-brainer. One of those things you don't ever think about. An automatic response. Engraved in your soul for all time. As natural as breathing.
When you learn of or witness sexual assault (aka rape), especially against a child, call the police.
Period. Conversation over.
The excuse of "I told my boss" is not good enough. Nor is the excuse, "it's not my job."
It sure as hell is your job. In fact, it's everyone job to protect children.
Do you hear me Mike McQueary and ESPN?
Earlier this week a number of my friends posted a story from The Onion about a group of 10-year-old boys holding a press conference begging the world to call the cops if anyone sees them being raped. Is it funny? Well, I guess so, but more than that, I think it's horribly sad. As I said when my friend Ellen posted the video, "It saddens me that The Onion has to write this story because so many people seem to be unclear on the concept. What makes me sadder is that in all the media coverage of the Penn State (and now allegedly Syracuse) child rape scandal, I have yet to see anyone simply look into the camera and say 'The bottom line is this: When you see a child being sexually abused, do whatever it takes to remove the child from the situation and call the f*#)^%@ police. To do anything else makes you as bad as the rapist.'"
So with that, I bring you this video of ESPN explaining why they held onto a tape recording of a conversation between Syracuse University's former coach Bernie Fine's wife, Laurie Fine, and Bobby Davis, one of his alleged victims, for eight years. Yes, you read that right. They had the audio tape for eight years and did nothing.
To say that ESPN's actions disgust me is a gross understatement. They clearly put their business needs ahead of protecting children and that is vile. I just hope that Bernie Fine didn't abuse any other children during those 8 years while ESPN sat on its collective hands.
Protecting those who sexually assault anyone, especially children, makes you as bad as the rapists, in my opinion.
I hope this is the final time I have to say this: If you learn of or witness sexual assault, especially against children, CALL THE COPS.
If we all did that one thing, children would be protected, victims could begin to heal, pedophiles would be in prison, and the world would be better.
Showing posts with label Rape is BAD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rape is BAD. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Anti-Sarah Palin Rape Ad
This is powerful and pretty much sums it all up.
This ad evidently ran in some swing states immediately after the debate. For more information click here.
Hat tip to AMERICAblog.
This ad evidently ran in some swing states immediately after the debate. For more information click here.
Hat tip to AMERICAblog.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Sarah Palin DID Charge for Rape Kits!
Much has been made about Sarah Palin's policy as mayor of Wasilla, AK to charge rape victims for their rape kits.
At first, it was just a whisper that she allowed this despicable practice to occur under her leadership. Once the media picked up on it, she said she didn't know it was happening and she found it vile. I don't buy that for a second and neither should you. It simply isn't plausible that as mayor of a town of approximately 6,000 (then) she wouldn't know that her hand-picked chief of police was in a public fight with the state over Wasilla's policy of charging rape victims for their exams.
The fact is that Sarah Palin allowed rape victims to be charged for their exams. And that is vile and inexcusable.
No woman should ever be forced to pay for evidence of rape to be collected from her. Rape is a horrific enough crime and it changes a woman forever. There is no reason in the world a rape victim should ever be forced to bear the cost financially for this crime. I guess, however, I shouldn't be so surprised that a woman who would force another woman to give birth to a child conceived during rape and would refuse her the "morning after" pill, would also insist on this final humiliation.
If for no other reason than Sarah Palin's obvious misogyny, you should vote for Barack Obama.
At first, it was just a whisper that she allowed this despicable practice to occur under her leadership. Once the media picked up on it, she said she didn't know it was happening and she found it vile. I don't buy that for a second and neither should you. It simply isn't plausible that as mayor of a town of approximately 6,000 (then) she wouldn't know that her hand-picked chief of police was in a public fight with the state over Wasilla's policy of charging rape victims for their exams.
The fact is that Sarah Palin allowed rape victims to be charged for their exams. And that is vile and inexcusable.
No woman should ever be forced to pay for evidence of rape to be collected from her. Rape is a horrific enough crime and it changes a woman forever. There is no reason in the world a rape victim should ever be forced to bear the cost financially for this crime. I guess, however, I shouldn't be so surprised that a woman who would force another woman to give birth to a child conceived during rape and would refuse her the "morning after" pill, would also insist on this final humiliation.
If for no other reason than Sarah Palin's obvious misogyny, you should vote for Barack Obama.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Sarah Palin's Debate Prep
If you are unfamilar with Sara Benincasa and her impressions of Sarah Palin, I urge you to immediately educate yourself. She is brilliant and spot on. Her impressions are different from Tina Fey's in that they let us see into Sarah Palin's psyche.
Pull up a chair and get comfy. I warn you, however, you may laugh so hard you injure yourself. It'll be worth it, I assure you.
Pull up a chair and get comfy. I warn you, however, you may laugh so hard you injure yourself. It'll be worth it, I assure you.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Sarah Palin Should Bow Out?
Kathleen Parker, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune, wrote a column today saying that Sarah Palin should bow out of the campaign. Her reasons are numerous and I could not disagree more.
I started to leave a comment, but the more I wrote, the more I realized this was really a blog post.
Kathleen Parker: "She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first."
Let me just say I do not and have never thought Sarah Palin was a good choice for McCain's VP. I loathe Sarah Palin and everything she believes in. As a rape survivor, I am sick at the idea of having to pay for my own rape kit and that if she had her way, I would not be allowed the choice to terminate any resulting pregnancy (I was fortunate enough to not get pregnant). My head wants to explode when I think about what she would do to the progress in women's equality.
Sarah Palin's understanding of foreign policy and the economy, the biggest issues of this election and probably of the next 4 to 8 years or more, is embarrassing for her and the country. That the GOP could not find a better qualified running mate to "shake up" John McCain's campaign is laughable and insulting. It is inexcusable that the GOP has not been able to better educate and prepare their Vice Presidential candidate for even the most obvious questions.
That said, Sarah Palin CANNOT withdraw.
John McCain chose her and the GOP celebrated her. As we have seen time and time again, they obviously did both without any sort of vetting. Had Barack Obama not vetted his running mate (and let's be clear, John McCain had almost 6 months to find and vet his choice, but Barack Obama had less than half that time), we would see non-stop 24/7 ads about it from the GOP all the way to the election.
Kathleen Parker falsely believes that "no one would criticize a mother who wants to put her family first" and I could not disagree more. If Sarah Palin were to drop out citing her family as her reason, there would be very loud whispers for years to come that a woman couldn't really take on the task of being Vice President, much less being President. Future women candidates for President will be scrutinized with "are you SURE you can put the Country above your family?" It will be used as evidence to bolster the "women can't really do it all" argument that some people still believe.
18 million cracks in the glass ceiling will become barely visible.
Don't misunderstand me, I believe that motherhood is the most important (and least appreciated and underpaid) job in the world. And I believe that women CAN have it all. I believe that women SHOULD be CEOs, Nobel Prize winners, and Heads of State. But there are choices we all have to make in our lives and a balance we each have to strike for ourselves. When the choice you make is to become a heart beat away from being the President, unfortunately, you've lost the luxury of saying "I change my mind" 38 days before the election.
The impulsiveness of both John McCain and Sarah Palin says volumes about the type of judgement they both have, but they both made this bed and it's time they slept in it.
As I've said, I'm no fan of Sarah Palin and I pray every night that the McCain-Palin ticket loses this election, but Sarah Palin has to see this through. She owes that to the women and girls of America.
I started to leave a comment, but the more I wrote, the more I realized this was really a blog post.
Kathleen Parker: "She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first."
Let me just say I do not and have never thought Sarah Palin was a good choice for McCain's VP. I loathe Sarah Palin and everything she believes in. As a rape survivor, I am sick at the idea of having to pay for my own rape kit and that if she had her way, I would not be allowed the choice to terminate any resulting pregnancy (I was fortunate enough to not get pregnant). My head wants to explode when I think about what she would do to the progress in women's equality.
Sarah Palin's understanding of foreign policy and the economy, the biggest issues of this election and probably of the next 4 to 8 years or more, is embarrassing for her and the country. That the GOP could not find a better qualified running mate to "shake up" John McCain's campaign is laughable and insulting. It is inexcusable that the GOP has not been able to better educate and prepare their Vice Presidential candidate for even the most obvious questions.
That said, Sarah Palin CANNOT withdraw.
John McCain chose her and the GOP celebrated her. As we have seen time and time again, they obviously did both without any sort of vetting. Had Barack Obama not vetted his running mate (and let's be clear, John McCain had almost 6 months to find and vet his choice, but Barack Obama had less than half that time), we would see non-stop 24/7 ads about it from the GOP all the way to the election.
Kathleen Parker falsely believes that "no one would criticize a mother who wants to put her family first" and I could not disagree more. If Sarah Palin were to drop out citing her family as her reason, there would be very loud whispers for years to come that a woman couldn't really take on the task of being Vice President, much less being President. Future women candidates for President will be scrutinized with "are you SURE you can put the Country above your family?" It will be used as evidence to bolster the "women can't really do it all" argument that some people still believe.
18 million cracks in the glass ceiling will become barely visible.
Don't misunderstand me, I believe that motherhood is the most important (and least appreciated and underpaid) job in the world. And I believe that women CAN have it all. I believe that women SHOULD be CEOs, Nobel Prize winners, and Heads of State. But there are choices we all have to make in our lives and a balance we each have to strike for ourselves. When the choice you make is to become a heart beat away from being the President, unfortunately, you've lost the luxury of saying "I change my mind" 38 days before the election.
The impulsiveness of both John McCain and Sarah Palin says volumes about the type of judgement they both have, but they both made this bed and it's time they slept in it.
As I've said, I'm no fan of Sarah Palin and I pray every night that the McCain-Palin ticket loses this election, but Sarah Palin has to see this through. She owes that to the women and girls of America.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
GOP: "Respect Bristol's Privacy. That's Always Been the Tradition and Practice When It Comes To the Children of Candidates."
Attention! Attention! Attention! The Grand Old Party has an announcement to make!
Per an internal, not for external distribution GOP Talking Points:
"The media should respect Bristol's privacy. That's always been the tradition and practice when it comes to the children of candidates. The children of candidates do not choose to run for office and be thrust into the spotlight."
Yes, you read that correctly. The GOP would like you MEAN and LIBERAL BIASED media types (and that surely includes you bloggers - who John McCain hates) to stop hating on and bad mouthing poor Bristol Palin. And they have a spotless record of always embracing politicians' children, no matter the political party.
Except for when they don't.
"Do you know why Chelsea Clinton is so ugly?" John McCain told a handful of big Republican funders in June 1998. "Because Janet Reno is her father."
For the record (and in case John McCain was confused), Chelsea Clinton, 18 in 1998, was not running for political office, nor had she been thrust into the news due to her activities that were in complete contrast to her father's (President Bill Clinton's) beliefs and policies.
Nope. That is Bristol Palin, the pregnant daughter of Sarah Palin. So John McCain will just have to excuse us for questioning Sarah Palin's strict abstinence policies and her pregnant, unwed teenage daughter.
And just cuz I've been looking for an excuse to point out how misogynistic John McCain is, enjoy the following where John McCain joking about women enjoy being raped* is just "McCain being McCain."
*Trust me on this one. Women DO NOT like being raped.
Per an internal, not for external distribution GOP Talking Points:
"The media should respect Bristol's privacy. That's always been the tradition and practice when it comes to the children of candidates. The children of candidates do not choose to run for office and be thrust into the spotlight."
Yes, you read that correctly. The GOP would like you MEAN and LIBERAL BIASED media types (and that surely includes you bloggers - who John McCain hates) to stop hating on and bad mouthing poor Bristol Palin. And they have a spotless record of always embracing politicians' children, no matter the political party.
Except for when they don't.
"Do you know why Chelsea Clinton is so ugly?" John McCain told a handful of big Republican funders in June 1998. "Because Janet Reno is her father."
For the record (and in case John McCain was confused), Chelsea Clinton, 18 in 1998, was not running for political office, nor had she been thrust into the news due to her activities that were in complete contrast to her father's (President Bill Clinton's) beliefs and policies.
Nope. That is Bristol Palin, the pregnant daughter of Sarah Palin. So John McCain will just have to excuse us for questioning Sarah Palin's strict abstinence policies and her pregnant, unwed teenage daughter.
And just cuz I've been looking for an excuse to point out how misogynistic John McCain is, enjoy the following where John McCain joking about women enjoy being raped* is just "McCain being McCain."
*Trust me on this one. Women DO NOT like being raped.
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