Google Blogger Accuses Twitter Engineer of Sex Attack
Just for a moment take all of the actual human beings out of that story, and you've got to admit: That's a pretty funny headline. Now... put all the human beings back INTO it, and read it. If you want a fuller account of the incident, you can read her blog.
Now... Right up front, I want to say that I have no idea about, nor do I care to speculate on, the veracity of the accusation. I have not heard his side, I wasn't there and in any case it's not really relevant to what I want to talk about. I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I'm also willing to give the other his day in court before crucifying him. All that being said, I was appalled, for several reasons, at some of the comments being left under the article.
MrMikeBeezy left the following:
I DO NOT agree with her statement that it's not her responsibility to protect herself from such things. I guess if she likes waiting for the rest of the world to give a shit about her safety then, by all means, allow it to happen.
This was, presumably, in response to her statement, "It is not my job to avoid getting assaulted. It is everyone else’s job to avoid assaulting me."
And to Mr. Beezy, all I can say is, "Blame the victim much?"
I guess you shouldn't have bought such a nice car, if you didn't want it stolen. I guess you shouldn't have put glass in the walls of your house, if you didn't want your windows broken. I guess you shouldn't have gotten married, if you didn't want to be cheated on. I guess you shouldn't have had children if you didn't want them kidnapped.
WTF?!
There is basically no other crime that we, as a partially brain-damaged society, are so quick to apply that logic to. Why is it that every time we hear about an example of MEN BEHAVING BADLY, there is always an element of the audience that will say, "Well, she should have been more careful!"
WTF?!
That's fucking insane! It is not up to the woman to protect herself, with no expectation that her professional colleagues will not conduct themselves within the boundaries of the FUCKING LAW! She wasn't hooking downtown for Christ's sake, she was at a fucking TECH CONVENTION!
And the dude in question can talk about "mixed signals" all he wants. I've known a lot of women. And every single one of them has totally confused the shit out of me at some point. But I've never received ANY signal that could have been mistaken for "stick your hand in my pants." And that includes from every single one who's pants I've ever had my hand in!
Newsflash: BLAMING THE VICTIM = TOLERATING THE CRIME. And I defy ANYONE to find me any other crime where we find it so easy to do this. It's barbaric.
Now... Let the guy have his day in court, as applicable, of course. If he's falsely accused, than that's almost as bad as the attempted/actual rape since (1) being falsely accused of sexual assault is about the worst thing that can happen to you, legally speaking and (2) false accusations, once exposed, enable the very attitude I'm describing. They cast suspicion on every other woman's legitimate accusation. So, yeah, let him have his say.
But for FUCK'S SAKE don't blame the VICTIM! The expectation that one will not be sexually assaulted at random is no less reasonable that the assumption that one will not be shot or mugged at random in such a place. IOW: It's PERFECTLY REASONABLE! And we should show no more sympathy to the perp, or less sympathy to the victim, in that case than we would for a robbery or a homicide. PERIOD!
Christ, what the hell is wrong with people?!
Then "God's gift to women everywhere," Daniel, posted this
You'd figure he could have assaulted someone better looking. Come on, man. Have some standards.
Nice.
This is just disgusting on so many levels. I'd love for his mother to know he said that. Or his wife/girlfriend. Actually, I'd like to just see him hit in the head with a brick, only to have someone ask, "Why were you walking under that falling brick, dumbass?!"
And before anyone tells me that, "Oh. it's just the Internet, people say all kinds of crazy shit." No. Fuck that. Fuck it right now, because I've heard the exact same thing, said over a few beers at the bar, face to fucking face with people. And I've heard it MANY TIMES. So this is hardly the sentiment of a lone provocateur on some Internet blog. This kind of misogyny is every bit as alive and well as the "blaming the victim kind." (Though I've met some of the most interesting and coolest women in it, Automotive is still, very much, one of the "good old boy:" industries. So i hear this sort of thing a LOT.)
Now... As if blaming the victim for the rape wasn't enough, now the victim's physical appearance is somehow relevant? I suppose if she conformed more to the "Barbie Doll" asthetic, she'd somehow make a more sympathetic victim? (Actually, in that case, the opposite might even be true!) And whether or not that's even true, does that make it RIGHT?!
Putting that aside, for the moment, because it's so despicable as not not even need a comment, I have a newsflash for Daniel:
ALL WOMEN ARE BEAUTIFUL.
And I, pretty much, truly mean that. All women are beautiful and the world is a more beautiful place for having all those women IN IT. Take out the women (and the Homosexual men) and what would the world look like? It would look like a pissed-on shit-pile, that's what!
What the fuck is with people who (1) Use a Barbie Doll like a checklist:
Long Blond Hair? Check
Blue Eyes? Check
5'10"? Check
C-Cup? Check
36-24-26? Check
etc...
(Which I think would leave with pretty much just Pamela Anderson - who's a skank) And then (2) feel the need to ridicule anyone who doesn't fit the bill?
What the fuck is wrong with these people? Are they dating Pamela Anderson? (And if they are? They can fucking have her!) And if they aren't? Then who the fuck are they to talk?!
And that list? The "barbie doll" asthetic? Fuck that. Where does that leave a beautiful black woman? Or an beautiful Indian woman? Or a beautiful Japanese woman? (You ever see blond hair on a Japanese woman? It looks RIDICULOUS!) And why are we even TALKING ABOUT THAT?!
The sexiest part of a woman's body is BETWEEN HER EARS. Yes, I'm actually physically attracted by a woman's intelligence. That's make me a bit unusual, statistically speaking, but what can I say? Men of real quality are not easy to find. And I'm also far more concerned with what's BEHIND a woman's ribcage that what IN FRONT of it.
Now... I don't know Noirin personally. I've never met her. I don't know if she's nice, and I don't know if she's smart. I've read a bit of her blog... Not really my thing, but she certainly seems failry intelligent. (Check.) And given her quirky sense of humor (check) and the fact that she seems nice enough (check) I'm certainly already finding her far more interesting than your average "Pamela Anderson" type. And there's really not much more that you really need to know!
But then...
Red Hair? (check!)
Tech savy? (omg! check!)
Glasses? (...drool...)
(Yeah, seriously, I have such a thing for chicks in glasses. It borders on sickness. Seriously.)
I'm sorry, where was I?
Oh yeah...
Daniel? MrMikeBeezy? You guys are fucking douchebags.
And, in the future, if you don't have anything nice - or relevant - to say, then just SHUT THE FUCK UP!
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Oh, and BTW... Should anyone find an inconsistancy in my proceeding to trash Pamela Anderson, right after saying that "all women are beautiful," let me clarify: Women are beautiful the way GOD made them. Pamela's appearance is what what MAN'S EFFORT looks like. It's the cheap, plastic result of trying to appease the prejudices of lesser men. And it's really rather tragic.
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Oh and I uh... kind of apologize for that "really creepy guy" bit at the end there. It was kind of tongue in cheek (and almost disgustingly over the top) though personally she does strike me, at least initially, as exactly the kind of person I'd usually be attracted to. Kind of like...
Oh, I am so fucking there!
(The one with the beard is a guy though, right?)
