In the comments to an earlier post – one which made fun of the idea that by entering a man’s hotel room, a woman has consented to sex – “Rap” wrote:<\/p>\n
Why is basic common sense no longer applicable in this situation?<\/p>\n
If a person has no intention of getting shot on a certain street known for nightly shootings then that person, even if they have the right to walk down that street, can absolutely 100% without any doubt eliminate the possibility of being shot on that street if they simply choose to not walk on that street at night.<\/p>\n
And why is basic common sense more applicable in this situation, as it always is?<\/p>\n
Get a grip.<\/p><\/div>\n
The thing is, “common sense” doesn’t begin and end with not going to a man’s hotel room alone, does it?<\/p>\n
If women avoid doing all the things that they’re supposed to avoid doing in the name of “common sense” measures to avoid rape – if women don’t let themselves ever be alone in a room with a man they don’t know well, if they never walk alone at night or on isolated roads, if they never go to an empty bus station or subway terminal and never ride in an empty train car, and never walk alone in a public garage, never drink in a bar alone, never get drunk at a frat party (actually, better not attend the frat party in the first place!), and of course never wear tight clothing, etc etc…<\/p>\n
If a woman actually obeyed all those “common sense” rules, it would be an awful lot like a life lived under house arrest, wouldn’t it?<\/p>\n
Suggesting people should avoid walking down murder row is reasonable. Suggesting women should avoid the world – which is what all those “common sense” strategies boil down to – is not reasonable.<\/p>\n
(And the wacky punchline to all this? Even if a woman obeys every single rule<\/i> for avoiding rape, she still might get raped.)<\/p>\n
I do think women – like everyone else – should exercise some common sense for self-protection. But in the final analysis, changing women’s<\/i> behavior isn’t a promising anti-rape strategy. I’d rather discuss ways of changing men’s<\/i> behavior. Rapists are by and large male, after all..<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the comments to an earlier post – one which made fun of the idea that by entering a man’s hotel room, a woman has consented to sex – “Rap” wrote: If a woman has no intention of having sex … Continue reading