Apparently, the thinking over there is not so rational these days. The Cartoons might exist as proof of this, as would skinheads, British soccer fans, and French Right-wing parties. But each of these things can also be dismissed with a casual, "oh, there've always been fringes."
Okay, fair enough. How about a court decision, then. Even here in America, we expect our Courts to act in a rational manner, right?
In a stunning decision worthy of something out of an American Fundementalist Wacko's Pulpit (think Pat Robertson), Italy's highest court has ruled on Friday that...
raping an under-age girl who has already had sex with others is less serious than raping one who hasn't .Yes, you read that right. Appalling, isnt it.
Upholding an appeal from a man convicted of raping [the] 14-year-old [daughter of his girlfriend], the Cassation Court said the girl's past sexual experience amounted to "extenuating circumstances" for him. (ANSA)
Even Italians are stunned by this ruling. Equal Opportunities Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo said the sentence "leaves us speechless". The rapist was seeking to have his sentence reduced by two thirds. Said his lawyer: the attack "didn't provoke any trauma," because the girl had had so many sexual partners.
The Italian Court has a bit of a history of this kind of idiocy, actually...
In recent years it has ruled that "an isolated and impulsive" pat on a woman's bottom at work did not constitute sexual harassment, and returned a verdict that a woman could not have been raped because she was wearing skin-tight jeans. (Sydney Morning Herald)Imagine the Tom Hanks of old, doing his stunned and standing thing that he does so well. Have him smack his forehead. In fact, have him do it several times because he just cant fucking believe his ears. Let him do some classic rub-his-eyes-and-clean-out-his-ears shtick. That's me. It's like something out of movie. But even the Godfather wouldnt have tolerated something like this. ("It's not respectful") . No, this is like something out of a really bad movie from the 30's, some sort of companion piece to "Reefer Madness" about the dangers of Promiscuity.
I dont know what's the matter with the planet right now. Maybe it's some form of post-millenial madness. So many people in the world, all convinced the end was nigh. When it didnt happen, they must have been really disappointed. Sometimes people get a little crazy when they're disappointed. Or just stupid.
All over the world, the consensus seems to be that the clock should be rolled back a ways, and women need to be put firmly back on the second tier where they "belong". Even a lot of women seem to be affected by this madness.
So now, I guess I'd better make sure my daughters get plenty of martial arts training. And maybe they need to learn to handle a firearm. If I knew any Navy SEALs, maybe I'd get one to teach them how to handle a blade, too. It probably wouldnt stop some idiot who recognises a "get out jail free" card when he sees one, but at least afterwards, when one of my daughters are in court, it'll be, not as a victim, but as the girl who busted up her assailant.
In the meantime, boys, let me remind you: "No" means "No".
I dont care what you read on the Internet. I dont care what you and your buddies joked about. I dont care what movies, television, video games, or even that "little slut" in 5th period say.
"No" means "NO".
And a little something everyone might keep in mind. The good old days had a lot of quaint customs in addition to that of making sure a woman "knew her place". Among them was a certain brand of vigilantism.
I'm not advocating any kind of violence here or anything. But that's the problem with the Good Old Days; they werent really all that good.
4 comments:
Oh, this is an excellent post. However, I wish I hadn't read it at the end of the day. My blood pressure is now too high for me to sleep.
I like your idea on post-millenial syndrome. There must be *something* going on to cause so many people to be like this. As you point out, it isn't just the horrible behavior, it's the justification by those who should know better.
Dave,
Sadly, I'm not surprised. Call me jaded, but I'm not surprised by much of anything these days. I think the world has finally succeeded in not even being able to rise to my already rock-bottom expectations.
This sort of crap never happened when Musolini was in charge, but then again, much worse things did happen.
funny you should mention Musolini
This made me the littlest bit ill.
So much stupidity in those in power. Thanks for posting about it.
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